Morris details Johnson's career evolution

Sharks coach John Morris said the evolution of Shaun Johnson into a selfless playmaker is evident in his NRL-high 12 try assists over the opening eight rounds.

Johnson, with Matt Moylan off with an injured hamstring and with the Sharks leading 12-10, stepped up in the second half to create two early tries and put the Sharks on the road to a 40-10 victory over the Titans.

It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man as Johnson's guile proved decisive.

"He is just starting to get the balance right, Shauny. He has worked so hard on his game and had a really solid pre-season so I was confident that he was going to have a good year," a delighted coach John Morris said.

"He obviously gets marked pretty hard in the media and a lot of people expect the brilliant Shaun Johnson every time he touches the ball but we all know he needs to play his part in our team and manage us around the park as well as bring those offensive skills.

"For me, it is about putting him into opportunities on the field where he can get the ball going at a retreating defensive line like he was today.

"He  kicked really well, his goal kicking was really good and he is leading the try assists and right there in the Dally M leader board. There is no doubt he is having a fantastic year for us.

"Shauny will tell you himself it is now about doing it consistently well."

Wade Graham stepped up to do more playmaking when Moylan went off and laid on a try for Andrew Fifita.

"It is just getting the balance right. A lot of our players are good offensively. You’ve got Shaun, Chad [Townsend], Wade Graham  and Blayke Brayley out of dummy-half so for us it is about keeping it simple and not trying to overcomplicate it," Morris said.

"They are natural ball players and play what they see and that is when we are playing our best but we if are not building pressure we can’t bring those guys into the game.

"I was happy when Wade stepped up and put Andrew [Fifita] over and then in the second half I thought our halves were real direct with Chad running the ball and scoring a nice try. Shaun was running the ball and they both really straightened us up."