Warriors and Kiwis playmaker Shaun Johnson has won the 2014 Rugby League World Golden Boot.
The halfback beat out competition from former league star Sam Burgess, who finished a place back for second successive year.
The 24-year old becomes the fourth New Zealander to win the award, following Hugh McGahan, Stacey Jones and Benji Marshall.
"Being a Rugby League fan growing up, I always knew about the Golden Boot award," said Johnson.
"I was pretty aware of the players who’d won it before, because they were players that I grew up watching like Stacey Jones and Andrew Johns.
"Then there were the current players that I admire like Thurston. To receive it is pretty unreal to be honest."
The panel of 13 judges awarded point rankings for the six-man shortlist, with Johnson finishing on 44 points, Burgess 23, James Graham third on 18 and Greg Inglis fourth with 17.
Johnson was quick to praise his Kiwi teammates and was joined by five fellow New Zealanders in the World XIII.
"I felt I finished the year really well and was able to take that into the Four Nations, and was really happy with how I played for the Kiwis.
"It was just made easy by the culture that we have there now and the group of players that we have around us.
"There's no way I could have received this award without those boys playing their part, and I'll accept it on their behalf."
It's the first time in history the Kiwis have had six representatives, having five in 1983, 1984 and 2010.
World XIII: 1. Greg Inglis, 2. Ryan Hall, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Dean Whare, 5. Manu Vatuvei, 6. Johnathan Thurston, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. James Graham, Cameron-Smith, 9. Cameron Smith, 10. Jesse Bromwich, 11. Kevin Proctor, 12. Simon Mannering, 13. Sam Burgess
3 News
source: newshub archive
