Round 23 Rising Star nominee Matthew Johnson wasn’t like the average AFL fan growing up. He didn’t follow a particular AFL team, but instead kept a keen eye on the game's best players.
It means the 20-year-old is particularly motivated to work hard and become one of the AFL’s elite midfielders himself.
He’s also getting a hands-on education in his debut AFL season as he runs through the middle and takes on the likes of Dustin Martin, Marcus Bontempelli and Patrick Cripps.
Johnson has played a mix of wing and inside midfield from his 17 games since making his debut in round three and has attended 97 centre bounces in that time – the fourth most of Freo’s midfielders after Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Jaeger O’Meara.
At 193cm, Johnson is a point of difference in Fremantle’s midfield compared to Serong (178cm), Brayshaw (184cm) and O’Meara (183cm).
He wants to be a player who can both take on the likes of Cripps (195cm) and Bontempelli (192cm), and also emulate their trajectories in the coming years.
“I try not to get too overwhelmed when playing alongside the big names,” Johnson said.
“Sometimes there's a few moments where you just pinch yourself and think 'this is what I really do now'.
“I like challenging myself, and playing against the big names is all part of the fun. Two that come to mind are Patty Cripps and Marcus Bontempelli who are obviously two premier midfielders of the competition.
“They play similar brands to what I want to build and to become like.”
Johnson highlighted his battle with Dustin Martin in round 13 against Richmond, where he was one of Freo’s biggest contributors in the midfield with 25 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven clearances and six tackles.
“I idolised Dusty a bit growing up so he was pretty cool to play against,” Johnson said.
“I played a bit more midfield that game, so I lined up on him a couple times.
“He's an impressive player and really breaks the game open so it was pretty cool.
“I think he tried to give me (a don’t argue) but I was ready for it and I did my best to tackle him.”
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