Welcome to Demonland: Aidan Johnson

[Willmoy1947 4,140]

On 21/11/2024 at 21:08, picket fence said:

YEP

About time

[Willmoy1947 4,140]

On 30/11/2024 at 02:13, faultydet said:

Cant believe that nobody on this site has spoken out about this over the past 1 to 2 years.

Moore is indeed a sniping Dog who plays knee-first, whereas "Bruzzy" plays shoulder first.

We have a player on our list who is very highly rated, but chose to console the meathead who put his best mate into retirement. It's a glaring example of why we never win flags. Yes bloke, I'm speaking about you. You and your media followers know who you are.

Far too many supporters on this site who want to play kumbaya while being laughed at by the power cubs.

There were more people on this site than you might think have been well aware of intentional acts. 

The problem has been coming to reasonable conclusions that may be corroborated with statistics, and not being deterred by, it could have happened to anyone, and accidentally intentional.

[picket fence 17,496]

On 30/11/2024 at 03:13, faultydet said:

Cant believe that nobody on this site has spoken out about this over the past 1 to 2 years.

Moore is indeed a sniping Dog who plays knee-first, whereas "Bruzzy" plays shoulder first.

We have a player on our list who is very highly rated, but chose to console the meathead who put his best mate into retirement. It's a glaring example of why we never win flags. Yes bloke, I'm speaking about you. You and your media followers know who you are.

Far too many supporters on this site who want to play kumbaya while being laughed at by the power cubs.

AGREE A MILLION %

[Damo 3,374]

13 hours ago, Willmoy1947 said:

The problem has been coming to reasonable conclusions that may be corroborated with statistics, and not being deterred by, it could have happened to anyone, and accidentally intentional.

=Dog act

[The Taciturn Demon 578]

On 30/11/2024 at 09:51, old55 said:

"Push in the back" free kicks in general play are an extinct species, they are never paid and players know they can drive forward in the tackle with impunity. This change was partly brought on by the playing community diving forward at the slightest pressure from behind to simulate "in the back" and umpires' reaction to ignore that. The pendulum has now swung too far in that direction now and blatant "in the back" frees go unpaid.

I agree. The most embarrassing case for many years has been Tom Hawkins' "brilliant strength" inside forward 50 ball ups and throw ins. Absolutely blatant, stiff-arm pushes in the back ignored and often resulting in a goal to Geelong.

I also think getting to the ball second and pushing the ball player away, often lauded as "smart" or "being stronger", is actually nothing to do with strength, and everything to do with exploiting a player who's almost always off balance just by the nature of the position they're in. I might be on my own with this, but I think in the same way front on contact frees were brought in to acknowledge that pushing someone in the chest as they open themselves up to mark wasn't fair, a second-to-the-ball push, especially in a one-on-one, should be looked at way more closely. 

[old dee 23,871]

Interesting Article in the hun today on Aiden  and his journey. 

“And after shedding 13kg, Johnson starred in the VFL as an aggressive and mobile forward despite rupturing his bicep mid-season.”

[buck_nekkid 6,046]

1 hour ago, old dee said:

Interesting Article in the hun today on Aiden  and his journey. 

Any chance of a summary?  I refuse to support that maggot rag.

[old dee 23,871]

4 minutes ago, buck_nekkid said:

Any chance of a summary?  I refuse to support that maggot rag.

Then I guess you will have to wait as it is behind a pay wall.

[jnrmac 20,185]

25 minutes ago, buck_nekkid said:

Any chance of a summary?  I refuse to support that maggot rag.

Its a really good article I recommend you subscribe

[sue 9,139]

45 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Its a really good article I recommend you subscribe

I've read it and I wouldn't pay money for that.  Tells us little except he is tough.

[jnrmac 20,185]

On 07/12/2024 at 12:49, buck_nekkid said:

Any chance of a summary?  I refuse to support that maggot rag.

Here's another ripper :Dees young guns impress at training

 

 

[DistrACTION Jackson 9,224]

10 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Here's another ripper :Dees young guns impress at training

 

 

Please summarise 🙏🏼

[DeeSpencer 26,080]

8 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

Please summarise 🙏🏼

Some stuff about Tracc, notes the guys in the rehab group, and the following ‘players who impressed’

Harvey Langford - The No. 6 pick looks ready made for the level. Already a good size, Langford found himself in the right position on multiple occasions with space and execution to deliver inside 50.

Kozzy Pickett  - Pickett, who will miss the first three games in 2025 due to suspension, was playing through the middle during the full-ground drill. He put his speed to good use and also delivered a few pinpoint passes going inside 50.

