Ben Johnson

[Dave06]

I really cannot believe how much almost everyone on this site underrates Ben Johnson. To say that Alan Toovey is a better player is absolutely ludicrous (I love Tooves work ethic but he is not good enough ATM). I thought Johnno played really well this year the majority of his games, and is easily in our best 22 players when fit.

People continue to bag his disposal when, whilst it is unattractive (kicking in particular), it is not terrible (77.2% DE 73.5 % KE over his career)

We forget he has finished 2nd in the Copeland twice ('04 & '06) - whilst that was years ago, it proves the ability is there. He had a poor '07 and '08 when he slacked off at training, hit the piss too often and was nearly delisted because of it (all of which he admits), but showed his ability again in some games this year.

Put in a massive pre-season at the end of '08, came back in '09 and played really well through the NAB cup and the start of the year until he injured himself and missed 11 games. He was more than serviceable when he returned, and (importantly for me) he stepped up and kicked 2 really important goals in the final against Adelaide and played pretty well for the majority of that game. Was actually one of our better players in the finals series.

I hope he stays fit this year because he still has the pace and versatility to play as a midfielder/winger and as an attacking or defensive backman. Really think he still has a lot to give at the top level.

Just putting in my 2 cents and would like to know what everyone else thinks about him.

 

[bucksisbest]

Not in our best 22.
Toovey is a defensive stopper who is highly disciplined , despite lacking polish. Johnson fancies himself as an attacking mid type , and he is not in the class of our other options.

 

[Dave06]

Not in our best 22.
Toovey is a defensive stopper who is highly disciplined , despite lacking polish. Johnson fancies himself as an attacking mid type , and he is not in the class of our other options.

Toovey makes terrible decisions when he has the pill, disposal is worse than Johnson's, and at the moment is one-dimensional. Yes they play different roles but with the verstility of our backline and midfield rotation (which Johnson ads to), gets in a long way ahead of Toovey.

 

[Mars II]

i love him it pisses me off how everyone wants to get rid of him and how everyone bags him dispite the fact that he has put his life into the club. Look i know his stuffed up not keeping his skinfolds up to the elite standard but his been a good player for the club not the best but certainly doesnt deserve the shit he cops from the fans.

[youtube]CtaDHiZC7lE[/youtube]
[youtube]n6muZs0vX_Y[/youtube]
[youtube]L5JP8LRW2xs[/youtube]
Oh yeah thats right his shit under preassure isnt he?

 

[Dave06]

i love him it pisses me off how everyone wants to get rid of him and how everyone bags him dispite the fact that he has put his life into the club. Look i know his stuffed up not keeping his skinfolds up to the elite standard but his been a good player for the club not the best but certainly doesnt deserve the shit he cops from the fans.

THANKYOU!!! Somebody else who isn't on the Johnson flogging bandwagon.

Mate you have just made my day with that post.

 

[Thommo 42]

game set match - Mars.

I don't even need to post!

 

[Thommo 42]

game set match - Mars.

I don't even need to post!

 

[knightwheelrqr]

Ben Johnson is my 22nd man.

Still in my best 22, but only just.

Don't like him playing in the midfield and would like him to make way for the younger brigade in Sidebottom, Thomas and Beams.

But think that if he shifted back into defence that he would get back to playing his best football.

Weakness: Overhead marking and inconcistant by foot.
Strength: Run and carry out of defence.

If a player comes out of nowhere who can play a similiar role (McCarthy/ Barham) don't expect him to be able to retain his place in the side.

His only chance in my view to get back to his best and maintain his spot in our 22 is if he moved back into defence.

 

[bucksisbest]

Toovey makes terrible decisions when he has the pill, disposal is worse than Johnson's, and at the moment is one-dimensional. Yes they play different roles but with the verstility of our backline and midfield rotation (which Johnson ads to), gets in a long way ahead of Toovey.

He makes reasonable decisions , his disposal isn't great by foot but has improved. I used to despise Toovey , but realised his value this year. His athleticism and doggedness can be relied upon.
I think Johnson clogs our midfield versatility , too flighty and weak overhead to be considered a defender anymore.
I'm more interested in Blair , Blight , McCarthy , Wellingham and Macaffer have to add than knowing what we've got with Johnson.
Happy to chuck him back in if we have blokes injured , but only depth now.

