Travis was delisted today

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/travis-johnstone-the-biggest-casualty-of-the-brisbane-lions-disaster-season-the-veteran-delisted-by-the-club/story-e6frf3e3-1225944868697

A sad end to the career of someone who could have been a superstar.

His final against Adelaide was the best individual game I've ever witnessed live.

What to say. On his day he was unstoppable, and is right up there as the most skilled player we have had since R Flower, but footy never seemed to be high on Trappers priority list. Seems such a waste of a career that could have seen him remembered as an elite player, but he never quite reached that level.

Trading him for Pick 14 (Grimes) is one of the better trades any club has made in the past decade. I will miss seeing him play however.

R.I.P.

Wood/Johnstone/Grimes...hrmm..

His final against Adelaide was the best individual game I've ever witnessed live.

Agreed. He was phenomenal that day and won my heart. The most talented player I've witnessed in the red and blue, and it's sad to see his career finish this way when he could have been a superstar of the game. I'll never forget him running down the wings of the MCG spearing passes into 50. Was a joy to watch.

Here's hoping the new high draft pick mids in Scully and Trengove can reach higher heights than Trapper did and take us to that elusive premiership we're all waiting for!

Travis was delisted today

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/travis-johnstone-the-biggest-casualty-of-the-brisbane-lions-disaster-season-the-veteran-delisted-by-the-club/story-e6frf3e3-1225944868697

Enigmatic is the word..........silky skills but then rarely put together more than than a couple of successive great games.This was reflected in his pretty ordinary voting in B & F's . Ironically his best game was probably his last and in reality had dire consequences for the Club......the infamous " Kreuzer Cup " .

Trapper didn't play great games. He played great quarters. That was his biggest downfall.

But when he was in the zone, he made all other players on the ground second rate.

Trapper didn't play great games. He played great quarters. That was his biggest downfall.

But when he was in the zone, he made all other players on the ground second rate.

and that's what he did in that game against Crows. I thought we had it won at 3/4 time but Trapper had had enough and that was it. It was a great game and a great effort by him though but he had to do it consistantly and the head just wasn't in the right space.

just always seemed to ruen it on in the big games.. remember that goal against the bombers in 2004 when whelan gave that massive hip on shoulder on hird then trapper on the boundary line slots it straight through the middle with ease..

will miss you trapper..

Once, I was sitting on Level 1 at what was then the Telstradome when Trapper took possession of the football and looked ahead and saw one of his teammates was only a simple thirty metre chip kick away. Instead of passing to him, Travis picked out another player, perhaps fifty metres distant and running towards goal, and sent a bullet-like pass into his path for what looked an easy goal.

Just as it was his ability to take the hard option, to execute it perfectly and to make it look so easy that was his own special god given talent, it was his inability to perform such feats consistently that saw him end his career without the title "champion" etched next to his name.

Once, I was sitting on Level 1 at what was then the Telstradome when Trapper took possession of the football and looked ahead and saw one of his teammates was only a simple thirty metre chip kick away. Instead of passing to him, Travis picked out another player, perhaps fifty metres distant and running towards goal, and sent a bullet-like pass into his path for what looked an easy goal. 

Just as it was his ability to take the hard option, to execute it perfectly and to make it look so easy that was his own special god given talent, it was his inability to perform such feats consistently that saw him end his career without the title "champion" etched next to his name.

He is the perfect example of why clubs spend so much time evaluating the "mental" side of draftees.

He is the perfect example of why clubs spend so much time evaluating the "mental" side of draftees.

Spot on.

Especially when a club is investing $150,000 on an individual.

Spot on.

Especially when a club is investing $150,000 on an individual.

I haven't seen anyone who wanted to lynch the club when we traded Trapper for Jack Grimes make a full apology yet....

just always seemed to ruen it on in the big games.. remember that goal against the bombers in 2004 when whelan gave that massive hip on shoulder on hird then trapper on the boundary line slots it straight through the middle with ease..

will miss you trapper..

