Open Mike - Wayne "The Dominator" Johnston

[The_Wookie]

 

[harmesy 37]

Great stuff Wookie and fox footy.

What a champion Johnston was- show the present day players footage of Wayne Johnston and they couldn't help but be inspired.

It is a shame that most of this interview (75%) at least was directed towards Johnston's off-field life. I found his comments on the 1982 g/final the best part of the interview, but Sheehan quickly directed him away from the football and instead onto nightclubs, booze etc.

It was great to see him choke up about being in Carlton's Hall of Fame. The club meant a lot to him.
What a champion.

There used to be a fantastic image of Johnston leaping for joy - one arm punched in the air and a Collingwood player lying on the ground below him. I couldn't find it on the Blueseum website- but this image perfectly encapsulates the legacy of Johnston. It is such a shame to see how far his club has fallen since those heady days. Now Carlton is just a club making up the numbers..it was a long time ago that Carlton was a team with relevance.

 

[Mr.Kennedy]

I shed a tear when they discussed his son. Extra because my 8yr old just missed 3 games because of Asthma. I then shed a tear thinking about how far off the good old days we are now

 

[SBYM]

Cheers Wookie. Not having Foxtel, you are a legend in my book...

Now Carlton is just a club making up the numbers..it was a long time ago that Carlton was a team with relevance.

Strong words. I guess it depends how you define it. I wouldn't say we're irrelevant, yet, but we've got a shiteload or work to do in the next few years.

In the wilderness, no doubt, but we ain't St Kilda...dunno if those plebs could get 80k+ to the 'G outside of a Prelim/GF.

 

[Stig O'Hara]

There used to be a fantastic image of Johnston leaping for joy - one arm punched in the air and a Collingwood player lying on the ground below him.....

Remember it well, was on the back page of the old Sunday Press after he'd kicked his 7th, Round One 1980, Percy's first game as coach. Reckon the header read something like 'It's a Grand Old Game". Even cut it out and stuck it in my scrapbook.

Loved his story about the mid-week pissup before the Semi v the Pies, goes out on an all night blinder, ends up in Sandringham, hitch hikes back to Melbourne, and gets picked up by Jim Main, editor of Inside Footy!!!!

 

[TerryWallet]

Looked a bit ravaged did the ol Dom.

But boy could he play Bigtime football. A pertinent reminder of the ills of our current list.

A leader, an extrovert, a player who looked forward to the challenge of Bigtime, physical and mental footy. Wayne Hughes wouldn't have recruited Johnno , because he put everything out there on the table, while Hughes is always looking for the hidden something that can come out of the introvert.

Murphy, Gibbs, Kruezer, Yarran, Lucas, Bootsma, Watson.....all our top picks and all the same personality types. They are all top talents in themselves but Hughes is so 1 dimensional in his recruiting.

Where are the Wayne Johnson type characters?

I slept outside Princes park for 2 nights on many occasions to get finals tickets to see blokes like Johnno and others because i knew they'd perform. They were made for Bigtime footy.

We haven't brought any of these types of leaders into our Club for a long time. Just a lot of quiet lads with enormous talent who require a lot of coaxing to come out of their shells.

We have talent that requires leaders to lead them...but no natural leaders and cravers of Bigtime footy.

*tldr...good teams need strong, loud on-field characters

 

[Just Kreuzing]

Does someone want to frame a market on which player in today's team would give Mick a call at 3am and stress their disappointment in him moving on a player at seasons end like Jonno did to Parkin.

The favourite would have to be Robbo, especially if he was ringing in support of 1 of the 3 amigo's.

 

[inyourcool]

Great and sad at the same time - great in that this was a group of players that performed when it was their turn. A team you rocked up to see with pride and knowing that they would have a fair-dinkum crack! And one of the best was Dominator

And sad at what our club and the players that represent it have become. We have slid back into footballing purgatory and I can't see a way out in the foreseeable future!

Dominator was an outstanding champion of our football club!

 

[95blues]

I shed a tear when they discussed his son. Extra because my 8yr old just missed 3 games because of Asthma. I then shed a tear thinking about how far off the good old days we are now

I was there that day playing under 16's. Was an awful day, thought it was gonna get worse when the second boy started going down too.

 

[Dominator_7]

My favorite player of all time (obviously)
Always knew he'd be B.O.G. or close to it in games against Collingwood back in those days.
Never shirked a contest, even when he knew he'd be crunched.
I remember one day in about 1987 in a game against West Coast at Princes Park, he absolutely ripped the Eagles to shreds. He had over 30 possessions, and kicked something like 7-4.
WHAT A LEGEND!!!

 

[jimsta10]

Does anyone know how his 3 sons are going over at Port?

 

[TerryWallet]

My favorite player of all time (obviously)
Always knew he'd be B.O.G. or close to it in games against Collingwood back in those days.
Never shirked a contest, even when he knew he'd be crunched.
I remember one day in about 1987 in a game against West Coast at Princes Park, he absolutely ripped the Eagles to shreds. He had over 30 possessions, and kicked something like 7-4.
WHAT A LEGEND!!!

My favorite was always Jimmy Buckley.

What a couple of confident , cocky bastards him and Dominator were.

Bigtime performers.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

My favorite player of all time (obviously)
Always knew he'd be B.O.G. or close to it in games against Collingwood back in those days.
Never shirked a contest, even when he knew he'd be crunched.
I remember one day in about 1987 in a game against West Coast at Princes Park, he absolutely ripped the Eagles to shreds. He had over 30 possessions, and kicked something like 7-4.
WHAT A LEGEND!!!