 

[Mars II]

Ben Johnson is my 22nd man.

Still in my best 22, but only just.

Don't like him playing in the midfield and would like him to make way for the younger brigade in Sidebottom, Thomas and Beams.

But think that if he shifted back into defence that he would get back to playing his best football.

Weakness: Overhead marking and inconcistant by foot.
Strength: Run and carry out of defence.

If a player comes out of nowhere who can play a similiar role (McCarthy/ Barham) don't expect him to be able to retain his place in the side.

His only chance in my view to get back to his best and maintain his spot in our 22 is if he moved back into defence.

i disagree with that in 06 there was a point in the season where he was the most effective disposer by foot he maintained that for a couple of weeks untill he was eventualy surpassed.

 

[Wooljay]

I love the man, he is so damn reliable and like Lockyer is soo underrated due to his age.

Would also like to note that he bought me a jager bomb on my 18th birthday

Champion.

 

[mattys123]

I love what BJ has done for this club, but I rated him at 27.

In hindsight, and with some adjustment, I would probably rate him 2-3 places higher, but not in our absolute best 22.

I rate Johnson as maybe our best defensive "stopper", but I believe to get better, and to ultimately win a flag, we need someone better then BJ to become our best tagger, my thoughts were Thomas or Wellingham.

It's also hard to rate Johnson because of some fitness concerns over the past few years, a 100% fit Johnson would be on the edge of our best team, but once again I see the younger players coming through and pushing him out, something that began to happen in 09.

Having said all that, Johnson did play well in the Adelaide final, although I can't even remember seeing him play in the Geelong or Stkilda finals (did he?) so his impact must have been minimal, because in both games our midfield was torn apart.

It's only my opinion, but I believe to win a flag, we need a better "stopper" then BJ.

 

[Dave06]

He makes reasonable decisions , his disposal isn't great by foot but has improved. I used to despise Toovey , but realised his value this year. His athleticism and doggedness can be relied upon.
I think Johnson clogs our midfield versatility , too flighty and weak overhead to be considered a defender anymore.
I'm more interested in Blair , Blight , McCarthy , Wellingham and Macaffer have to add than knowing what we've got with Johnson.
Happy to chuck him back in if we have blokes injured , but only depth now.

Disagree with pretty much all of this. I think he has the ability to play a tagging role through the middle, and his clearance work is underrated. He has never been great overhead yet he made his mark as a defender in his earlier days.

If we are going to be challenging for a premiership in the next 1-3 years then you pick your side based on current form/ability not who is going to be good in the future and at the moment Johnson has all of the above covered.

 

[Football God]

i love Johnson. proably our best wingman when hes in full flight. when need him as long as we can, has a great left foot sad that he broke his leg (i think it was) last year then returned and showed how much we needed him.
hope hes improving his fitness for this year. we'll need him.

 

[Pie eyed]

I love BJ.
Cheesy too.
Don't you go puttin' shit on Possum Eyes. He worked hard for his spot.
Watch the Adelaide Semi and tell me he was not excellent in the exceptionally tight last quarter.

These blokes are the ones who link the stars, the glue.

 

[bucksisbest]

Disagree with pretty much all of this. I think he has the ability to play a tagging role through the middle, and his clearance work is underrated. He has never been great overhead yet he made his mark as a defender in his earlier days.

If we are going to be challenging for a premiership in the next 1-3 years then you pick your side based on current form/ability not who is going to be good in the future and at the moment Johnson has all of the above covered.

That's the whole reason I want them exposed , to win a flag. Not interested in going down the same path as before , where we have been found short.

 

[favourites]

Who would you rather in the 22.... Steele Sidebottom or Ben Johnson.

I know people see that he kicked two grouse goals against adelaide... but ask yourself what did he do in the first half?

He got pants by Bernie Vince... that guy was one of the main reasons we were behind... Johnson couldn't get within five metres of him... Not only that, Johnson was struggling for numbers, so a double blow.

Second half Mick moved Steele onto Vince, Vince was hardly seen and Steele ran into the right places to get the footy and make Vince think about defending as well.

I love Johnson, but for me he is on tenderhooks. I don't mind him as a back pocket or a half forward, but his days as a midfielder are number imo.

