Warriors wingers coming of age: Johnson

Shaun Johnson has lauded the development of monster Warriors wingers David Fusitu’a and Ken Maumalo but he has one request.

Don’t compare them to ‘The Beast’, Manu Vatuvei.

The raw power of two of the NRL’s form flyers was on display in the Warriors’ 34-14 defeat of Manly on Saturday.

Fusitu’a scored a second-half hat-trick – aided mostly by Johnson’s brilliance – to take him to a competition-leading 15 for the season.

Maumalo was tryless but tallied a game-high 199 run-metres and was often the catalyst of some of the Warriors’ best attacks in their six-try performance.

The pair’s form has draw comparisons to former Warriors wing goliath Vatuvei, who racked up a club record 152 tries across 14 seasons.

Star halfback Johnson wasn’t jumping on that bandwagon.

“I don’t think you can compare anyone who comes through the Warriors to a Manu,” he said.

“He’s too far up there, I think.

“But what they’re doing in their own right, the path they’re carving, is really special.

“It’s cool spending the last few years with them, seeing them work on their games and grow into their bodies and at the same time evolve.”

Johnson singled out Maumalo’s late footwork as a key addition to his armoury in 2018 while Fusitu’a had turned finishing in the corner into an art-form.

Johnson unfurled an attacking master class himself in his 150th game.

He was keen to deflect attention, pointing to a vastly-improved forwards effort and the control of players like Issac Luke and Blake Green for their best performance in at least a month.

“I just think everyone did their job tonight. No one overplayed their hand,” he said.

“To be able to talk about 150 games, it is crazy.

“I suppose It’s a good chance to reflect on what’s been done and look forward to what’s ahead.”

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