Shaun Johnson admits he's lucky to have been handed another opportunity for New Zealand this weekend, after his horror display against the Kangaroos in Wollongong.
The Kiwi star was lambasted for his performance against Australia two weeks ago, with coach Michael Maguire singling out the dynamic playmaker after the 22-point loss.
“We didn’t’ get too many good-ball sets and we just put a lot of hard work on our own shoulders by the things that we did," Maguire said after the game.
“I’ll talk to Shaun around that space.
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“We’ll go through that and we’ve seen Shaun perform and build pressure but tonight just wasn’t his night, so we’ve got to look at that.”
The Cronulla number seven was sensationally snubbed of selection for the Kiwis' game against Great Britain last weekend, with Maguire handing veteran Kieran Foran his Test return.
However, with Foran devastatingly being rushed off the field with a dislocated shoulder just four minutes into Saturday's game, it became apparent Johnson would be given another chance to prove his worth.
And the 29-year-old is eager to rid his effort against the Kangaroos from memory with a dominant showing in Saturday's return fixture against Great Britain.
"I got told yesterday I was back in as obviously Foz [Kieran Foran] went down on the weekend, so pretty gutted for him," Johnson said.
"[I'm] very lucky to get another opportunity and pretty excited for this weekend.
"I had a good week at training last week as well, so I just kept myself ready just in case, so you never know."
Asked what his conversations with Maguire had been like since learning he'd been given another chance, Johnson didn't mince his words.
"The main one was: 'don't play shit and you'll stay in the team', pretty simple really," the Kiwi star quipped.
"We're constantly talking, we've got a great relationship. We've got certain standards around our footy side and I didn't meet those in the Australia game.
"I understand that, and [have] came out and worked hard last week and then obviously getting an opportunity this week so I'm looking forward to that."
