Past Travis Johnstone (2008-2010)

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Re: Travis Johnstone

Penny might never drop for TJ.

Both clubs have given him every chance.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

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Johnstone travels, Voss stands firm
By Jason Phelan
5:48 PM Fri 29 May, 2009

DROPPED Brisbane Lions onballer Travis Johnstone has travelled to Melbourne as an emergency for Saturday's clash against North Melbourne, even though coach Michael Voss has ruled out any late selection trickery.
The omission of the ex-Demon raised eyebrows on Thursday, but Voss maintained he would remain on the sidelines barring any late mishaps to the selected 22.
"I've spoken to Trav before and we want to be able to get a consistent level of performance out of [him]. We haven't been able to get that across the whole course of the season," Voss said ahead of a light training run at Melbourne's Wesley College on Friday afternoon.
"I'll get the chance to sit down and have a chat to him and explain the whys and wherefores [of my decision]. I haven't really gone into that level of detail yet and probably will over the weekend while he's down here."

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Re: Travis Johnstone

No point playing him in the twos. I think he might come in for Proud. A borderline player like Proud won't be played if he's carrying an injury. Maybe he was dropped for disciplinary reasons for his beard bringing the game into disrepute.
 

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Re: Travis Johnstone

Maybe he should be played on the hbf I seem to recall the Demons played him there a few times and he did a good job. Could do the kick-ins that drummond does now which will release Josh to set up the play and break the zone defence way further up the field.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Ruse said:
Maybe he should be played on the hbf I seem to recall the Demons played him there a few times and he did a good job. Could do the kick-ins that drummond does now which will release Josh to set up the play and break the zone defence way further up the field.
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I would hate to see Drummond ever taken off kick-ins.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

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Travis Johnsone earns recall as Brisbane Lions aim to blunt Carlton midfield
Article from:
Andrew Hamilton
June 05, 2009 12:00am

BRISBANE have added some polish to their midfield for tomorrow's clash with Carlton, bringing in Travis Johnstone to bolster the ranks against the league's new "Fab Four".

Although Johnstone was quiet against St Kilda two weeks ago, the game that led to his demotion, he serves multiple purposes for Voss.

When left alone he can carve up a side, as he did against West Coast, Essendon and Adelaide, three big possession games.

But he is often tagged and Voss is happy for the rare occasion when someone other than prime movers Simon Black or Luke Power receive special treatment.

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Re: Travis Johnstone

When it comes to Johnstone, I suspect that what is most disruptive than his inconsistency and a bad game here and there, is his permanent immaturity and lack of leadership.

Sure, he can put in a great game, dazzle with a brilliant passage or kick, but he has done that since he started playing, and has held his spot because of it. His greatest fault may be in his character, and to correct that, the boat may just about have sailed.

He shouldn't haven't been played in the early days. The negative traits and belief systems that see him turn from a brilliant game winner, to a sulking, distant, lethargic non contributer should have been identified when he was an 18 year old, and leached out of him then. These traits are now a part of him, and are too entrenched to do anything about, unless drastic measures are taken. His bad behavior has been justified and rewarded because he has shown the odd glimpse of brilliance. I'm normally a glass half full kind of guy, but sometimes one has to be a realist, Travis is a glass half empty.

I think the Lions are better off without him. Even if we loose the odd game, in the long run the development of the younger guys is much more beneficial in the seasons to come.

I think Travis should have been retained in the seconds, for several weeks, as long as it takes, if ever. There, there is less scrutiny, less attention, less adulation and less criticism. He should be going through counselling out of the lime light, and only brought back into the side when the personal shift has been made and has become habit.

We know he can go from champion performances to an amateur Mr. average from week to week, that is what he has done his entire AFL career, we may just be kidding ourselves expecting any different at this stage, and unless there is a total change in the way he is handled, nothing is going to change.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him be the champion player we all see in him, this is the very thing that has frustrated so many for many years. The questions still remains, will we ever see it on a consistent basis? How? When?
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Always a Lion said:
When it comes to Johnstone, I suspect that what is most disruptive than his inconsistency and a bad game here and there, is his permanent immaturity and lack of leadership.

Sure, he can put in a great game, dazzle with a brilliant passage or kick, but he has done that since he started playing, and has held his spot because of it. His greatest fault may be in his character, and to correct that, the boat may just about have sailed.

He shouldn't haven't been played in the early days. The negative traits and belief systems that see him turn from a brilliant game winner, to a sulking, distant, lethargic non contributer should have been identified when he was an 18 year old, and leached out of him then. These traits are now a part of him, and are too entrenched to do anything about, unless drastic measures are taken. His bad behavior has been justified and rewarded because he has shown the odd glimpse of brilliance. I'm normally a glass half full kind of guy, but sometimes one has to be a realist, Travis is a glass half empty.

I think the Lions are better off without him. Even if we loose the odd game, in the long run the development of the younger guys is much more beneficial in the seasons to come.

