Veteran half Shaun Johnson has scooped the major honours at the NZ Warriors end-of-season awards, as they prepare for this weekend's NRL playoffs.
Johnson, 32, has captured the Simon Mannering Medal as Player of the Year for the first time in his 10-year Warriors career, after a campaign that has seen him find his very best form. He also took out the Players' Player of the Year and People's Choice Award.
His 2023 peformance also sees him contending for the NRL's Dally M Medal for Player of the Year, which will be awarded later this month.
Johnson finished the regular season as the fifth-highest scorer with 176, including eight tries, despite surrendering goalkicking duties over the final weeks, due to a quad strain.
He led the competition in try assists with 27 and dominated kicking stats, with most kick metres (11,866) and kicks (383), and second-most attacking kicks (190).
Not previously noted for his defence, teammates noticed his vastly improved showing in this facet, as he made 433 tackles at 92 percent efficiency - both career highs.
Johnson also brought up two significant milestones this season - clocking 200 games for the Warriors and 250 in the NRL, after a stint with Cronulla Sharks.
After three seasons stranded across the Tasman during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Warriors returned to their Mt Smart home in 2023, sparking a rich vein of form for Johnson.
"I've had a really enjoyable year, a really fun year, but none of that's possible without the crew I get to do it with every weekend," he said. "I believe we have the best front-rower in the competition [Addin Fonua-Blake] that I get to play behind.
"We've got the most detailed fullback [Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad] who makes his teammates better, we've got a back five that run like psychos... and we've got the best bench that comes on and gives us a spark.
"Throw all that together and I get to stand here and speak to you guys."
The Warriors will return to the NRL playoffs for the first time since 2018, when they take on defending champions Penrith Panthers on Saturday.
2023 Warriors award winners are:
New South Wales Cup Players' Player of the Year - Ronald Volkman
New South Wales Cup Player of the Year - Kalani Going
New South Wales Team-man of the Year - Ali Leiataua & Demitric Sifakula
People's Choice - Shaun Johnson
NRL Rookie of the Year - Taine Tuaupiki
NRL Clubman of the Year - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
NRL Players' Player of the Year - Shaun Johnson
Simon Mannering Medal - Shaun Johnson
Join Newshub at 6pm Saturday for live updates of the Warriors v Panthers NRL playoff clash
