Shaun Johnson had an outstanding Four Nations to finish 2014. Pic: Peter Wallis Source: News Corp Australia

If that was the case Shaun Johnson wouldn’t have even made the short list in 2014.

Johnathan Thurston, Jarryd Hayne, Sam Burgess and James Graham all had far more compelling claims for the prize that is losing its lustre with every year.

JOHNSON THE BEST BUT STILL HAS TO PROVE IT

AUSTRALIA OUTDONE BY KIWIS IN WORLD XIII

Catch all the highlights from Shaun Johnson's Golden Boot winning year.

When Kevin Sinfield won the award in 2012, Australians could at least claim complete ignorance.

Sinfield has achieved many great feats in England — the star of a Leeds team that has won an incredible six Super League trophies and three World Club Challenge gongs.

The Deadeye Dick goalkicker, now 34, will finish his career among the most accomplished of the craft. England’s Hazem El Masri or Daryl Halligan if you like.

But he’s no Sam Burgess. He never dominated an international tournament and never really got tongues wagging with the possibility he could come to the NRL and dominate in rugby league’s toughest arena.

Shaun Johnson tormented Australia in the Four Nations final. Pic: Mark Calleja Source: News Corp Australia

When Sinfield won the Golden Boot award in 2012 it was a surprise. It was probably unwarranted. But he wasn’t on our TV screens every week so it was hard to completely dismiss it.

This year it’s different. We’ve seen the best of Shaun Johnson in the Four Nations and the Auckland Nines. He dominated both tournaments.

He has enormous potential. He’s magical to watch. The way he plays rugby league is almost like sorcery.

Not since Benji Marshall in the mid 2000s has there been a playmaker so exciting.

The problem is, the 24-year-old Warriors halfback is so inconsistent it’s almost criminal.

Hopefully that changes, but as far as 2014, there’s really no case to be made that he’s elevated himself to the level of previous Golden Boot winners Thurston, Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis, Darren Lockyer, or even Marshall.

The argument the Rugby League International Federation’s panel of judges would make is that they are told to consider performances on the international stage “first and foremost”.

They did, and Johnson’s outstanding Four Nations, where he was the player of the tournament got him over the line.

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But then, the judges also contradicted that criteria by voting in big numbers for Clive Churchill Medallist Sam Burgess — the runner-up in the award.

Burgess didn’t play one Test match in 2014, so the judges voting for him were almost taking part in a silent protest of the criteria, which in itself is the award’s biggest problem.

Isn’t the Golden Boot, by definition, for the best rugby league player in the world over the previous 12 months?

If the end-of-season Tests must be the be all and end all call a spade a spade and label the award the Test player of the year or the player of the tournament.

Otherwise Burgess, joint Dally M Players of the Year Hayne and Thurston, or even Broncos rising star Ben Hunt would have been better choices.

Bulldogs superstar Graham was among the best at the Four Nations, and was Canterbury’s best player in propelling them to a grand final appearance.

Where’s his award?

Shaun Johnson eludes a Corey Parker tackle. Pic: Peter Wallis Source: News Corp Australia

This is not an attack on Shaun Johnson. He wasn’t a judge and didn’t put himself on the short list.

But even he would admit that the award is unjustified, which a quick glance at the statistics from the 2014 NRL season proves.

Fox Sports Stats has produced the key numbers on the top seven halfbacks in the competition, excluding Thurston and Jamie Soward who both played large chunks of the season at five-eighth.

A halfback’s key indicators are tries, try assists, linebreaks, linebreak assists, 40/20s, and forced dropouts.

In 2014 Johnson was the best at forcing dropouts, and the second best tryscorer with nine, equal with Mitchell Pearce but four behind Ben Hunt.

He was behind Hunt and Pearce for linebreaks, second for linebreak assists, fourth for 40/20s and sixth — well behind Hunt, Pearce and Cooper Cronk — for try assists.

Again, this list doesn’t include Johnathan Thurston.

Why does it matter? Even taking into account the Four Nations, where he tops the stats sheet, Johnson was at best the third or fourth best halfback in the game this year.

He certainly isn’t the world’s best player.