Shaun Johnson reportedly has no desire to retire at the end of the 2023 season, but it may take a relocation to Australia for his career to continue.
Off-contract at the end of this season, the 32-year-old's form has been a major talking point during the early going of the season, with the Warriors in better form than anyone could have predicted.
The Warriors are believed to be in no rush to re-sign Johnson, with the half's first preference to remain at the club for 2024 and beyond.
It's understood that Johnson, who has played over 200 NRL games, with the bulk of those for the Warriors in two stints, would consider another relocation to Australia if it meant his career would continue however, having previously played for the Cronulla Sharks between 2019 and 2021.
According to multiple reports in the last 24 hours, Johnson could ultimately find himself being hotly pursued by the Wests Tigers however, who are looking at their options for 2024 in the halves.
It's becoming more and more likely that Luke Brooks, who is approaching 200 NRL games since his 2013 debut at the Tigers but has never played finals, won't be at Concord next year.
Some speculation late last year suggested talks were set to begin over a new - and likely reduced - deal for 2024 and beyond, but Brooks himself has highlighted the need to be "selfish" in his next deal, and could ultimately find his way out of the Tim Sheens-coached joint venture, despite their first win of the season over the Penrith Panthers last Saturday in Bathurst.
Ultimately, the salary cap Brooks is believed to be soaking up - over $1 million per year - could be mostly redirected to Johnson, with the reports suggesting he could be paid upwards of $700,000 to take his experience to Concord.
There he would form a halves partnership with Adam Doueihi, although it's likely the former Rabbitoh, who is recovering from his third ACL injury, will miss at least half of next season, leaving the Tigers in a pit when it comes to depth in the halves if they aren't to make signings between now and next season's kick-off.
The Warriors, on their part, have plenty of options to play in the havles, and that is the reason behind their unwillingness to jump straight into a contract offer for Johnson.
Dylan Walker has been superb in the five-eighth role in recent times, but that has only been covering for Te Maire Martin's injury, while both Luke Metcalf and Ronald Volkman are fighting for minutes.
That means there is no guarantee the Warriors will re-sign Johnson, although it'll be tough for the club to justify letting him walk given his superb start to the year.
