Matthew Johnson knows he’s far from the complete product as he looks to build a body capable of competing with the strongest midfielders in the AFL.
 
The 20-year-old recently signed a contract extension through to the 2026 season and is just 11 games into his AFL career.
 
Standing at 193cm and slick with ball in hand, Johnson has earned comparisons to David Mundy - however at 84kg Johnson is still 10kg lighter than the playing weight of the Fremantle legend.
 
Johnson is eager to keep building his physique, however it is a project that will have to wait until the summer.
 
“I'm always trying to push for more but the S&C (strength and conditioning) staff have tried to slow me down a little bit,” Johnson said.
 
“During the year, there's only so much you can do with monitoring your load. I think a couple of pre-seasons down the track, hopefully I'll be filled out a bit more.
 
“Long term, I want to be a big-bodied midfielder and play inside as that's where I think I play my best footy.”

Johnson has already had a taste of the level required in the contest playing on the likes of Marcus Bontempelli and Dustin Martin in recent games.
 
“It's been good to play on the likes of ‘Bont’, even playing on ‘Dusty’ a bit against Richmond,” Johnson said.
 
“They’re stronger midfielders that take the game on. It's been a good experience and I'm learning a lot - not only from my teammates, but opposition players too.”
 
Head of Player Personnel David Walls said Johnson was already showing his physical ability in the contest despite being a developing player.
 
Johnson broke four tackles against Narrm in round 11, which is the equal most of any Fremantle player in a game this year.
 
“To his credit, he's worked really hard in the gym and has got a lot bigger and stronger,” Walls said.
 
“He's absorbing the contest well, he's able to use it to fight tackles, break tackles and still release.
 
“I think that will become a real feature of his game in the next few years.”

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