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Alex Johnston (rugby league)

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Alex Johnston (born 14 January 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who primarily plays on the wing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League. He has played for both Australia and Papua New Guinea at international level.

Alex "AJ"[1] Johnston
Personal information
Full nameAlex Johnston
Born (1995-01-14) 14 January 1995 (age 29)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionWing, Fullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014– South Sydney 227 195 0 0 780
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–21 Indigenous All Stars 4 1 0 0 4
2015 Australia 1 0 0 0 0
2015 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
2019–23 Papua New Guinea 10 3 0 0 12
Source: [2]
As of 28 July 2024

He played for the Indigenous All Stars and the Prime Minister's XIII at representative level, and won the 2014 NRL Grand Final with the South Sydney club. Johnston is 2nd highest try scorer in Australian first-grade rugby league history.

Background

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Johnston was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and has Aboriginal and Lumi ancestry, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea[3] and Saibai Island in the Torres Strait.[4]

He played his junior rugby league for La Perouse United and attended Endeavour Sports High School (where he completed the HSC) before being signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs. As a youngster, Johnston played for the New South Wales Under 16s and 18s teams and Australian Schoolboys team. In 2013, Johnston played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs' S. G. Ball Cup and NYC teams before moving on to the Rabbitohs' New South Wales Cup team, North Sydney Bears in 2014.[5]

Playing career

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2014

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In round 8 of the 2014 NRL season, Johnston was selected to make his NRL debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs over demoted Souths winger Nathan Merritt against the Brisbane Broncos on the wing, scoring a try in the 28–26 win at Suncorp Stadium on Anzac Day.[6] He continued to perform on both the left and right wing throughout the year. At times, Johnston was referred to as the successor of Greg Inglis, for his ability to play fullback as well as wing. In round 21, Johnston scored his first ever hat-trick against the Newcastle Knights in the Rabbitohs 50–10 victory. On 5 October 2014, in Souths 2014 NRL Grand Final against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Johnston played on the wing and scored the first try of the match to lead the South Sydney Rabbitohs 30–6 victory.[7][8] Johnston finished his brilliant debut year in the NRL as being the competitions highest tryscorer of the 2014 NRL season with 21 tries in 18 matches. In September 2014, Johnston received an offer to play for his maternal grandmother's native Papua New Guinea.[9]

 
Johnston at the 2014 Rugby League Four Nations

On 14 October 2014, Johnston was selected for the Australia Kangaroos 2014 Four Nations squad but didn't make an appearance in any of Australia's four matches.[10]

2015

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On 13 February 2015, Johnston played on the wing for the Indigenous All Stars against the NRL All Stars in the 2015 All Stars match at Cbus Super Stadium, the Indigenous side winning 20–6.[11] On 23 February, he played for the Rabbitohs in the 2015 World Club Challenge match against 2014 Super League Grand Final premiers St. Helens, playing on the wing in the Rabbitohs' 39–0 win at Langtree Park.[12] For the 2015 Anzac Test, he was selected to make his debut for Australia against New Zealand, playing on the wing in the Kangaroos' 12–26 loss at Suncorp Stadium.[13][14] On 13 May, he re-signed with South Sydney on a 2-year contract to the end of the 2017 season.[15][16] On 8 July, he was selected to be 18th man for the New South Wales team for Game 3 of the 2015 State of Origin series.[17] He finished off the 2015 season as South Sydney's highest try-scorer with 17 tries in 25 matches.[18] On 26 September, he played for the Prime Minister's XIII against Papua New Guinea, playing on the wing and scoring a try in his team's 40–12 win at Port Moresby.[19][20] On 15 December, he was named on the wing for the Indigenous All Stars team to play the World All Stars on 13 February 2016.[21]

2016

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On 13 January, Johnston was named in the emerging New South Wales Blues squad.[22] In February, he played for South Sydney in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines, scoring the opening try of the competition.[23] He was selected on the wing and scored four tries in South Sydney's first three matches of the season before sustaining a hamstring injury that saw him sit out for several weeks. In his return game in round 10 against the Parramatta Eels, he played in his preferred position at fullback in a 22–20 win. He was renamed in the fullback position in round 15, once again against the Eels.[24] He was then moved back and forth as the club attempted to find a line-up that would win them. In round 23, Johnston played on the wing when South Sydney broke their nine-game losing streak with a 41–22 win over the New Zealand Warriors. He played their for the next three final games which were all won by South Sydney. Johnston finished the 2016 season with 11 tries from 18 matches

