Shaun Johnson grew up watching Warriors legend Stacey Jones strut his stuff on the Mount Smart Stadium turf.
So it came as something of a shock to the 26-year-old when he broke the Little General's club points record against Melbourne on Friday night.
"When Jim (Doyle) got me to sign that ball ...," Johnson said, trailing off and shaking his head in astonishment.
"It's crazy but it's not why you play - you play to win games of footy."
Johnson nabbed six points in the NRL round two encounter through a try and conversion, pushing him past Jones' points record of 674.
Yet winning a game of footy was something Johnson's Warriors were unable to do in the Auckland wet, going down 26-10 to last year's beaten grand finalists.
Johnson lauded his side's scramble and sense of fight in atrocious conditions, placing the blame squarely upon himself for poor fifth-tackle decision making.
"I just wasn't able to put the ball in the right spots and that puts you under pressure a little more," the Warriors' No.7 said.
"Playing a tough team like that in conditions like that, it's going to get you at some point.
"They came over the top at the end."
Despite the loss, Johnson was glad his side could experience a first-rate, top-four opponent like Melbourne so early in the season.
After the club completed an all-Kiwi spine of Johnson, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Issac Luke and Kieran Foran in the off-season, plenty will expect the Warriors to occupy similar territory on the ladder come September.
But Johnson warned against such long-term thinking, saying even his spot was under threat if he couldn't produce the goods.
"Ata (Hingano) stood up (against the Storm), defensively he was outstanding, so maybe Foran and all of us have a fight on our hands to get that starting spot," Johnson said.
The Warriors will look to get back on track next week against the Bulldogs in Dunedin, with Foran finally eligible but unlikely to play.
THE WARRIORS' ALL-TIME HIGHEST POINTS SCORERS:
* Shaun Johnson, 677 points
* Stacey Jones, 674 points
* Manu Vatuvei, 608 points
* James Maloney, 547 points
* Ivan Cleary, 439 points
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