Never the greatest. Often it’s not even that fast. And by many measures of the modern wing, which he freely admits, it is no better.
However, Alex Johnston has made rugby league history. Ken Irvine’s all-time Australian record of 212 tries is all thanks to Friday night’s eagerly awaited double Test against the Roosters.
And with all expectations, Johnston’s try-scoring success is a matter of how far he will go – and how much can he extend one of rugby league’s most astonishing numbers?
Especially when you explain how he got to this point – 213 tries and counting.
Johnston makes no bones about playing off the best left wing of the past five years. He knows Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell have put many of his attempts on a plate, and told them Herald such as in the interview at the end of last year.
“I love playing with ‘T-Mitt’ (Mitchell),” Johnston said. “Cody Walker has given me most of my attempts, but Trell would be second best.”
Adam Reynolds’ boot and Greg Inglis’ brutal squad are more than easy choices to call up too. Burgess brothers Sam and George, Manly manager Nathan Brown and current Rabbitohs employee John Sutton have all helped out over the years too.
Johnston’s place at the top of rugby league’s top scorers is assured. Immortals in waiting, premiership winners, Origin and champions Kangaroos all lie in his wake.
Between them, the top 11 (Matt Sing and Hazem El Masri are equal to 10 in 159 attempts) all-time leading scorers have crossed the line no fewer than 1960 times.
And how far can Johnston go? Champion’s data puts his scoring average at 17.2 attempts per season, or roughly nine attempts in every 10 games he plays.
Injuries have reduced that rate over the past two seasons. But Johnston has a new two-year deal with Souths that will see him through to 2026 and 2027.
And it’s hard to imagine Walker, Mitchell, Cameron Murray and the like playing less than they have over the last 18 months – so the annual push of 12-14 tries to match his last two seasons seems fair, if conservative.
As reported by this column headerJohnston has a clause in his new Rabbitohs deal to negotiate anytime with the incoming PNG franchise until 2028, when Johnston will be 33. If he is still playing, good money is it will be with the NRL’s newest side.
Adding another 20-30 attempts by the time retirement calls feels like a reasonable estimate, so does the new high-water mark of 230-240 attempts.
So who could take the record from him? Daniel Tupou (184 tries at 34) and Josh Addo-Carr (159 tries, 30) are his closest contemporaries, but time is against them.
Warriors flyer Alofiana Khan-Pereira is the only current player who can match Johnston’s goalscoring rate. But he struggled for a game at the Titans and is now fighting for one at the Warriors as well.
Ronaldo Mulitalo’s record is a bit surprising, he and Xavier Coates have a shot if they continue to play and score for another decade.
Speaking of Tupou, the baby giraffe who came to dominate the airways and left wing for the Roosters, he and Johnston have been the game’s most consistent run-scorers over the past decade, and a double century awaits the veteran ace.
If you look at Johnston’s record year-over-year, it boils down to this: if he’s in the pad, he’s trying to score.
The 2018 campaign – when Souths played in the preliminary final under Anthony Seibold and Johnston played the rest of the year at full-back – was the only season in which Johnston was fit and did not end up with a try bag.
The 2021 and 2022 seasons are unique, record-breaking (no one else has scored 30 times in consecutive seasons) for Johnston due to the introduction of restarting players and attacking players like Walker and Mitchell running riot.
Finally, spare a thought for the Tigers – who always seem to appear in these types of statistics from the last decade, for obvious reasons.
Johnston’s 20 tries against the partnership makes them his favorite rival, closely followed by Parramatta and the Roosters (18 each).
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9 Now.
