Shaun Johnson refusing to rule out unlikely Kiwis return for Pacific Championship

Thursday, 19 September 2024

Kiwis assistant coach Adam Blair speculates on lineup ahead of Pacific Championships

Shaun Johnson is refusing to rule out a dramatic return to the Kiwis for the Pacific Championship.

The 32 test Kiwi retired after the Warriors played their last match of the regular season late last month.

Injuries to Dylan Brown and Kieran Foran prompted Kiwis coach Stacey Jones to reach out to Johnson.

If Stacey Jones makes the call, Shaun Johnson will take it.

The 32 test Kiwi enjoyed a fairytale farewell when his last touch of the ball set up a try to help the Warriors score a win after the buzzer over the Sharks last month.

Johnson, who turned 34 earlier this month, could not have asked for a more perfectly scripted finish to his 14-year NRL career. But maybe there is one last dance to come.

Shaun Johnson last played for the Kiwis in 2019 against the Great Britain Lions.

Although it’s unlikely, Johnson’s retirement could be short-lived.

Ultimately, whether Johnson remains cosied up in his slippers behind his podcast microphone will come down to the fitness of Melbourne Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes.

“I’m not playing, I just want to put that out there,” Johnson said on his podcast Play On.

So essentially, he won’t be named in Jones’ final 21-man squad - that will be trimmed down from 30 after the NRL Grand Final - for the Kiwis defence of the Pacific Championship, unless injury prevents Hughes from being selected.

Shaun Johnson is carried off the field by Marcelo Montoya and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad following his final NRL game.

“We’re in a real pickle if Jahrome did go down,” Johnson said.

With first choice No6 Dylan Brown out with injury, Jones’ next option would have likely been last year’s starting hooker, Kieran Foran, but off-season ankle surgery also ruled the experienced Titan out.

Jones still has other options to fill in at stand-off, but if anything was to happen to Hughes in next week’s Preliminary Final, or the Grand Final if the Storm advance that far, the Kiwis would be left without a genuine halfback.

Johnson has revealed, on his podcast Play On, that he has spoken to Jones about reversing his retirement call to play for the Kiwis if anything did happen to Hughes.

“I would never ever say no to representing the Kiwis,” he said.

Johnson, who did make himself unavailable for selection in 2023 in the knowledge that both Brown and Hughes were fit after his own struggles with groin and calf injuries, described himself as lurking around in the background.

If Hughes can get through the NRL Finals unscathed, Johnson said he was hopeful he could still get into Kiwis camp to help out in an off-field role.

Johnson hasn’t played for the Kiwis since way back in 2019 when the New Zealanders beat the Great Britain Lions 23-8 in Christchurch.

The Covid-19 pandemic prevented the Kiwis from playing in 2020 and 2021.

Hughes, Brown and Foran were preferred over Johnson for the Kiwis campaign at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.