Warriors still have 'a lot to play for' - Shaun Johnson

Shaun Johnson admits he is still not 100 percent despite being named to start at halfback in the Warriors' final home match of the season against the Manly Sea Eagles on Sunday.

The 26-year-old has not played for the club since the round 19 loss against the Penrith Panthers last month where he ruptured his posterior cruciate ligament.

In the five games without Johnson, the Warriors have struggled, scoring 68 points while conceding 148.

With the Warriors to miss the finals for a sixth straight year, and a World Cup on the horizon, many experts think it is risky playing the halfback where there is nothing but pride to play for.

But Johnson disagrees, saying the club still has plenty to play for.

"Hopefully, I can lift the boys," Johnson said.

"I wouldn't say I am 100 percent, I don't know if anyone playing in the NRL week in, week out is 100 percent, but I am good enough to play and that's the main thing.

"I think we have a lot to play for and that is why I want to play the last two games.

"Although we are not playing in the finals this year as a club it is a chance to get better, as an individual it is a chance to get better.

Shaun Johnson against the Panthers.
Shaun Johnson against the Panthers. Photo credit: Getty Images

"If I'm fit to go I'm playing, regardless of what's at the end of the year, regardless of our situation at the club so that's what I'm doing."

Coach Stephen Kearney is confident Johnson will get through the match without any problems.

"He's passed all of the protocol that we put him through, he's ticking those boxes, he is at no more risk than what he was before he got the injury," Kearney said.

"That's how I see it and that's why he has been named in the side this week.

"That's why the physical and medical team are there, so it's an easy decision."

Kieran Foran has been named to start alongside Johnson this weekend despite leaving the field with a back injury during the Warriors' 36-18 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday.

But despite being named to start, Kearney admitted who will start at five-eighth is yet to be determined. 

"I haven't made my mind up, you will have to wait until Sunday to see who runs out there," Kearney said.

"What I will do is the pick the team that I think is going to do the best job for us on Sunday, and if that's Kieran in the starting five-eighth position then he will be there, if it's Ata then it will be Ata."

The Warriors are currently on a seven-game losing streak and if they lose their last two matches of the season, they will break the club record for most constitutive losses.

The current record is eight, which was happened at the backend of the 2012 and 2015 seasons.

Overall, in the last eight rounds of the season over the last six years, the Warriors have recorded just nine wins in 46 matches.

Newshub.