One of my favourite games. Sticks kicked six in that game too. Dom was also my favourite player of all time. I did a whole school assignment on him and that was living in Brisbane where nobody knew who he was. Turned out my English teacher was a Carlton supporter ... I passed.

I think he still looks pretty good. Will be 56 this year.

 

[zeeCFC]

Interesting interview. He's certainly had his highs and lows.

 

[cakewalk_1]

I shed a tear when they discussed his son. Extra because my 8yr old just missed 3 games because of Asthma. I then shed a tear thinking about how far off the good old days we are now

So did I when he talked about his son. He was a champion. I wish they talked more about his footy career instead of all the off field stuff he got up to, it would have been a good insight.

I don't shed a tear about your club now though

 

[The Grover]

He was my footy hero growing up.

I remember when he was playing tennis on the court next to me at Ocean Grove one day.

As our paths crossed retrieving balls, he winked and said hello like he new me.

I was in the cheer squad back then so I thought he might have recognised my face.

 

[Red Bull]

The Dominator brought a smile to my face last night ... guts , will , class , confidence , LEADERSHIP !!
Those were the days my friends ...

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

I don't want to sound like the boring old fart who hates change but I am about to......

When I watch things like that it reminds me how much the game has changed and how I so wish it hadn't. Footy had a pulse back then, it was tribal, you had a home ground and it was your dung heap, one to be feared by other clubs just as much as you feared their home ground. It was a man's game, played by warriors who knew only one way. Footy was played on a Saturday, none of this shit when the round goes on for 5 days, all teams played and come 5.00pm on Saturday you knew the results, you would then go home and watch Seven's Big League and hope your team made it on. I still remember the International Harvester truck ad's.

For mine now it is a sterile game largely played at sterile venues. There is a formula for success that clubs try to replicate, we have the premiership window, rebuilding through the draft and a bevy of support staff that make it all happen. You get to a point in the season now where if you can't make finals you moth ball players and freshen them up for the pre season...what the ****! Back in those days they would play out the season in its entirety, no matter what!

I used to love footy, could not wait for Saturday and what it would bring. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the game but I don't LOVE it anymore. I sometimes resent those that have taken that away from me, sure I know why it has been done and that they had to do it but I still don't like it.

Thank god for the memories, they still seem like yesterday even though I know they are not. The game will continue to progress as it should but I still remember the joy of footy 70's and 80's style and whenever I do it brings a smile to my face.

 

[Neese]

Thanks for posting this, was looking forward to seeing it

 

[Dramoth]

Wookie, you are a bloody legend

Will be watching this when I get home to the hotel tonight

 

[Campana_Serge]

The dominator! My all time favourite player behind Kouta.

 

[OnceWeWereKings]

Great stuff Wookie and fox footy.

What a champion Johnston was- show the present day players footage of Wayne Johnston and they couldn't help but be inspired.

It is a shame that most of this interview (75%) at least was directed towards Johnston's off-field life. I found his comments on the 1982 g/final the best part of the interview, but Sheehan quickly directed him away from the football and instead onto nightclubs, booze etc.

It was great to see him choke up about being in Carlton's Hall of Fame. The club meant a lot to him.
What a champion.

There used to be a fantastic image of Johnston leaping for joy - one arm punched in the air and a Collingwood player lying on the ground below him. I couldn't find it on the Blueseum website- but this image perfectly encapsulates the legacy of Johnston. It is such a shame to see how far his club has fallen since those heady days. Now Carlton is just a club making up the numbers..it was a long time ago that Carlton was a team with relevance.

Once We Were Kings....

Had The Dominator on the back of the duffle coat. Loved Him.

From the days when they lived hard and played harder.

 

[CrazyJoeFevola]

Does anyone know how his 3 sons are going over at Port?

All three are currently running around in the 2s, they've all had injuries worries though, especially Tomi, played barely any footy the last few years

 

[AndyLucimitis]

Watched this last night and thoroughly enjoyed.


What we'd give for a player like The Dominator to lead us into battle.

One comment - thought he glossed over his post-career drug 'issues'. My understanding was that he was in a bit deeper than he made out and my memory is he was 'warned-off' hanging around the club for a period as he was deemed a bad influence.


(...only stuff I'd read in Caro articles)

 

[scomac]

I don't want to sound like the boring old fart who hates change but I am about to......

When I watch things like that it reminds me how much the game has changed and how I so wish it hadn't. Footy had a pulse back then, it was tribal, you had a home ground and it was your dung heap, one to be feared by other clubs just as much as you feared their home ground. It was a man's game, played by warriors who knew only one way. Footy was played on a Saturday, none of this shit when the round goes on for 5 days, all teams played and come 5.00pm on Saturday you knew the results, you would then go home and watch Seven's Big League and hope your team made it on. I still remember the International Harvester truck ad's.

For mine now it is a sterile game largely played at sterile venues. There is a formula for success that clubs try to replicate, we have the premiership window, rebuilding through the draft and a bevy of support staff that make it all happen. You get to a point in the season now where if you can't make finals you moth ball players and freshen them up for the pre season...what the ****! Back in those days they would play out the season in its entirety, no matter what!

I used to love footy, could not wait for Saturday and what it would bring. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the game but I don't LOVE it anymore. I sometimes resent those that have taken that away from me, sure I know why it has been done and that they had to do it but I still don't like it.

Thank god for the memories, they still seem like yesterday even though I know they are not. The game will continue to progress as it should but I still remember the joy of footy 70's and 80's style and whenever I do it brings a smile to my face.

Yep you are clearly my vintage thanks for this post couldn't agree more,The Dominator and Kenny Hunter 2 tough Hombres.