The Kiwis halfback remains capable of setting any match alight with a piece of skill -- the dancing feet, searing acceleration, lightning anticipation -- but wants to be more than a one-trick pony.
Sure, 'Mundane Johnson' doesn't quite have the same ring to it as 'Magic Johnson' but the halfback is equally comfortable with basics as brilliance. If only his fans could feel the same way.
"Everyone expects me to do a magic play every game," Johnson said before last night's test against Australia. "I'm used to it now and it's just the way it is. It's a big game ... 'OK Shaun's going to do the big step with the big run'."
It happened regularly when he came onto the scene in 2011. In less than half a season, he racked up several try-of-the-year contenders, particularly the long-range efforts against the Broncos and Panthers. There was more for the highlight reels in 2012 and 2013, perhaps less so in the most recent campaign.
"This year I didn't have as much of the flashy stuff but I thought I had my best season in the NRL," Johnson said. "I made my tackles, kicked well, did the little things. I delivered game plans better and was in games for a lot longer. That's what I need to do."
It's something others have noticed. "He's gone from a flair-type role to a mature knowing-when-to-bring-it-out, knowing-when-to-be-focused kind of approach," said former Kangaroos star Jarryd Hayne.
"His talk and composure on the field have really come a long way. When you are a young player, you can't keep playing the way you did when you first debuted. I was the same. Shaun was such a great player when he first came onto the scene but he has understood he needed to develop into a real leader."
A key difference in Johnson version 4.0 is that he's willing to wait for the right chance, rather than manufacturing moments that maybe aren't there.
"Hopefully if I do the basics enough, stay involved and put myself in the right positions, without trying too hard, I'll give the fans what they want to see like a big run or step," Johnson said. "But I've got to earn that right, that opportunity."
It's a sign of growing maturity. He's still a free spirit on the field -- and displayed moments of that last night with an individual try and a number of jinking runs in the Kiwis' impressive 30-12 win over the Kangaroos -- but has grown up considerably and combined his flair with some pinpoint kicks. Instead of the Sundance Kid, think Butch Cassidy. That was reflected by his presence around the Kiwis camp last week in Brisbane -- always at the forefront of training and prominent in most drills.
"I'm starting to be one of the more senior guys now," said Johnson, who played his 10th test last night. "We have a big focus on trying to make the new boys feel comfortable and I've been driving that. I've gone from sitting at the back wanting to know something and not really having the guts to ask to being the person who wants to set that environment."
That process was accelerated at the Anzac test earlier this year, when Johnson found himself as the only experienced playmaker in a team shorn of Kieran Foran, Thomas Leuluai and Benji Marshall.
"That was my best game so far for the Kiwis," he said. "I had a lot more responsibility and needed to take charge. There were still plenty of things I got wrong but the majority I got right. That was a big step for me and I want to improve on that.
"I still get such a thrill out of it -- putting the jersey on, doing the haka, national anthem -- it all drives you. I hope I never look back and say I had a bad game for my country."
- By Michael Burgess of the Herald on Sunday, in Brisbane