Tom Campbell - Now at his 3rd AFL club, the 201cm ruck seems set to be the backup ruck for Premiership captain Max Gawn alongside Will Verrall. The experienced Campbell was clean at ground level and showed some good acceleration during the full-ground drill, also showcasing impressive skills for a big man.

Kynan Brown - The father-son product, who played two games in his debut season, was speedy and was brushing off tacklers with relative ease. Featured in some drills but ran laps for the majority of the session. Also looked to have put on some muscle. 

[Demonstone 22,812]

1 hour ago, DeeSpencer said:

Tom Campbell - Now at his 3rd AFL club

Near enough's good enough when it's in the Currant Bun.

[Demonland 73,139]

https://x.com/ClarkyHeraldSun/status/1866636825282089400https://x.com/ClarkyHeraldSun/status/1866636825282089400

Aidan Johnson spoke with his construction boss the night of the AFL national draft with a euphoric message.

He wouldn’t be coming into work at the ABN Group the next day.

The former plumber and bush footy star from the Ovens & Murray and Hume leagues had officially become Melbourne’s newest wrecking ball forward when the Demons selected him with pick 68 last month.

It was the shock of the second night of the draft. One from the clouds.

Only a few years earlier, Johnson was on the tools, kicking bags of goals in the country, and eating sausage rolls for lunch without really considering if he could ever make it to the AFL.

But the Demons’ recruiters saw something in the hard-at-it goal kicker this year for Werribee in the VFL.

It was his trademark hard edge. His desperation at the footy. The extreme effort at every contest.

And a new-found dedication to the game off the field.

The penny dropped for Johnson at the end of 2023 when the bruising big man overcame a patella tendon injury and dropped 13kg with the help of Werribee premiership captain Dom Brew and his meat-only diet.

There were ice baths every morning and saunas every night to help get into shape.

But at a time when AFL clubs are mining the bulk of their teenage talent from Melbourne’s elite private schools, the mature-age Johnson offers something very different.

Simply, the 24-year-old is a brute at the ball.

Johnson is a man who can help shake-up Melbourne’s forward line and add a distinctly new dynamic because of his athletic and aggressive edge.

Recruiters say when the 193cm Johnson launches at the Sherrin and tackles opponents, he throws the kitchen sink at every contest.

And he is unafraid to help out in the ruck, which will be music to Max Gawn’s ears.

The new Demon knows his robust attack on the ball is his one wood.

“I play an aggressive style of footy,” Johnson said.

“I like to say I play on the line, or on the verge.

“So I just compete. Never stop competing.”

When coach Simon Goodwin walked up Johnson’s driveway and rang his doorbell on the night of the draft to welcome him to the Demons, he asked for more of the same in red and blue.

Approaching a big year for Melbourne, the bargain-basement pick-up offers Melbourne something it arguably hasn’t got.

Jacob Van Rooyen needs some key forward help and the race between Johnson, Daniel Turner and Matthew Jefferson is on.

And Johnson is already ready to go for round 1 next season.

Across three years playing country footy, Johnson starred for the Brock/Burrum Saints and Lavington Panthers before Covid-19 hit in 2020, shutting the game down in regional areas.

But when Cats’ livewire Shaun Mannagh left the Panthers to give his AFL dream a shot at Werribee, he urged Johnson to do the same.

So Johnson moved to Melbourne, only to be grounded by knee troubles in 2023 which left him unable to climb up stairs let alone take hangers.

He was struggling to walk and hard days working as a plumber wasn’t doing his footy any favours.

But through the setbacks and frustrations, he showed reliance and an enormous amount of persistence in the hope of becoming the AFL’s latest mature-age success story.

“I was on the tools at the time and I would be walking in the trenches or whatever and my knee would just buckle and collapse,” Johnson said.

“I was just always falling over walking around on job sites because my knee was that sore.

“That was the darkest time.

“I had moved my whole life down to Werribee but I just couldn’t get my knee sorted and I legit thought I wasn’t going to be able to run again because I was just always in this excruciating pain.”

In his toughest moments, on the phone calls to his parents and his sister, they urged him to stick at it, even when the knee pain was unbearable.

But then he met one of Melbourne’s physios, who shed new light on the patella problem, and with a new training program, the pain began to ease in preparation for the 2024 season.

That is when Johnson buddied-up with Brew, the ultra-professional ballwinner currently on trial for a list spot at the Western Bulldogs.

So meat pies were out and cans of tinned tuna were in. Every meal was lean meat.

He also moved into an office role at work as a construction manager which gave his knee more of a rest.

