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Fremantle’s Matthew Johnson is the Round 23 Rising Star nominee as his sound debut season continued with a solid game against Port Adelaide.
Johnson was drafted by the Dockers with the all important first pick of the second round (important because it is the first pick on the second day so takes on greater value for teams keen to draft someone who they may have rated a first round pick), after being the main slider given there was speculation that he was very much in contention for Hawthorn at #7 as well as the Dockers who held #8 and #10.
He also suffered the very unfortunate ignominy of being the only player in attendance on night one of the draft that went unselected.
Originally from Subiaco where he first played Colts as a 16-year-old in 2019, Johnson has consistently been on the radar of recruiters due to his size (193cms), neat skills, ability to win the ball at stoppages and a very, very nice sidestep.
Matthew Johnson. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
As with others he missed his chance to impress in a National U18 Championships due to COVID, but he made up for that with a best-on-ground showing against South Australia in the curtain raiser to the 2021 Grand Final played in Perth, showcasing his array of skills on the way to 20+ touches and a handful of clearances.
After a very good summer on the track leading into the 2022 season, what appeared a relatively innocuous injury at training (he got stepped on by a teammate) ended up leading to a bone being removed from his foot (who even knew that could happen?!) and an extended stint on the sidelines.
There was no great push for him to play senior football, but half a dozen league games plus a couple of finals for the Freo aligned Peel Thunder was a great return given the hardship to get there in the first place.
His second pre-season was much smoother than the first, but Johnson was still forced to wait until Round 3 before making his debut – coming on as the sub against West Coast. He was again the sub in Round 4 against Adelaide and despite less than 30% game time he collected five contested possessions and a couple of clearances.
His reward came the following week with a full game that featured 15 touches and his first ever AFL goal. Since this time he has held his spot but for a two match suspension after a dangerous tackle on Dayne Zorko in Round 7, and a week to rest after being subbed off with a bit of soreness in Round 19.
Johnson has managed to collect 18 or more disposals on seven occasions this season, including the past two weeks (there were plenty of arguments – probably quite justified – from the Freo social media mafia that he was robbed of a nomination last week when Elijah Hewett got the nod), whilst steadily reducing his number of clangers and increasing his number of inside 50s (12 in the past two weeks, compared to 18 in his previous 15 matches). He’s also happy to lay a tackle, and I think this is indicative of a young player with the confidence that he belongs at this level.
Something relatively noteworthy is that there have been quite a few games where he has only received between 50% and 70% game time, suggesting his endurance base isn’t quite where it needs to be.
He’s not an explosive type, so this will be something to keep an eye on in the next season or two as he develops – to ensure he’s a part of the Dockers’ midfield rotation he will need to be able to get that figure up above 80% on a regular basis (by comparison, both Serong and Brayshaw average mid 80s).
Johnson’s skills in close are excellent, regularly winning the ball and either using his quick hands to give to outside runners or short kicks to teammates in the clear. He is fairly conservative with ball in hand, but one thing he has that can’t be taught is a wonderful first step that he can use to great effect when within range of goal, or to open up space for teammates by changing the direction of play. It is a weapon that his coaches will want him to use as often as possible.
Haha, I really backed myself into a corner including this in every article.
Can’t go past David Mundy, can I?!
More production, greater consistency and a bit more size and Johnson could be an excellent player for a long time. That step he has is elite and is likely to leave opponents flat footed for the next dozen years or more.
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