2017

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In round 1 of the 2017 season, South Sydney fullback, Greg Inglis suffered what was deemed to be a season-ending injury to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the club's 18–34 defeat by the Wests Tigers. In round 2, Johnston was named at fullback for the club's clash with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Johnston scored two tries in the position in his sides' 18–38 win at Brookvale Oval. On 14 June he re-signed with the South Sydney club until the end of the 2020 season. On 2 July he scored five tries against Penrith to be the first Souths player since Nathan Merritt in 2011 to achieve five tries in a match. In round 21, Alex Johnston was switched back to fullback after poor performances by Souths who were on a three-game losing streak. He scored an amazing try in South Sydney's 32 - 18 loss against Canberra. He then went on to score six tries in his next three games and was the leading try scorer with 2 rounds to go. However, against the New Zealand Warriors in round 24, Johnston injured his hamstring as he was scoring a try in the 36 - 18 win. He was ruled out for the rest of the season, with South Sydney losing their last two matches. Johnston finished season 2017 with him playing 22 matches and scoring 22 tries, the second highest tryscorer that year.

2018

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Johnston was part of the South Sydney side which returned to form in 2018 finishing 3rd on the table at the end of the regular season. Johnston made 24 appearances for Souths scoring 8 tries as the club finished one game short of the grand final losing to Eastern Suburbs 12–4.[25][26]

2019

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Johnston began the 2019 NRL season as South Sydney's first choice fullback. South Sydney started the year off winning 8 of their first 9 games. Following Souths 19–18 loss against Penrith in round 14, Johnston was ruled out with a knee injury. In round 24, Johnston returned to the Souths side and scored a try as they defeated the New Zealand Warriors 31–10 at Mt. Smart Stadium.[27][28]

At the end of the 2019 regular season, Souths finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Johnston scored a try in the club's 34–26 victory over Manly-Warringah in the semi-final at ANZ Stadium. The following week, Johnston played in South Sydney's preliminary final loss against the Canberra Raiders at Canberra Stadium.[29][30]

2020

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In round 12 of the 2020 NRL season, Johnston scored a hat-trick as South Sydney defeated St. George 32–24 at Kogarah Oval.[31]

In round 14, Johnston scored two tries as South Sydney defeated North Queensland 31–30 at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium.[32]

The following week, Johnston scored two tries as Souths defeated Manly-Warringah 56–16 at ANZ Stadium.[33]

On 9 September, Johnston signed a two-year contract extension to stay at South Sydney. It ended months of speculation about the players future as he had been linked to Melbourne, Wests Tigers and North Queensland.[34]

In the final round of the 2020 NRL season, Johnston scored five tries as Souths defeated bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters 60–8 at ANZ Stadium.[35]

In the 2020 elimination final, Johnston scored two tries for Souths in their 46–20 victory over Newcastle at ANZ Stadium.[36]

Johnston made a total of 22 appearances throughout the season as Souths reached their third straight preliminary final but lost 20–16 against Penrith. Johnston finished as the year's top try scorer with 23 tries.[37]

2021

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In round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 26–18 loss against Melbourne.[38]

In round 12, Johnston scored a hat-trick in South Sydney's 38–20 victory over Parramatta.[39]

In round 14, Johnston scored his second hat-trick of the season in a 24–10 victory over Newcastle.[40] The following week, he scored two tries for South Sydney in a 46–0 victory over Brisbane.[41] In round 16, he scored two tries in a 38–22 victory over Wests Tigers at an empty Leichhardt Oval, which took Johnston to the top of the try scorers list.[42]

In round 17, Johnston scored a hat-trick during South Sydney's 46–18 victory over North Queensland.[43]

 
Johnston warming up for PNG at the 2021 RLWC

In round 18, he scored two tries for South Sydney in a 32–24 victory over Canterbury.[44]

On 19 July, Johnston was ruled out from playing for a month with a hamstring injury.[45]

In round 24, Johnson scored a hat-trick during South Sydney's 54–12 victory over arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters.[46]

In the 2021 Finals Series, Johnston scored two tries for South Sydney in their preliminary final victory over Manly which booked Souths a place in the grand final for only the second time since their 1971 triumph.[47] On 27 September, Johnston was awarded the Ken Irvine Medal for being the league's top try scorer with 27 tries.[48] Johnston scored his 30th try for the season (including finals) in South Sydney's 2021 NRL Grand Final loss to Penrith. In doing so, he broke the record for most tries scored by a Souths player in a season which was held by Les Brennan for over 60 years.[49]

On 18 October, Johnston signed a contract extension with the South Sydney club until at least the end of the 2025 season.[50]