I think Travis should have been retained in the seconds, for several weeks, as long as it takes, if ever. There, there is less scrutiny, less attention, less adulation and less criticism. He should be going through counselling out of the lime light, and only brought back into the side when the personal shift has been made and has become habit.

We know he can go from champion performances to an amateur Mr. average from week to week, that is what he has done his entire AFL career, we may just be kidding ourselves expecting any different at this stage, and unless there is a total change in the way he is handled, nothing is going to change.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him be the champion player we all see in him, this is the very thing that has frustrated so many for many years. The questions still remains, will we ever see it on a consistent basis? How? When?
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Absolutely first-class analysis. Sums him up perfectly.

Once dropped by Voss for the first time for lack of attitude, should never have been rehabilitated so soon and definitely not before a major change in application had been demonstrated very clearly. To my mind, one good ordinary game in the 2's hardly amounts to a lesson in fighting his way back into the side- Jason Roe is still struggling because [and it's only my personal assumption] he doesn't fit the Voss attitude mould and he hasn't made it back. Why is TJ being treated differently if attitude [not ability] is the issue.

I agree TJ should be left out of the long term equation because:

1) he is a particularly poor role model for the trainees

2) of the difficulty of framing any sort of coherent game plan around such inconsistency

The thing is, the bugger is capable of performing at the elite level, but unless he achieves the miraculous pass, handball, whatever, seems to drop the head. And for god's sake- being harrassed out of the game by a first-year [ok, a Tasmanian] trainee- what is going on there?

Simon Black cops a harder, totally negative tag week in and out- has still managed the odd Brownlow, and achieves at the highest level nearly every game. Maybe TJ should take taggee lessons-he's in the same club as Black. And not a bad role model.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Always a Lion, boy are we on the same page!

I love it when TJ has a good game because it's always a really good game. But, it drives me nuts to see him running around out there with absolutely no passion or commitment when we have young guys busting a gut every week in the seconds.
Give him a long stint in the seconds and if that doesn't fire him up to perform more consistently, make it permanent.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

I'm a TJ fan, but Jack Grimes (who we nabbed with the first round pick you gave us) looks like a real gem. Hard working, good disposal, great reading of hte play.

TJ appears to be as frustrating as ever. Best bet is to play him in limited minutes from here on, use him as an impact player. Enjoy the ride that is the TJ inconsistency express.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

I just wish someone would take him aside and tell him he looks dirty and needs a shave and a decent haircut......thats the image he portrays to me..

I'm not against longer hair, in fact I like it, just can't stand the scruffy, dirty look.......doesn't look very professional IMO
 

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Re: Travis Johnstone

Karl Pilkington said:
I'm a TJ fan, but Jack Grimes (who we nabbed with the first round pick you gave us) looks like a real gem. Hard working, good disposal, great reading of hte play.

TJ appears to be as frustrating as ever. Best bet is to play him in limited minutes from here on, use him as an impact player. Enjoy the ride that is the TJ inconsistency express.
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I for one don't want to take part in any player's ride. As far as I'm concerned it should be a team bus that our players take to riding on.

This is the kind of ride true sustained success can be achieved on.

The Lions once cut loose a brilliant player with his own agenda, a player that rode to his own beat. This player is now running around in a bulldog jumper.

Whilst the circumstances and the player are absolutely different, the act of cutting him (bulldog player) loose and the message it sent, should now be the clubs mantra when it comes to player attitude and commitment. As the club song says, "all for one, and one for all".

I'm not talking about cutting out personalities or individuality, self expression and flair, we'll take whatever of that Travis or any other player for that matter has to offer - just leave out the selfishness, the lack of commitment and the ambivalence.

If he's prepared to change, he should start by cleaning up his appearance.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