 

[Vendrell]

Definitely in our best 22 and highly underrated. His disposal wasn't great when he first started but it's improved out of sight over the past 5 years. I'd back him in running towards goal from 40+ ahead of anyone else in the side.

He's got courage and pace. I love the way he gets through traffic and is never tackled.

 

[smiddaz123]

Johnson is an awful footballer.

Trying hard and putting his heart and soul into the club is fantastic, but it doesn't mean he's not terrible, when he really is.

Awful kicking, poor defensively. Offers very little. Has reasonable finishing skills in front of goals, that's more or less it.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

i disagree with that in 06 there was a point in the season where he was the most effective disposer by foot he maintained that for a couple of weeks untill he was eventualy surpassed.

I would say that it is overexagerated. But I would say inconsistant in that in some game yes it can be on target. But just would not rate his disposal to be of the standard of a Didak or Pendlebury.

To me his bigger weakness is his ability overhead.

Though despite his weaknesses I am probably one of the people who rates him higher. Personally would like to see him given a role down back perminantly to allow players such as Harry O to play on medium size forwards as opposed to smalls every week. In defence I would like to see some more of his run and carry game to compliment Shaw out of defence. His run and carry game is amongst the best in the AFL and in 04/05/06 was covering the amongst the most ground running out of defence in the league. It is an asset that I certainly think would fit into this side very well, but if he remains in the midfield then I don't think there is a spot in the side for him.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

I love what BJ has done for this club, but I rated him at 27.

In hindsight, and with some adjustment, I would probably rate him 2-3 places higher, but not in our absolute best 22.

I rate Johnson as maybe our best defensive "stopper", but I believe to get better, and to ultimately win a flag, we need someone better then BJ to become our best tagger, my thoughts were Thomas or Wellingham.

It's also hard to rate Johnson because of some fitness concerns over the past few years, a 100% fit Johnson would be on the edge of our best team, but once again I see the younger players coming through and pushing him out, something that began to happen in 09.

Having said all that, Johnson did play well in the Adelaide final, although I can't even remember seeing him play in the Geelong or Stkilda finals (did he?) so his impact must have been minimal, because in both games our midfield was torn apart.

It's only my opinion, but I believe to win a flag, we need a better "stopper" then BJ.

Wellingham/ McCarthy would be my men for a defencive role in the future.

Thomas I don't rate as a defencive stopper and he definately needs to go back to his offencive role. Against perhaps Geelong I would get him to play a defencive type role against Jimmy Bartell and I think he can play specific defencive roles from time to time but ultimately is much better suited to a more offencive role.

Likewise I don't see a future for Johnson in the midfield, but would really like to see him go back into defence and use some of his run and carry. I rate Johnson much more for his offencive capabilities (drive from defence) than defencive capabilities (tagging someone out of the game).

 

[Mars II]

I would say that it is overexagerated. But I would say inconsistant in that in some game yes it can be on target. But just would not rate his disposal to be of the standard of a Didak or Pendlebury.

To me his bigger weakness is his ability overhead.

how can a fact be exaggerated?

[youtube]8EQP28e1jt4[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EQP28e1jt4

the clip proves my stat please watch it it took some time finding it

ok i agreed he is not the greatest disposer in the world but i believe he is a good kick and not a shit kick.

i believe he can provide valuable experience and adds to the team in crunch matches.

 

[Heater39]

Johnson had a pretty good finish to the year imo and it seems the coaches agree . Polled copeland votes in 5 of the last 9 games, only Maxwell and Shaw polled in more games.

 

[Quicky]

game set match - Mars.

I don't even need to post!

So you post it twice LOL

 

[Quicky]

On exposed recent form Johnson doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the 22. Yeah the guys a great bloke and real trier but that isn't the criteria for getting a game. He has had some good moments last year the two goals one of the few highlights - but overwhelmingly he has been crap defensively, unreliable by foot (don't care what the stats say, he kicks long a lot, and I never see incisive kicks from him), is as outside as you get, and very one sided. I see him in one of three roles: A HBFer, winger or tagger. I see better options in all of those positions. I see guys like Macaffer, McCarthy, Buckley, Thomas, Blight, Barham among others all ahead of him in those roles.