Canterbury twice came from behind in the Warriors veteran’s final game in Auckland, denying an emotional Shaun Johnson a fairytale farewell.

The Bulldogs defied a spirited crowd at a sold-out Mt Smart Stadium to win 34-18 and close the gap on Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters in the race for the NRL top four.

Cameron Ciraldo’s team have now won five of five games and remain the most unlikely title contender after seven years without reaching the final.

Rain poured down for most of the game, but the tears began early when Johnson, who had been assigned a guard of honor with his wife and children, could not stop the tears streaming down his face.

Given the emotions and the strong wind swirling around him, it was no surprise that the 33-year-old completely botched his first pass of the game.

Although the season was already over, the Warriors entered the new season full steam ahead and were determined to say goodbye to their legendary halfback with a win.

They had more possession from the start and built a 12-0 lead through tries from Marcelo Montoya and Kurt Capewell, both assisted by Luke Metcalf.

In his second game since breaking his leg in the fourth round, Metcalf assured Warriors fans that they could look forward to another talented half in Johnson’s absence.

Canterbury managed to complete just one set in the first 15 minutes.

However, once they finally got going, they showed their class, scoring three tries in an eight-minute blitz through Bronson Xerri, Stephen Crichton and Kurtis Morrin.

Particularly notable was the sight of Viliame Kikau taking the chance to stretch his strong, lean legs after breaking through the Warriors defence in the build-up to Morrin’s try, bringing back memories of his glory days at Penrith.

Wayde Egan helped the home team win again at halftime. The hooker fooled the Bulldogs’ guards and jumped next to the post.

Canterbury defended aggressively as usual and held the Warriors scoreless in the second half, but were fortunate to retain their full team strength.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was sent off with a concussion after Crichton hit him in the head with his shoulder.

But Crichton, who was on probation, did not follow him, even though similar tackles were punished with time penalties throughout the season.

Referee Wyatt Raymond said there were several mitigating circumstances in the tackle.

The Bulldogs took the lead again through Harry Hayes, who converted a deflected grubber kick from Toby Sexton to score his first NRL try.

Tries from Josh Addo-Carr and Jacob Kiraz decided the game and let the air flow out of Mt Smart Stadium.

The only downside to Canterbury’s advance to the final was the injury concern of lock Kurt Mann, who was pulled from the field with sore arms.