I have enjoyed every minute of TJ's upside but unfortunately it has now become blatantly clear why Melbourne traded him...no fairytale Martin Pike story in this one. Let's face it, it was worth the punt but we made a mistake and now it is a question of whether we live with the mistake or move on. I think it is time for TJ to be banished and for us to focus on the next generation of young Lions. I suspect that Vossy has come to this conclusion himself and is simply being compromised by injuries and the risk of carrying too many baby lions in the one team. TJ is yesterday's man and all he now offers is the prospect of taking a tagger who might have otherwise gone to one of our other mid-fielders. Very sad, but sometimes the truth hurts.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Half the problem is TJ, half the problem is the team. I've watched a few Brisbane games, and his teammates do not help him at all. He is usually in the right spots to recieve the ball, but for some reason his teammates dont handball to him. He gets constantly ignored, and that's when he cracks the shits.
You see Ablett at Geelong, and they all block for him and bump into his tagger. They help him. TJ cops no help. He isnt Ablett, but he can influence matches better than 95% of players running round. It was the same at Melbourne for most of his time there. The years he tore it up (02,05,06) he had assistance. In 02 he had an AA winger Yze, Woewodin and Leoncelli all helping him by either requiring attention themselves, or helping work over his tagger. In 05-06 he had Moloney, Bruce in great form, and Phil Read (lol) doing the same. Moloney and Read in particular would smash his tagger, and it allowed TJ to tear it up.
It's not a workrate issue either. He always looks lethargic, but infact he is covering alot of ground. The week before he was dropped, they showed the kms covered and he topped the chart, yet only got 14 touches for that match. Alot were contested because he wound up having to get his own ball. That shouldnt be how he is played though. The Brisbane players should be feeding him handballs whenever they can. The team will be better for it, and a real finals threat. I still think with Johnstone, Black, Brown, Power etc all around, you should be having a crack at a flag. In a few years time you may have to go a big rebuild, but right now you might just be able to pinch one or at least push really hard.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Lord_Travis said:
Half the problem is TJ, half the problem is the team. I've watched a few Brisbane games, and his teammates do not help him at all. He is usually in the right spots to recieve the ball, but for some reason his teammates dont handball to him. He gets constantly ignored, and that's when he cracks the shits.
You see Ablett at Geelong, and they all block for him and bump into his tagger. They help him. TJ cops no help. He isnt Ablett, but he can influence matches better than 95% of players running round. It was the same at Melbourne for most of his time there. The years he tore it up (02,05,06) he had assistance. In 02 he had an AA winger Yze, Woewodin and Leoncelli all helping him by either requiring attention themselves, or helping work over his tagger. In 05-06 he had Moloney, Bruce in great form, and Phil Read (lol) doing the same. Moloney and Read in particular would smash his tagger, and it allowed TJ to tear it up.
It's not a workrate issue either. He always looks lethargic, but infact he is covering alot of ground. The week before he was dropped, they showed the kms covered and he topped the chart, yet only got 14 touches for that match. Alot were contested because he wound up having to get his own ball. That shouldnt be how he is played though. The Brisbane players should be feeding him handballs whenever they can. The team will be better for it, and a real finals threat. I still think with Johnstone, Black, Brown, Power etc all around, you should be having a crack at a flag. In a few years time you may have to go a big rebuild, but right now you might just be able to pinch one or at least push really hard.
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Not buying this for a second. His disposal isn't even as good as it used to be. Half the time we give him the ball in space, he faffs about with it for so long that he allows an opposition defender to get near him, then he stops, props, and then rushes the kick which gets smothered off his boot. This happens way to often.

Our gameplan doesn't allow anyone to just run around collecting uncontested possessions at will, everyone has to work hard defensively going the other way. Travis isn't doing that.

I'd much rather have the ball in Rich's hands. He also runs to the right spaces to deliver the ball inside 50. The difference is that he not only uses it better, but he works hard when he doesn't have it. Lays plenty of shepherds, tackles and pressures the opposition.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Good points Dog. Then there was one on the weekend where he had plenty of time to get on the right, instead went with the left where he is pretty poor and of course turns it over.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Another thing is that Travis doesn't break the lines. You never see him running 50 metres at full clip and deliver the ball lace out.

In fact, he seems to need to slow down to an almost stationary position in order to kick the ball. Weird.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

Lord Travis, it appears you are watching Lions games with one eye.

I'm not suggesting that Travis doesn't care, he just isn't armed with the right attitude or the right work ethic.

This is kind of acceptance, the one that you display by your comments, that has lead to the making of Travis. This acceptance and wavering of the mediocre displays in the past is the problem. Since when is it okay for a player to "crack the shits". We are talking about a league football player, a professional aren't we. At the Lions we want players with backbone not sulks.

I agree that he has a lot of good footy to offer, but it is his attitude that a young side like the Lions don't need. I suspect that this may also be the reason the D's decided he wasn't needed by them.

Lots of players cry out for the ball and don't get it , surely you wouldn't be comparing every one of them with G. Ablett. Ablett doesn't have too many peers, Travis does, but not many of the get left behind crying.

He'd get plenty of the ball if he ran and played harder.

He does care, but in a Travis way of caring, not in a Lion way of caring. I think its time for him to learn the lessons the D's should have taught him 10 years ago.
 
Re: Travis Johnstone

To suggest that TJ- the experienced, No 1 draft pick, 2 clubs etc etc- is being hindered because of lack of support from those around him is laughable.

He is being held back because of 1)a chronic inability to deal with even a modest tag; 2)his insistence on playing to his own game plan whatever the situation.

As mentioned above, when he has the ball in hand TJ also has the habit of delaying while looking for the various miracle pass options- some pay off, many don't. Whatever, it interferes with any fluency in play.

My guess is that he was resurrected last week because of the lack of options, and nothing really to do with a seachange in attitude- with a few about to return from injury, I reckon that if he is dropped again it will be a very hard road back.
 
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