The 20 year old had been on Essendon’s rookie list for two years before being picked up as the 81st pick in the national draft by the Cats.
His first game was at the MCG, ironically against his old club. Following a big pre-season, Johnson was approached by Mark Thompson during the week and told he had a ‘good chance’. Johnson recalls “Thompson dropped the hint early so that I could begin to prepare myself for the game”.
The whole family turned out for clash in which the Johnson brothers would be playing on opposite sides. Before the game, Johnson’s parents gave him a lucky charm, a necklace with a footy boot, “it was a left boot and I broke my left ankle, so I guess it wasn’t so lucky after all”.
Johnson remembers sitting on the bench when teammate Gary Ablett got put on the wing, the crowd roared and Johnson “was more nervous for Gaz than for myself”.
Johnson’s first possession was the highlight of his game, after being put on a wing in the second quarter against Mark McVeigh, “I managed to collect a loose ball and handball over the top of my opponent to Gurge (Brent Grgic) who capitilised with a goal, it was magic” Johnson reflects.
The ankle injury was – separated bones, two fractures and a ruptured ligament. Johnson was out for 11 weeks but returned in round 12 to play in the remainder of the season in the VFL team including a premiership.
