Warriors coach Stephen Kearney will lean on the experience in his side to take some of the pressure of whichever young halfback he hands a start to in round one.
The departure of Warriors great and Kiwis No.7 Johnson at the end of 2018 has left the Warriors searching for someone to partner Blake Green in the halves.
Barring a shock signing in the next two weeks, Kearney reminded everyone it's a two-man battle between Adam Keighran and Chanel Harris-Tavita heading into the first weekend of the Telstra Premiership.
Friday night's 12-6 win over Melbourne in a trial in Geelong may have only added to the questions Kearney has to answer.
"Not unless we find someone else, it will be coming from them two. They both applied themselves real well tonight," Kearney said.
"They have worked very hard during the pre-season and put in a decent showing tonight."
Kearney said using 22 players in the match made it hard for his young halfbacks to strike up combinations.
"They both had their moments, there is plenty to work with. It’s pretty hard when you bring over 23 players and use 22," Kearney said.
"Its a bit of a challenge [in those circumstances], particularly for young halves."
The Warriors know the youngster handed a starting spot in round one will be inexperienced, but Kearney said the wealth of experience they have around them should make the task a little easier.
"We forget that they are not going to be out there by themselves," he said.
"We have the team with an experienced fullback [Roger Tuivasa-Sheck] who will be helping them, pretty experienced forwards, pretty experienced half, Tohu [Harris] and Adam Blair and the like.
They both had their moments, there is plenty to work with
Stephen Kearney on his young halfbacks
"We worked really hard in the pre-season to make sure we take a bit of pressure off them."
Aside from the question he has to answer regarding the No.7 jersey, Kearney said anytime you get a win over Melbourne was a night worth remembering.
"The guys did some good things," he said.
"Melbourne are a tough footy club to play against, regardless of who they have got out there. They probably didn't hang on to the ball as much as they would have liked."
The Warriors will face the Wests Tigers in their final pre-season match at the Northland Events Centre on Whangarei on March 2.
