Magic Johnson shoots for second ring in just her second season

A quiet achiever in a star-studded line-up, Broncos winger Kerri Johnson is gearing up for her second grand final in just her 26th game as a rugby league player.

A former Rugby Sevens talent hailing from Kaikohe in Aotearoa’s North Island, Johnson had never played the 13-man code until Round 1 last year when she debuted with two tries and 176 run metres against Wests Tigers.

The former Melbourne Rebels and Auckland Blues talent quickly found her feet and this year has been a reliable member of the backline that underwent a shake-up after losing Mele Hafunga (Warriors) and Hayley Maddick (pregnancy).

Scoring 11 tries in her 12 appearances, including two hat-tricks, Johnson also boasts 13 line breaks and 22 tackle breaks.

Now a 'veteran' of 25 NRLW games, Johnson has enjoyed debutants Georgia Bartlett, Deleni Paitai and Caitlin Urwin under her wing in 2026.

“I think I probably just helped them by bringing a sense of welcomeness,” the 23-year-old said.

“Well, I hope I do, just to get them on board.

“I'm still learning the game myself, but there are some real newbies in our team.

“But I definitely do just try to give what I got given last year and hopefully, I can express it to them in a way that they can then take it on board and make it into their own kind of experience.”

Heading into Sunday’s decider, the Kiwi Ferns and Māori All Stars (Ngāpuhi iwi) aspirant said as well as suffering fewer nerves this year, she also held a strong determination and belief her side could go back-to-back.

“I am probably not as nervous as I was last year, being at my first grand final, but it's definitely a different feeling, we have a whole different team,” Johnson said.

“We're going to have to go out there... our season wasn't as good as it was last year just because we had a couple of losses, but I think that's probably made us a bit more resilient within our team.

“Hopefully we're a bit more hungrier than the Roosters to get that win.

“I definitely think just lately we've been starting really well... I think that's the boost we need is just start off well and then just keep that throughout the whole 70 minutes and keep giving it to them and hopefully we end up on top.

“Definitely going out hard and then just staying within that zone of the grind mentality.

“I have so much belief within this team, I 100 percent think we can win this weekend.

“Going out there, I think once that siren goes, I have all the faith in the world that this team can do it, that we can win another premiership.”