And after shedding 13kg, Johnson starred in the VFL as an aggressive and mobile forward despite rupturing his bicep mid-season.

Johnson said meeting Brew and adopting his off-field approach – which included the meticulous diet – was the difference.

“That was probably the biggest thing, just seeing how professional he (Brew) is and how he goes about it, and his eating habits,” Johnson said.

“I had the typical tradie diet, eating pies and going to takeaway stores for lunch and he is eating tins of tuna and meat kind of thing.

“So adopting that sort of lifestyle was the biggest thing that helped me.

“So it was ice baths in the morning and saunas at night, the whole kit and caboodle.

“I didn’t get offered a contract at Werribee or anything like that. They said you have got to work for it and get your body right and that kicked me into place.

“Dom was a bit of a mentor and dropping 13kg helped hugely along with getting off the tools.

“So we would go food shopping at the South Melbourne markets together, eating full meat, mince, making bone broth.

“It just all happened at once.”

This week at Melbourne training Johnson was already making an impression, desperately diving and scrapping for the footy as if his life depended on it.

And then after training he has been heading out to car yards looking for some new wheels because he is still driving his boss’s ute.

“I owe him a few beers, definitely,” Johnson said.

But his circle of friends are ecstatic for the former country footy goal kicker who is ready to ramp up the hard work as practice matches loom next month.

As far as he has come, Johnson said he is basically starting his footy journey all over again at Melbourne, with no real expectations on himself to play straight away.

But his teammates already know, be careful getting in his way.

“I just want to get in and work hard and learn the system,” he said.

“I’m not pinpointing anything beyond that, or putting a ceiling on what I can do.

“I just want to give it everything and see where things take me.”

WHO IS AIDAN JOHNSON?

Age: 24
Draft history: Chosen at pick 68 by Melbourne in the 2024 AFL national draft.
Height: 193cm
Position: Key forward/ruckman
From: Werribee, Lavington Panthers, Brock/Burrum Saints

2024 season (VFL)
Club: Werribee
Games: 20. Goals: 17
2024 VFL premiership player

[The heart beats true 18,145]

9 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Only a few years earlier, Johnson was on the tools, kicking bags of goals in the country, and eating sausage rolls for lunch…

Anti sausage roll propaganda.
It’s Un-Australian, and I won’t stand for it.

[Timothy Reddan-A'Blew 5,272]

Chaos for the Dees' catering team: how many redundant BBB vegan meals left in the freezer, and taking space needed now for the caveman cuisine?

[Slartibartfast 17,614]

He tried to run through Clarrie in a handball drill today.  He learned a lesson. He looked good, Clarrie looked great.

[Roost it far 8,578]

I was disappointed with this pick but effort, attack on the footy and an ability to help out in the ruck is exactly what this team need. If he does the basics well and can read the play there’s no reason he can’t become a useful helper alongside JVR and Turner. 

Edited December 11 by Roost it far

[monoccular 17,573]

2 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

Anti sausage roll propaganda.
It’s Un-Australian, and I won’t stand for it.

As long as he kicks bags of sausage rolls I don’t care what he eats.  
He an TMcD can share a wooly mammoth for dinner. 

1 hour ago, Roost it far said:

I was disappointed with this pick but effort, attack on the footy and an ability to help out in the ruck is exactly what this team need. If he does the basics well and can read the play there’s no reason he can’t become a useful helper alongside JVR and Turner. 

Sounds as if he could be a Pedersen clone perhaps. 

[DeeSpencer 26,080]

It’s a quiet spot in the afl media circus but they’re giving him the full PR push for a story that is more commendable than overly interesting. Makes me think they expect him to be in the side next year.

Yet to see him crash any packs but they haven’t done drills for that really, what I have seen is really good follow up at ground level. 

[DubDee 26,117]

I can already hear BT - this bloke was eating pies and sausage rolls a year ago on the building site.

Did he build East Link too?

 

[old dee 23,871]

1 hour ago, DubDee said:

I can already hear BT - this bloke was eating pies and sausage rolls a year ago on the building site.

Did he build East Link too?

 

Thank god we won't have to hear BT on Friday nights. 2025 has improved already.

[binman 43,738]

7 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

Anti sausage roll propaganda.
It’s Un-Australian, and I won’t stand for it.

Agree.

I'd be half the man I am if not for pies and sausage rolls.

[Timothy Reddan-A'Blew 5,272]

2 minutes ago, binman said:

Agree.

I'd be half the man I am if not for pies and sausage rolls.

An alternative origin of your 'Nom de D'land', Bin?