2022

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In round 6 of the 2022 NRL season, he scored two tries in South Sydney's 36–16 victory over Canterbury.[51]

In round 12 of the 2022 NRL season, he scored a hat-trick in South Sydney's 44–18 victory over West Tigers to become South Sydney's all-time leading try scorer.[52]

In round 14, Johnston scored a hat-trick in South Sydney's victory over the Gold Coast.[53]

In round 16, Johnston scored two tries in a 30–12 victory over Parramatta. In round 19, Johnston scored two tries for South Sydney in their 24–12 victory over Melbourne.[54]

In round 20, Johnston scored one try in a 21–20 loss to Cronulla to enter the top 10 try scorers in NRL history.[55]

Johnston played a total of 25 matches for South Sydney across the season but he missed the clubs preliminary final defeat to eventual premiers Penrith through injury. Johnston finished as the competitions top try scorer with 30 tries,[56] and the first player in history to score 30 tries in a season twice.[57]

2023

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In round 10 of the 2023 NRL season, Johnston played his 200th first grade game and scored two tries in South Sydney's 28–12 victory over Melbourne.[58] In round 14, Johnston scored a hat-trick in South Sydney's 46–28 victory over the Gold Coast.[59] In round 22, Johnston scored another hat-trick in South Sydney's 32–18 victory over the Wests Tigers in Tamworth.[60]

2024

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Following South Sydney's round 3 victory over Canterbury in the 2024 NRL season, it was announced that Johnston would be ruled out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.[61] In round 11, Johnston made his return to the team and scored a try in their 28-22 loss against North Queensland.[62] Johnston scored his 190th try against Parramatta on 25th May 2024 to be equal second with Billy Slater in the all time scorers leaderboard. In round 15, Johnston scored his 191st try which was the most by any player at a single club in the competitions 116-year history.[63] In round 21, Johnston would be taken off of the field with a season ending Achilles injury.[64][65]

Statistics

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Year Team Games Tries Pts
2014   South Sydney Rabbitohs 18 21 84
2015 25 17 68
2016 18 11 44
2017 22 22 88
2018 24 8 32
2019 15 4 16
2020 22 23 92
2021 22 30 120
2022 25 30 120
2023 23 21 84
2024 13 8 32
Totals 227 195 780

