Shaun Johnson can provide the X-factor Cronulla lost when Valentine Holmes walked out on the club to try his hand at the NFL, according to Sharks coach John Morris.
Johnson will play his first game for the Sharks against Newcastle on Friday night, after he was released by the Warriors in an ugly split at the end of last year.
His pick up couldn't have come at a better time for Cronulla, who lost their biggest attacking weapon in Holmes last November.
Holmes led the Sharks last season for tries, linebreaks, tackle busts and running metres, hitting his best just as Cronulla made a run to the preliminary final.
Shaun Johnson Photo: Supplied
"I think what he brings to the side is a bit of X-factor which we lost with Val," Morris said of Johnson.
"(I'll tell him) just to get into the game and get his hands on the ball, take the line on and guide the boys around the park.
"He's the perfect pick up for us because he allows Matty (Moylan) to go back to fullback and both have that unstructured style of footy."
Called on to do the organising for much of his Warriors career, Johnson will be freed up in the No.6 jersey with Chad Townsend maintaining control of the Sharks attack.
The pair have already played together in two seasons at the Warriors, winning 18 of 34 games together when Townsend was a far less experienced first-grader.
-AAP