Shaun Johnson is loath to look too far ahead but says the Warriors are doing the right things to set themselves up for the business end of the NRL season.

The livewire halfback was again an influence as the Warriors downed Canberra in Auckland 30-8 on Saturday to consolidate their spot in the top eight.

Johnson says it was important the Warriors backed up their similarly dominant performance over Gold Coast the previous weekend and it was a good way to head into a bye.

He says the Warriors still have a bit to do to match the sides in the top four but they are moving in the right direction.

“We’ve had to earn everything we’ve got over the last couple of weeks,” he said.

“We’ve played tough, we’ve played percentage footy and not too high risk.

“We’ve built pressure early on and that usually opens it up later in the game.”

Johnson showed typical acceleration and footwork to score the try that pushed the gap out to 20-8 early in the second half.

He then set up Tuimoala Lolohea for the winger’s second of the match shortly after.

“We realise the importance of picking up wins at this time of the year,” he said.

“It can really set you up for a strong finish and that’s all we’re looking to do.”

Johnson almost missed the game after sitting out training on Friday with a back complaint.

“It was pretty sore and I wasn’t able to go to the captain’s run but the physio did a good job,” he said.

Coach Andrew McFadden said Johnson was playing with plenty of confidence and understanding more and more his role as a halfback.

At the same time, the way the Warriors as a whole controlled the game was important in allowing the likes of Johnson, five-eighth Chad Townsend and fullback Sam Tomkins to be at their best.

“It’s still a team performance,” he said.

“Shaun will get some credit for this but I think it was between all of them.”