Mark Johnson (footballer)

Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson while playing in his final season with Fremantle
Personal information
Full name	Mark Johnson
Date of birth	23 May 1978 (1978-05-23) (age 33)
Original team	Calder U18
Height/Weight	180cm / 80kg
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1999 – 2007 2008 Totals	Essendon Fremantle	194 (92) 14 (8) 208 (100)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2008 season .
Career highlights
Essendon premiership side 2000 Essendon Best and Fairest 2002

Mark 'MJ' Johnson (born 23 May 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Fremantle in the AFL.

Early life

Johnson is commonly known as "Mr. Sunbury", referring to the body building award he won as a teenager in his home town of Sunbury, Victoria.^[1]

He was drafted to Essendon as a rookie after playing underage with the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup competition.

AFL career

Johnson was elevated from the Essendon rookie list in 1998, playing his first game in 1999. He was part of the 2000 premiership side, and won the W.S. Crichton Medal in 2002.

Known for his toughness, Johnson was part of the midfield duo known as the "Johnson Boys" at Essendon, the other member being Jason Johnson. The two are not related, however Mark does have a brother who plays in the AFL for Geelong, David Johnson.

He is a courageous player and sometimes his height and strength are underestimated by opposition players. That said, he played every match in 2006 and was just one of three Essendon players to do so; the others being Brent Stanton and Scott Lucas.

On 15 October, Essendon announced that 29 year old Johnson was to be delisted by the club, giving him the option of nominating for the national draft.^[2] The decision to delist Johnson was unpopular to many Essendon fans who enjoyed Mark's 'hard at it' attitude to his footy.

In November 2007, Mark was training with rival club, the Kangaroos.^[3] In the 2007 AFL Draft however, he was drafted to West Australian club, Fremantle, where he will be reunited with former Essendon team mate Dean Solomon, who was traded by Essendon in 2006, and Kepler Bradley, also delisted by the Dons at the end of the 2007 season. The Essendon connection at Fremantle extends to their coach Mark Harvey, a three time premiership player with Essendon, and former assistant coach under Kevin Sheedy, as well as assistant coach Dean Wallis and Football Manager Robert Shaw.^[4]

Johnson sustained a career ending shoulder injury and on 20 August, Mark announced he would retire at the end of the 2008 season.

Mark played his last game in the round 22 game against Collingwood, which Fremantle won by 24 points.

He later sought compensation from the Dockers for his injury.^[5]

References

1. ^ BomberBlitz.com: Exclusive Interview - Mark Johnson Accessed on 11 December 2006
2. ^ Essendon FC: Essendon Delists three players 15 October 2007
3. ^ Matthews, Bruce; Mark Johnson keen; 14 November 2007
4. ^ Fremantle FC: New Home for a favourite Don 24 November 2007
5. ^ http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25551459-19742,00.html

External links

• Mark Johnson (footballer)'s statistics from AFL Tables

Preceded by Jason Johnson

Essendon Best and Fairest winner 2002

Succeeded by James Hird Scott Lucas

Persondata
Name	Johnson, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 May 1978
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death