References

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  1. ^ Michael Carayannis (2 April 2014). "Souths' Alex Johnston set to play alongside idol Greg Inglis". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Alex Johnston - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. ^ Decent, Tom (25 September 2015). "South Sydney Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston excited about playing in front of family in PNG". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Indigenous map showcases NRL, NRLW players' heritage". NRL.com. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Alex Johnson player results, scores, news and statistics". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  6. ^ "South Sydney Star Greg Inglis Scores Brilliant Solo Try in Controversial Win". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  7. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 2014 Grand final Defeating Canterbury Bulldogs". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Rabbitohs Grand Final Player Ratings". NRL.com. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Rabbitohs Star Alex Johnston PNG's No.1 Target | Triple M NRL". Triplem.com.au. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  10. ^ Michael Carayannis (14 October 2014). "South Sydney Rabbitohs Dylan Walker and Alex Johnston selected for Kangaroos". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Indigenous All Stars Have Beaten the NRL All Stars 20-6". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  12. ^ "South Sydney Thrash St Helens". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  14. ^ "New Zealnd's Comprehensive Defeat of Australia Could Spell the End for Coach Tim Sheens and Several Veterans". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Extend Contracts of Alex Johnston and Cameron McInnes Until End of 2017". Rabbitohs.com.au. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  16. ^ Michael Carayannis (13 May 2015). "South Sydney Rabbitohs re-sign Alex Johnston and Cameron McInnes". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  17. ^ Michael Carayannis (10 June 2015). "State of Origin: South Sydney duo Alex Johnston and Dylan Walker on verge of NSW call up for Origin II". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Merrin to lead Prime Minister's XIII". NRL.com. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  20. ^ Tom Decent (26 September 2015). "Australian Prime Minister's XIII beat Papua New Guinea 40-12 in Port Moresby". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Teams named for NRL All Stars match". NRL.com. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  22. ^ "Daley names 2016 Emerging Blues". NRL.com. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Rabbitohs name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  24. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  25. ^ "Player ratings: Roosters v Rabbitohs". 22 September 2018.
  26. ^ "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project".
  27. ^ "Souths too good for undisciplined Warriors". 7news. 30 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Allan key for Souths after Johnston injury". SBS.
  29. ^ "Rabbitohs dig deep to eliminate Sea Eagles in finals thriller". NRL. 20 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Canberra Raiders end 25-year wait to reach NRL grand final with victory over Rabbitohs". The Guardian. 27 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Hat-trick hero Alex Johnston's telling interview amid South Sydney contract breakdown". wwos.nine.com.au.
  32. ^ "Ice-cool Reynolds kicks Rabbitohs to miracle win after late Feldt brain fade". www.foxsports.com.au. 15 August 2020.
  33. ^ "South Sydney beats Manly in 56-16 NRL thrashing, Roosters and Canberra record victories". www.abc.net.au. 22 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Johnston's sacrifice to stay at Souths sparks changeroom celebrations". www.nrl.com. 9 September 2020.
  35. ^ "Johnston and Walker combine to demolish Roosters". www.nrl.com. 25 September 2020.
  36. ^ Howcroft, Jonathan (4 October 2020). "NRL 2020 finals week one: Rabbitohs crush Knights - as it happened". The Guardian.
  37. ^ "Penrith Panthers beat South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-16 to set up NRL grand final against Melbourne Storm". www.abc.net.au. 17 October 2020.
  38. ^ "Papenhuyzen at the double as Storm see off Rabbitohs in NRL season opener". www.theguardian.com. 11 March 2021.
  39. ^ "Penrith Panthers cruise past last-placed Bulldogs as Roosters and Rabbitohs also win big in NRL". www.abc.net.au. 29 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Brisbane Broncos' Kobe Hetherington sent off in loss to Canberra Raiders; Roosters and Rabbitohs score wins". www.abc.net.au. 12 June 2021.
  41. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs thrash Brisbane Broncos 46-0, Payne Haas on report". www.abc.net.au. 17 June 2021.
  42. ^ "'Souths training run': Madge hunts for new men after toothless Tigers effort". www.nrl.com. 4 July 2021.
  43. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs defeat North Queensland Cowboys 46-18 in Newcastle". www.abc.net.au. 9 July 2021.
  44. ^ "Walker's class gets sloppy Bunnies home; Bulldogs pay for Lewis' all-time brain-fade: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 18 July 2021.
  45. ^ "Big Bunnies blow as try-scoring machine faces a month on sidelines: Casualty Ward". www.foxsports.com.au. 19 July 2021.
  46. ^ "'Might decimate both teams': Latrell faces big ban for 'enormous' high shot on Manu". www.foxsports.com.au. 28 August 2021.
  47. ^ "GLORY, GLORY: Souths march into the GF as Wayne masterminds Manly mauling". www.foxsports.com.au. 24 September 2021.
  48. ^ "2021 NRL Dally M Awards Live: Tom Trbojevic crowned NRL's best". www.news.com.au.
  49. ^ "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com. 3 October 2021.
  50. ^ "Rabbitohs extend contract of Alex Johnston Until End of Season 2025". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  51. ^ "Damien Cook scores hat trick in South Sydney win". www.foxsports.com.au. 15 April 2022.
  52. ^ "Why Johnston could surpass Irvine as greatest tryscorer". www.nrl.com. 28 May 2022.
  53. ^ "Cook answers big Origin question as Titans' fatal flaw strikes again: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 11 June 2022.
  54. ^ "Classy Latrell shines in Bunnies return as big guns fall flat for 'disappointing' Eels: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 2 July 2022.
  55. ^ "Johnston into all-time top 10 try-scorers". www.nrl.com. 30 July 2022.
  56. ^ "Penrith Panthers defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-12 to qualify for third straight NRL grand final". ABC News. 24 September 2022.
  57. ^ "Rugby League Tables / Scoring Records".
  58. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs roll over Melbourne Storm in Magic Round, following wins from Panthers and Dolphins". ABC News. 6 May 2023.
  59. ^ "Titans' issue rears ugly head AGAIN; Speedster inches toward history amid injury hell — Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 3 June 2023.
  60. ^ "Johnston hat-trick helps Bunnies bounce back in Tamworth". www.nrl.com. 28 July 2023.
  61. ^ "NRL Casualty Ward: Reynolds hobbled again; Knights lose Frizell". www.nrl.com.
  62. ^ "Magic Round Saturday: Sharks, Cowboys and Knights record wins on another day of tight NRL contests". www.abc.net.au.
  63. ^ "NRL live updates: Canberra Raiders vs North Queensland Cowboys, South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Brisbane Broncos — blog, scores and stats". www.abc.net.au.
  64. ^ "NRL Casualty Ward: Achilles blow for Johnston; Panthers lose JFH, Laurie". National Rugby League. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  65. ^ "Alex Johnston's quest to break the all-time tryscoring record is up in the air after suspected Achilles injury". www.abc.net.au.
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