NRL: Adam Blair praises Mason Lino's Warriors performances in lieu of Shaun Johnson

  • 22/04/2018
Blair has praised Lino's "calm" and "collected" demeanour.
Blair has praised Lino's "calm" and "collected" demeanour. Photo credit: Photosport

Stand-in Warriors halfback Mason Lino continues to pile the pressure on playmaker Shaun Johnson after another stand-out performance.

Lino was elevated to the run-on side to play the Dragons following Johnson's withdrawal due to a leg injury suffered during the captain's run - and he responded with another impressive outing, leading his side to a 20-12 win over the NRL leaders.

The 24-year-old scored the game's opening try, assisted in another - but it was the uncomplicated nature of his performance that earned the praises from his teammates and fans alike.

Speaking to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE, Warriors prop Adam Blair believes Lino's playing style fits right in with what the Warriors are after.

"For us and individually, we've been going so well because everyone's focused on their own roles and getting their jobs done - so we're taking a lot of our focus off other people in our team," he said.

"When we start thinking about trying to cover for other boys, we start forgetting about what our job is out on the field.

"I just think Mason's been really good coming into the team; he's trained all pre-season with us as a group, he comes in during the week, he's calm, he's collected, he knows what he wants to do - and he just executes his job.

"No one asks too much of anyone in the team, and it's just about going out there and making sure you do your job and everyone else around you gets their job and it all just seems to fall into place.

"He just goes out there and does his job - he keeps things really simple, he doesn't over-complicate his position and what his job is in the group and just goes out there and jumps on the back of [Blake Green], the forwards and does his job really well."

Johnson is in a race against time to be fit for the Anzac Day clash with the Melbourne Storm, and also faces the prospect of sitting behind Lino for the match regardless of if he's healthy.

Listen to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE every Sunday.
Listen to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE every Sunday. Photo credit: Newshub

Blair welcomes the competition between the two, and believes their contrasting styles benefit the team as a whole.

"When you're defending him, you don't know how to defend him because he can do things not many players can do, so the unpredictability when he has the ball in his hands, when he's running the ball - teams don't like defending up against someone like that," he said.

"We're better with everyone collectively as a group. We've had a lot of adversity as a group with Shaun being out and Mason coming in - I just think we've got a real balanced group [and] it's good for coaches because it gives them bit of a headache.

"It's good for our squad, people are competing for positions and I think in the past there hasn't been that kind of challenge to be in the team week-in, week-out - so it's great for the club."

Newshub.