Kiwi champion Shaun Johnson saves one last party trick for his NRL farewell in shock win over Cronulla

Shaun Johnson says he reached the ‘touch-footy zone’ before showing his magic and using his final game in the NRL to lead the Warriors to a 30-28 win over Cronulla.

With the Warriors trailing 28-26 and Johnson in the final minute of his 268-game NRL career, the Warriors halfback threw a perfect two-man cut-out ball to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak for a goal on Saturday.

The play sealed a memorable victory, ending the Warriors’ nightmare season in style and capping a comeback that began with a 22-4 halftime deficit.

This result makes it unlikely that Cronulla will make it to the home final. If they are defeated by Manly next week, they could mathematically drop out of the top four.

But the story Saturday night at PointsBet Stadium was about Johnson against his old club.

The halfback started the game with a display of old-school Johnson magic before ending a nine-game losing streak in the final minute.

He helped open the scoring by making two passes to the outside, stepping through the defense and passing back to Luke Metcalf.

And when the 4-0 lead at halftime turned into a 22-4 deficit, Johnson was in full swing of the comeback.

With Taine Tuaupiki posing a threat down the right and scoring two tries himself, Johnson continually found ways to cut in.

He slotted home one of Watene-Zelezniak’s three tries early in the game, giving the flying winger space to run onto the ball and score.

Johnson’s teammates performed the Haka in honour of their retiring captain and halfback

Johnson also made two shots from the sideline to give the Warriors a 26-22 lead with 13 minutes left.

And when the fairytale ending to the game seemed dead after Sam Stonestreet put the Sharks back ahead with nine minutes left, Johnson didn’t give up.

A mistake by the Sharks gave the Warriors one last attacking chance, before Johnson touched the ball on almost every move the visitors made.

Ultimately, he scored the decisive goal for Watene-Zelezniak, crowning his magical career.

“It feels good. It feels really good to end like that,” Johnson said.

‘A couple of guys just said you can’t finish with touch highlight. That was the zone I was in, it was as simple as enjoying what we were doing.’

With the match looking lost, Johnson came up with one final trick to secure victory for the Warriors against his former club Cronulla

Johnson and his family were able to say goodbye to the home fans in Auckland last week

Johnson was then carried away by his teammates, after which he received a farewell shaka from the Warriors and Cronulla players.

“The feeling of being in the flow, knowing why you’re doing something and what look you want to create,” Johnson continues.

‘The fact that I was able to end my career at that point is probably the reason why I am satisfied.

“It wasn’t just a cut ball. There were things that led up to that play to create that look.

“These are all moments I know I’m going to cherish. I can’t believe I played a small part in them.”

It was an emotional night for Johnson, who wore the kits of both clubs for many years

For Cronulla, this loss could prove costly.

The attacking chances were good for Nicho Hynes as he returned from a broken ankle, he and Braydon Trindall working well together.

Trindall played a part in the Sharks’ first two tries with perfectly timed passes to Teig Wilton and Kayal Iro.

Hynes also got a four-pointer for Tom Hazleton as the Sharks scored three times in the five minutes before halftime.

Trindall proved influential in the closing stages too, helping Will Kennedy put Stonestreet ahead and then making a crucial conversion from the touchline.

But Johnson’s magic ultimately won out, meaning Cronulla will now likely travel to Melbourne to take on the minor premiers in the first week of the finals.

“We played some good football but in the period that mattered we didn’t play well,” said Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon.