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Perspective
‘For 14 years I was judged on 80 minutes of my life, once a week. That’s it . . . it’s how I judged myself. Eighty damn minutes of footy. It is ridiculous how much that can impact on your life, and even more ridiculous to think how long it can take to put that in perspective.’
Shaun Johnson burst onto the NRL stage with a bang — his mix of speed and skills and side steps dazzled fans and experts alike as the New Zealand Warriors reached the Grand Final in his debut season. Over the years that followed, he racked up 268 NRL appearances and represented the Kiwis 35 times in a career stacked with extraordinary moments. But behind the highlights and headlines lies a story of family, perseverance and the inner search for absolute clarity.
Join Shaun as he recounts his early life, dealing with stardom and expectations at a young age. You’ll step onto the field to re-live epic plays through his eyes, and discover the circumstances that led to his departure from the Warriors and then his return to Mt Smart, which culminated in Shaun being awarded the Dally M Halfback of the Year in 2023. Perspective is a fascinating look into the heart and mind of a rugby league legend.
Shaun Johnson burst onto the NRL stage with a bang — his mix of speed and skills and side steps dazzled fans and experts alike as the New Zealand Warriors reached the Grand Final in his debut season. Over the years that followed, he racked up 268 NRL appearances and represented the Kiwis 35 times in a career stacked with extraordinary moments. But behind the highlights and headlines lies a story of family, perseverance and the inner search for absolute clarity.
Join Shaun as he recounts his early life, dealing with stardom and expectations at a young age. You’ll step onto the field to re-live epic plays through his eyes, and discover the circumstances that led to his departure from the Warriors and then his return to Mt Smart, which culminated in Shaun being awarded the Dally M Halfback of the Year in 2023. Perspective is a fascinating look into the heart and mind of a rugby league legend.
Kindle Edition
Published September 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 29, 2025
"I looked around those stands and realised that I mattered, that what I had done mattered to a lot of people, and that how I had played the game had mattered too."
Being a Warriors fan is an absolute rollercoaster full of heartbreak, excitement, happiness and frustration. However I could never ever imagine supporting another team.
I became a fan when my favourite Wigan Warrior Sam Tomkins joined the team and was so in love with the chaos and heart racing way the team played. Once he left, I stayed 💙❤️💚
Shaun Johnson was always a favourite. He touches the ball and magic happens. There was always a bit of flare and razzle dazzle 🤣
When he left for the Sharks I was beyond devastated. The way the media held everything over his head, that it was his fault we weren't succeeding was so harsh and heartbreaking to hear. When he came back it was the best feeling and I'm so glad he stayed with us until the end 🥹
SJ was so open, honest and real in his memoir. I loved reading about his truth, his growth and his real self. Reading about the games and remembering where I was watching them was such a fun experience. I'll never forget the Sharks game where we came back from 20-0 I just remember sobbing. I was so proud 🥹
Overall this was such a fun memoir, seeing things from the inside that I remember watching from the outside was such a treat. Thank you for sharing your perspective SJ. I loved every moment💙❤️💚
Being a Warriors fan is an absolute rollercoaster full of heartbreak, excitement, happiness and frustration. However I could never ever imagine supporting another team.
I became a fan when my favourite Wigan Warrior Sam Tomkins joined the team and was so in love with the chaos and heart racing way the team played. Once he left, I stayed 💙❤️💚
Shaun Johnson was always a favourite. He touches the ball and magic happens. There was always a bit of flare and razzle dazzle 🤣
When he left for the Sharks I was beyond devastated. The way the media held everything over his head, that it was his fault we weren't succeeding was so harsh and heartbreaking to hear. When he came back it was the best feeling and I'm so glad he stayed with us until the end 🥹
SJ was so open, honest and real in his memoir. I loved reading about his truth, his growth and his real self. Reading about the games and remembering where I was watching them was such a fun experience. I'll never forget the Sharks game where we came back from 20-0 I just remember sobbing. I was so proud 🥹
Overall this was such a fun memoir, seeing things from the inside that I remember watching from the outside was such a treat. Thank you for sharing your perspective SJ. I loved every moment💙❤️💚
Read
October 23, 2025National treasure
January 11, 2026
Audiobook x
Zooomed through this! <3
Zooomed through this! <3
December 31, 2025
Interesting insights into Shaun's career, and especially interesting insight into the return from Sharks + covid years, which co-incided with the "Up the wahs" movement and subsequent rise in warriors popularity in NZ. A bit "this happened, then this happened" but overall enjoyable read
January 1, 2026
Very good. Highly rate it
February 14, 2026
I stumbled across this while in New Zealand and began reading it with some trepidation. I have often found that the bigger the sporting star, the weaker the autobiography. The most interesting sporting biographies, in my experience, are written by those on the periphery of greatness—players like John Elias (Sin Bin) or Dan Crowley (Undercover Prop). This, however, was not as bad as I feared.
My main criticism is that there were too many flowers of emotional reflection and not enough weeds of external detail. Johnson spends considerable time exploring his internal states and mental processes, but I often wanted more concrete description of what was actually happening around him—within the team, the club, and the competition.
Johnson’s career began just as my own era of dreaming about professional rugby league was ending. I watched him as a has-been who never was. He reflects thoughtfully on how his career coincided with the rise of social media and how ill-equipped players of his generation were to navigate it. There were no models to follow. Like Pandora, he had the curiosity to open the box, knowing nothing good would come of it, yet unable to resist absorbing the miseries of social media into his own psyche.
He also reflects on the instability at the Warriors’ executive level. In his first five seasons of first grade, he had five head coaches—all of whom he respected and got along with. He questions whether that instability prevented him from reaching his potential. He wonders how good he might have been in a more stable environment. Hopefully the Warriors, as an organisation, have learned from that era; there appears to be greater stability now under Andrew Webster. (It took Wayne Bennett five years to win his first premiership with the Broncos.)
Johnson suggests that leaving the Warriors was necessary for his growth. At the Sharks he again encountered instability at the executive level, which contributed to his eventual return. Yet he returned more mature. The insouciance of youth had given way to experience. He became faster between the ears, even as he grew slower in the legs. He writes about being more in control of himself and more perceptive of patterns emerging within games. He acknowledges the petulance of his younger years and suggests his best football came around 2023.
Johnson comes across as a likeable and self-aware person—quite different from the narcissistic but fascinating Elias, who made for compelling reading but perhaps not close friendship. My main takeaway was simple: everyone suffers. From the outside, Johnson appeared talented, fast, agile, good-looking, articulate, and free from destructive vices. Yet much of the book centres on self-doubt, fragility of ego, and a constant search for external validation. Perhaps, like many men, becoming a father grounded him. A toddler does not care how well you played or whether you won. That perspective seems to have filtered out much of the noise.
I would have liked a clearer sense of his relationships with those around him. It is unlikely he got along with everyone, yet the book rarely lingers on conflict. He acknowledges moments of petulance but does not always unpack what lay beneath them. At times, it feels as though he reveals only what he is comfortable sharing—which is fair enough. This may be why I tend to prefer biographies of players on the margins; they often feel more raw and less curated.
Still, this was better than I expected. While it does not leave Johnson metaphorically naked, it offers enough honesty to make him human rather than mythic—and that, perhaps, is its quiet strength.
My main criticism is that there were too many flowers of emotional reflection and not enough weeds of external detail. Johnson spends considerable time exploring his internal states and mental processes, but I often wanted more concrete description of what was actually happening around him—within the team, the club, and the competition.
Johnson’s career began just as my own era of dreaming about professional rugby league was ending. I watched him as a has-been who never was. He reflects thoughtfully on how his career coincided with the rise of social media and how ill-equipped players of his generation were to navigate it. There were no models to follow. Like Pandora, he had the curiosity to open the box, knowing nothing good would come of it, yet unable to resist absorbing the miseries of social media into his own psyche.
He also reflects on the instability at the Warriors’ executive level. In his first five seasons of first grade, he had five head coaches—all of whom he respected and got along with. He questions whether that instability prevented him from reaching his potential. He wonders how good he might have been in a more stable environment. Hopefully the Warriors, as an organisation, have learned from that era; there appears to be greater stability now under Andrew Webster. (It took Wayne Bennett five years to win his first premiership with the Broncos.)
Johnson suggests that leaving the Warriors was necessary for his growth. At the Sharks he again encountered instability at the executive level, which contributed to his eventual return. Yet he returned more mature. The insouciance of youth had given way to experience. He became faster between the ears, even as he grew slower in the legs. He writes about being more in control of himself and more perceptive of patterns emerging within games. He acknowledges the petulance of his younger years and suggests his best football came around 2023.
Johnson comes across as a likeable and self-aware person—quite different from the narcissistic but fascinating Elias, who made for compelling reading but perhaps not close friendship. My main takeaway was simple: everyone suffers. From the outside, Johnson appeared talented, fast, agile, good-looking, articulate, and free from destructive vices. Yet much of the book centres on self-doubt, fragility of ego, and a constant search for external validation. Perhaps, like many men, becoming a father grounded him. A toddler does not care how well you played or whether you won. That perspective seems to have filtered out much of the noise.
I would have liked a clearer sense of his relationships with those around him. It is unlikely he got along with everyone, yet the book rarely lingers on conflict. He acknowledges moments of petulance but does not always unpack what lay beneath them. At times, it feels as though he reveals only what he is comfortable sharing—which is fair enough. This may be why I tend to prefer biographies of players on the margins; they often feel more raw and less curated.
Still, this was better than I expected. While it does not leave Johnson metaphorically naked, it offers enough honesty to make him human rather than mythic—and that, perhaps, is its quiet strength.
October 31, 2025
Although I am a long time Bulldogs supporter, if I had another team it would definitely be the Warriors. I have always admired Shaun and enjoyed watching him play. I am glad that I will still be able to see that cheeky grin as he moves into his new media role. This book is a wonderful read, not just about footy, but about the importance of having the right people around you and listening and learning as you go. The importance of family shines through in Shaun’s memoir, especially the connection with his Dad and brothers. The insight into what goes on in and around the world of a rugby league player, how they handle everything from being away from family, being dropped, and the injuries, have all been told with Shaun’s wit, humour and love of the game. I am grateful that I have been able to see Shaun play, at all levels, and I wish him and his family a wonderful future ahead.
October 25, 2025
High 3s. This is right in my wheelhouse of Warrriors fandom. Enjoyed some of the names he mentions as he was breaking into the side, real throwback stuff.
He’s always worn his heart on his sleeve and said what he’s thinking, and to see his maturity develop as he moves through the story of his career is really interesting, having watched all the criticism he had to face. He’s really open and honest about how this impacted him, how it changed as he got older, and how fans/media need to be better to support young athletes thrust into the spotlight.
Up the Wahs for life.
He’s always worn his heart on his sleeve and said what he’s thinking, and to see his maturity develop as he moves through the story of his career is really interesting, having watched all the criticism he had to face. He’s really open and honest about how this impacted him, how it changed as he got older, and how fans/media need to be better to support young athletes thrust into the spotlight.
Up the Wahs for life.
Read
October 19, 2025i choose not to rate a biography/autobiography as this is someone’s life and it doesn’t feel right
however i really loved this book, im a huge rugby fan and getting so much insight into how shaun started out and now his career came about was so extraordinary
however i really loved this book, im a huge rugby fan and getting so much insight into how shaun started out and now his career came about was so extraordinary
November 2, 2025
Read it as an audio book. Loved it! Hearing about his perceptive on things we saw and heard in the media about him and the game helps you to understand his world. Would have been better if he narrated it though!
October 28, 2025
#ICON
Such a good read and insight into SJs life, and what a journey he has been on. Such an icon SJ UPTHEWAHS
Such a good read and insight into SJs life, and what a journey he has been on. Such an icon SJ UPTHEWAHS
November 20, 2025
SJ for Prime Minister
December 26, 2025
Great read, he's really honest about the emotional turmoil he went through during his career.
Read
January 6, 2026dnf
January 16, 2026
Shaun Johnson’s hot
January 19, 2026
Always been a big fan of Shaun so when I seen this on the shelf at the library I was happy. A good read an amazing athlete and even better family Mann!
January 23, 2026
Really good book to show the perspective of a professional athlete and the battles they face in their careers!
February 9, 2026
Great read for any rugby league fan
March 1, 2026
Really enjoyed hearing his perspective of his career
Read
February 5, 2026Great read also smash
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews