If you had to script the final moments of an NRL career, it would be hard to go past the gamewinning play set up by NZ Warriors star Shaun Johnson, as he engineered a comeback victory over Cronulla Sharks in his playing swansong.
Johnson, 33, will hang up his boots as the Auckland club's leading pointscorer, putting the exclamation point on a tenure that began playing touch at Orewa College.
In a season when he struggled to stay on the field through a variety of injuries, the veteran had gone almost five months without contributing to a Warriors win, as his team lost playoff momentum and faded out of playoffs contention.
With a bye scheduled for this week's final round of the regular season, his last chance to bow out in style came against a club where he played 44 games over three seasons and as the final seconds ticked down, Johnson had the ball in his hands, desperately searching for a gamewinning play.
The Warriors half engineered a gamewinning try against Cronulla (Source: Supplied)
From a setplay near the tryline, he threw a long pass to winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to score his third try of the match, snatching a 30-28 victory that seemed out of the question, after the Warriors trailled 22-4 at halftime. Johnson missed the sideline conversion, but by then, celebrations had already begun.
"It feels very good to finish that way," he reflected. "To be honest, if we didn't necessarily get the result, it still would have felt good, just the style we played in that second half.
"I'm pretty content right now, and I just want to soak it all in and enjoy it.
"We'd been in this situation before and it was simply take the result out of it, let's just express ourselves in a way we can be proud of and we walk off, and it is what it is. We did that and played a style that won a footy game tonight against a pretty good side that will push deep into this competition."
Afterwards, Johnson held court in what he claimed as the first post-game media conference of his career. Traditionally, these gatherings are attended by coaches and captains, but Johnson had gone more than a decade without carrying the skipper's armband.
Over the protests of coach Andrew Webster, he talked reporters through his mindset during the final sequence.
"I don't know if you've seen my touch highlights, but a couple of the boys just said, 'You can't finish with a touch highlight'," said Johnson. "I found that quite funny, because that was the zone I was in.
"Everyone contributed in a way you just wanted to be part of it. I've struggled to string games together this year and it's been my Achilles heel, struggling to find a groove.
"Tonight, I had been able to play three on the trot and I felt very good. I felt extremely confident with how I was moving and what I was seeing — that's what I've missed all season.
"It wasn't just one cutout ball, there were things that led into that play to create that look."
The encounter also brought up milestones for hooker Wayde Egan, who brought up his 100th game for the club, and Watene-Zelezniak, who scored his 100th NRL try. While Johnson will now ride off into the sunset, prop Addin Fonua-Blake and interchange forward Jazz Tevaga will also leave Mt Smart, with the former headed to the Sharks next season.
Johnson hinted at an ongoing role with the Warriors, working with the young halves that will now try to step into his shoes.
"I'm passionate about building a programme, giving them access to knowledge I wish I had coming through," he explained. "I would have loved some sort of mentor just to give me insight into what it takes to be a first-grade halfback... pressure, time, space, tempo, detail around what it takes to be a week-in, week-out first-grade player."
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