Retiring hero Shaun Johnson leads Warriors to remarkable victory in final NRL match

Shaun Johnson has put an end to his career by leading the Warriors to a 30-28 victory over Cronulla on his final possession in the NRL.

Johnson played the last of his 268 NRL games before retiring, throwing a perfect 15-metre ball to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak in the final minute to score.

The play gave the Warriors a memorable victory, ending their nightmare season in style and completing a comeback they started while trailing 22-4 at halftime.

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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 twice making passes to the outside, stepping through the defense and passing back inside 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 to the ball and score.

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 to be falling apart 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.

“Damn it,” Johnson said during an on-field presentation.

“I know we went a little bit too far tonight, but this is my last game so we can keep going.”

Players from both sides performed a Haka for Johnson in astonishing scenes.

For Cronulla, this loss could prove costly.

The attack received positive signals when Nicho Hynes made his return from a broken ankle, with Braydon Trindall continuing to lead the attack.

Trindall played primarily as a first receiver and was instrumental in the Sharks’ first two tries with perfectly timed passes to Teig Wilton and Kayal Iro.

Hynes’ pressure also allowed him to set up Tom Hazleton for a four-pointer as the Sharks scored three times in the five minutes before halftime.

And it was Trindall who was influential again in the closing stages, 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.