THE Warriors are undefeated and flying high so far in season 2018.

But coach Stephen Kearney must consider leaving one of his highest paid players and star halfback in reserve grade in order to get the best out of his squad.

That’s the opinion of NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent, who believes the Warriors may be a better side without Shaun Johnson in it.

LIVE stream every 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership game on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week Foxtel Now trial & start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >

Round 20

The flashy No. 7 sat out Saturday’s clash with the Roosters as he stayed home to nurse a groin injury.

Rather than hinder the team’s performance, the Warriors went out and walloped the Chooks 30-6 in a shock upset at Allianz Stadium.

And it was veteran five-eighth Blake Green who starred, with many labelling him the NRL’s “buy of the year” and calling for him to be selected in the NSW Origin team.

Johnson’s replacement, Mason Lino, also enjoyed a solid night on the park.

Now Kent believes there’s a real case for Johnson to stay out of the side.

“It’s Blake Green’s team. It’s not Shaun Johnson’s team,” Kent told NRL 360.

“I said yesterday, and it caused a bit of unrest, that perhaps they are better without Shaun Johnson, the Warriors.

“Based on the fact that as the chief playmaker in the Warriors they get a little bit scatty.

“But they played a perfect NRL style of football on Saturday against the Roosters.”

NRL 360 co-host Ben Ikin says Johnson must be in the Warriors side going forward.

But he believes coach Kearney could consider changing the roles of the playmakers.

“I think an adjusted role for Shaun Johnson could be on the cards,” Ikin said.

“He is one of the most dangerous ball runners in the competition, so they need him in the halves. But I’m starting to think you almost play Blake Green on the ball, give him chief responsibility of that team.

“I put him in the same bucket as Anthony Milford — it’s never really sat that well with either player, the responsibility of managing a team.

“The best role Shaun Johnson could play at the moment is the instinctive style that is space created by the bloke inside him. It’s getting a feel for the momentum of the game, when the Warriors are gaining momentum, and then just see what’s in front of him and play.”



Welcome to Pressure Gauge!

Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover are joined by Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe to chat about the club’s incredible transformation on and off the field.

You can also subscribe via iTunes or for Android users, listen on the iPP Podcast Player app.

RICKY’S RAIDERS

If there’s a word rugby league players hate hearing it’s “soft”.

And Ricky Stuart hasn’t held back on what he thinks of his Canberra players after a fourth consecutive loss at the weekend.

He delivered an almighty spray following the loss to Manly.

“They should be all owning up themselves, saying ‘I want to play to try and get myself out of it’,” Stuart said.

“What they dished up tonight, they should be embarrassed to put a Raiders jumper on.”

He’s put the players right under the pump to retain their spots in the side.

Blake Austin has already fallen victim to Stuart’s brutal selection, but there will certainly be more cuts to follow unless the Raiders can turn their form around.

They go up against Canterbury on Thursday night down in the nation’s capital.

BROCK LAMB

The young Newcastle playmaker must adjust to his new combination with star recruit Mitchell Pearce to get the Knights back on track.

Lamb looked out of sorts at times during Sunday’s loss to St George Illawarra, stepping into the five-eighth role to replace the injured Connor Watson.

And with Watson out for an extended time, and the halves depth at the club looking thin, Lamb will need to get his act together sooner rather than later.

He made three bad errors and missed a couple of crucial tackles in Wollongong, one of which allowed Tariq Sims to score a try at a crucial stage of the game.

He gets a shot at resurrection when he lines up against the Broncos on Saturday.