Kevin Campion, Nathan Hindmarsh, Michael Luck and Dallas Johnson. Great, small lock forwards who specialised in simply tackling much bigger opponents over a long career.
We salute one of the last of these great defensive players in recent times.
Johnson once set a record for the most tackles in an NRL match for North Queensland in 2004, against Parramatta – 64. It was ironic that one of his opponents that day, Nathan Hindmarsh, was the most recent of these special players.
These guys were 93-95 kilograms and made a career out of tackling, playing 80 minutes every week and organising their team’s defence.
With Johnson’s impending retirement, out goes the last of these truly great defensive lock forwards.
There is never anything flashy about his play. There are no news stories written about try scoring feats or his ability to get the offload away.
They are different type of player. The current crop of NRL locks include the likes of Elijah Taylor, Todd Lowrie, Ryan Hoffman, Luke Lewis, Nate Myles, David Stagg and Simon Mannering who play similar roles for their respective teams.
Most have extra strings to their play. Even Mannering, usually considered a defensive specialist, has added offloading to his game. Johnson has seemingly never changed his role much to the benefit of his team.
Johnson averages over 41 tackles a game for North Queensland; incredible numbers but illustrative of his work rate and often unheralded success.
There will be little media fan fare over Johnson’s retirement announcement this week.
And after 10 years of top rugby league, including 221 NRL matches, a stint in the Super League, a Test match for Australia, plus a dozen State of Origin matches for Queensland, a quiet getaway seems appropriate as his playing role doesn’t attract attention.
However, we should take this time to salute him.
So, will we see another Campion, Hindmarsh or Johnson? Maybe, but will they be quite like this elite group?
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