NZ Warriors coach Nathan Brown is trying to dampen expectations on his biggest off-season recruit - star half Shaun Johnson - as they prepare for their opening match against St George Dragons.
One of the Auckland outfit's most polarising players for most of his career, Johnson, 31, blew the doors off the Mt Smart Stadium clubrooms, when he left three years ago, after a very public spat with then-coach Stephen Kearney.
This week, the club's leading pointscorer will return to the fold, with many pinning their hopes of a playoff run squarely on his shoulders, but Brown has warned Johnson is not the same player Warriors faithful may remember.
"With the experience that Shaun's gained over the years - leaving the club, getting married, having a child, playing for a different footy club - all these different experiences help mould you," says Brown. "We all change with experience, we have faults and strengths and weaknesses.
"For Shaun, which is the case with a lot of halves, learning the art of controlling the speed of the game and kicking the ball and helping your teammates look good, that just comes with time sometimes.
"I think Shaun will be a far more valuable player for the Warriors now, because of what he can do for the people around him and what he can do for the football team, where at times, when he was younger, he had to rely on brilliance and it's hard to be brilliant all the time."
After sparking the Warriors to the 2011 NRL Grand Final in his rookie year, Johnson was often blamed for not somehow taking his club to another championship game - or at least the playoffs.
Ironically, he was released from the Warriors, after helping them break their post-season drought in 2018.
Johnson's 919 points for the club include 63 tries - third equal with longtime captain Simon Mannering, and behind club legends Manu Vatuvei and Stacey Jones - and his explosive ability to exploit the tiniest gap in the defensive line was a feature of his general play.
But that quality may also have contributed to his frequent injuries - his 2021 season with Cronulla Sharks ended early with a hamstring tear.
"To play with control and kick the ball really well and help your teammates look good, that's just a part of his game now that's very, very, very moulded in him and consistent.
"It doesn't really matter what people expect or say about him, I think we can be pretty confident that most weeks, he'll get that part of his game right, because that's what he bases his game on now.
"If you base your game on brilliance, it's very hard to be brilliant every week, when you're playing very good sides and very good coaches. If you're not brilliant, people are quick to let you know you're not."
Brown credits Johnson's arrival for bringing out the best in halves partner Kodi Nikorima, who has won the starting spot ahead of tough competition from Chanel Harris-Tavita and Ash Taylor.
But significantly new captain Addin Fonua-Blake - inserted, while incumbent Tohu Harris overcomes offseason knee surgery - also plans to rely heavily on Johnson's presence to guide him on the field.
"I feel comfortable being captain of the team and I've got Shaun Johnson there, with his experience, and Marcelo Montoya and Wayde Egan, they're really good leaders of the team," says Fonua-Blake. "It's not like I'm out there by myself.
"If we do have close games, that's where Shaun comes in. Having that cool head, he knows how to handle those high-pressure moments in games."
As he departed three years ago, one of Johnson's biggest complaints was how Kearney had under-utilised his leadership qualities. Early signs are that won't be the case under Brown.
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