Then he did it again only moments later, absolute joy up watch when in full flight. Bloody shame that it wasn't more often.

He is the perfect example of why clubs spend so much time evaluating the "mental" side of draftees.

correct

Bailey seems to be particularly focussed on this

A sad end to the career of someone who could have been a superstar.

His final against Adelaide was the best individual game I've ever witnessed live.

Hopefully it is not over for Travis and another club picks him up. Could greatly improve the chances of a St Kilda or Western Bulldogs in getting closer to a flag.

Otherwise as has been said a very sad end to what should have been a great career.

Travis was my favorite player from the time he was drafted, I marvelled at his effortless skills, and I think that is where one of the issues may have been, it was effortless and came very easy. I don't know if he ever got himself fit enough, but he very rarely played 4 quarters, had huge problems handling a hard tag, but when he turned it on there was none better in the skills department.

I lived in hope that each year he would turn it around and the stars would align and Trav would get the message and he would show the football world., I am still waiting.

Was Neale hard enough on him from the start?

Should the club have done more to keep him on the straight and narrow and away from bad influences?

As my mate Tim would say, "stop making excuses for him".

Good luck Travis.

Yep Saints, Cats, Hawks or Dogs should rookie him.

Travis was my favorite player from the time he was drafted, I marvelled at his effortless skills, and I think that is where one of the issues may have been, it was effortless and came very easy. I don't know if he ever got himself fit enough, but he very rarely played 4 quarters, had huge problems handling a hard tag, but when he turned it on there was none better in the skills department.

Wasn't your moniker on the original Aimoo Demonland 'Go Johnno'?

It's a pretty disappointing end to what should've been more. It felt to me like we were forever waiting for that break-out season, but all we got was a stunning game or quarter here and there.

Wasn't your moniker on the original Aimoo Demonland 'Go Johnno'?

It's a pretty disappointing end to what should've been more. It felt to me like we were forever waiting for that break-out season, but all we got was a stunning game or quarter here and there.

Yes it was Nasher.

I should have added in my post "I was sorry to see Travis traded to Brisbane but knew he was the only player we had that at the time that we could get a first round pick for, and it was worth the risk. Could not be happier with the guy we have given the number 16 to, Jack will be better than Travis."

He is the perfect example of why clubs spend so much time evaluating the "mental" side of draftees.

Good post Redleg.

I haven't seen anyone who wanted to lynch the club when we traded Trapper for Jack Grimes make a full apology yet....

Yes they have gone silent but Bring Back Powell did fall on his sword on this issue as he was ardently against clearing him in 2007.

An outside bet someone else who are in the flag mode may "punt" on him through the PSD or mature rookie. It wont be MFC. I am not so sure the ability that Trav had in the early 2000s is still there today.

All the best Trapper ... hehehe (I'm going to leave it at that!)

His final against Adelaide was the best individual game I've ever witnessed live.

Right up until he went off mentally and physically fatigued.

Agreed. He was phenomenal that day and won my heart.

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Here's hoping the new high draft pick mids in Scully and Trengove can reach higher heights than Trapper did and take us to that elusive premiership we're all waiting for!

Hopefully the likes of Scully & Trengove can dig deep for four quarters. Their mindset might well be stronger.

He is the perfect example of why clubs spend so much time evaluating the "mental" side of draftees.

True Blue.

On ya Trap.

Shortcomings obvious. Talent obvious. Hopefully he is happy with the 200 odd games he played. Not a hell of a lot of players get past 200 yet it seems a sh!tload short of what Trav should have got to.

He could have been a 300+ superstar of the game.

Could have.

I'll miss him but his wasted talent is never more obvious than they guy that replaced him in the # 16.

Looks like we got the best out of that trade then. It's a sad thing that he didn't really prosper at the Lions, but well done to the club for making the hard call and getting it dead right.