Player Watch Ash Johnson (Delisted 2024)

[CheckerTrade666]

I have just finished watching the 2022 season, and was very impressed by what I saw from Ash Johnson. In that year, at least, he showed a lot. His kicking and marking were features. In the finals he played, he was less impressive, seeming to lose confidence early in his first game and not regain it.
I intend to go through 2023 now, and will observe his outings that year closely. I am at a bit of a loss to understand why he has not kicked on. He seems to be well equipped to succeed.
The suggestions of a move to the back line don't seem promising to me. He is a fly from in front kind of player rather than a climb up the back taker of hangers, and this is not how backs tend to operate. Doesn't mean he couldn't transfer of course, but it doesn't seem likely to me.

I thought he was very solid in 2023, not as damaging as 2022 but he did a good job at filling the void of Mcstay for a lot of the year. If it wasn’t for him getting injured in the VFL finals, he most likely would’ve been the one to come in for the GF instead of Frampton.

 

[76woodenspooners]

GWS round 1 then Sydney Rd 2. Collectively 2 of the worst games I’ve ever seen from a pies player.

You clearly never saw Cameron Wood play?

 

[sr36]

You clearly never saw Cameron Wood play?

Any of that series of ruck:

Fanning, Richards,

 

[Johno9911]

The biggest thing for me with AJ - he needs to develop another “trick”. Yes we know he is fantastic with a clean run and jump at the ball, but when that’s taken away from him - what else has he got?

Gets muscled out of contests easily, doesn’t seem a natural front/centre type goal sneak, lacks the tank to work opponents over up the ground. I’m a big fan of him, and think he is extremely talented, but I get so frustrated when it appears Plan A isn’t working for him, it seems there’s no drive or other option for him to work himself into the game.

 

[Kappa]

You clearly never saw Cameron Wood play?

Cameron Wood tried hard though, he was just horribly uncoordinated. Bit different

 

[NMBB]

Any of that series of ruck:

Fanning, Richards,

One of that lot cost us the 2007 prelim

 

[PiCkLeJuiCe]

You clearly never saw Cameron Wood play?

That's harsh on Wood. And if he plays in the 2011 GF, there's a good chance we win that game.

 

[Drought Break]

You clearly never saw Cameron Wood play?

Yeh I did. Show me 2 games where wood did less than Johnson. The bars set high. 2 touches game 1 and 3 for game 2

 

[Tarkyn_24]

You clearly never saw Cameron Wood play?

Wood’s bad performances were never anywhere near as poor as some of Johnson’s worst.

 

[VinnieB]

I thought he was very solid in 2023, not as damaging as 2022 but he did a good job at filling the void of Mcstay for a lot of the year. If it wasn’t for him getting injured in the VFL finals, he most likely would’ve been the one to come in for the GF instead of Frampton.

I don’t think so. Frampton was there to negate Andrews, which he did for 3 quarters. It was a role that AJ would not have been even slightly considered for.

 

[sr36]

I don't see AJ as a defender as an important part of the job down back is red hot intensity in tackling and pressuring opponents when they have the ball.

Defence forces a different mentality.

I think it's a shame that it sounds like he's playing forward still. He marks more like an interceptor than a modern forward.

 

[ZEV]

Any of that series of ruck:

Fanning, Richards,

I'm laying the blame with Malthouse when it comes to David Fanning.

Delisted at 21 as a 204 cm ruckman after 14 games against players like;

Luke Darcy
Troy Simmonds
Dean Cox
Peter Everitt
Darren Jolly
Primus/Lade
Charman/Keating
Clarke/ Biglands
Sandilands x 2

Being a young ruckman with Malthouse at Collingwood was a career killer.

 

[76woodenspooners]

Cameron Wood tried hard though, he was just horribly uncoordinated. Bit different

That's harsh on Wood. And if he plays in the 2011 GF, there's a good chance we win that game.

Yeh I did. Show me 2 games where wood did less than Johnson. The bars set high. 2 touches game 1 and 3 for game 2

Wood’s bad performances were never anywhere near as poor as some of Johnson’s worst.

Ah, how we do forget …

Let me take you back to round 18, 2012.

We were playing GWS at Showgrounds stadium.

The record shows that Cameron Wood’s stats as 22 hitouts, 5 marks (0 contested), 4 kicks, 7 handballs, 3 tackles, 0 goals, 0 behinds. Even managed a clanger.

Now that might not sound so terrible, but let’s not forget that was GWS’ first season in the competition. You might remember that game as the one where Scott Pendlebury was coaching Adam Treloar on the ground about where to position himself at center bounces. If you don’t see anything unusual about that, consider that Adam Treloar was playing for GWS at the time.

This was a game where GWS got absolutely slaughtered. The final score was

GWS 7.12.54 to Collingwood 26.18.174

Did our Cameron Wood play his role in that? No.

He was up against:

(1) The no-name ruckman Johnathon Giles who beat him in the hit outs 29-22, possessions 19-11, marks 10-5. Giles even got on the scoreboard with 1 goal 2 behinds.

(2) The rucking juggernaut that was Israel Folau who managed 10 hit outs.

I was at that game and Cameron Wood was the epitome of a witches hat in a game where Collingwood was treating GWS like witches hats. Never ran more than a very light jog. I was standing right on the boundary fence at the time of a throw in, and I reckon if somebody handed me a broom stick I could have leant over the fence and done a better rucking job than Cameron Wood, and my follow-up wouldn’t have been any worse than his (despite me not being on the ground)

Stuffed if I can figure out how Cameron Wood could have possibly registered 3 tackles in that game. The only plausible explanation is that Israel Folau forgot he was playing AFL and ran through Cameron Wood with the footy tucked under his arm.

That was Wood’s second last game for Collingwood.

In his last game for Collingwood (which was against a proper team - West Coast) he somehow managed 5 clangers in a game where he only had 8 possessions. And a measly 12 hitouts in 86% gametime.

 

[Tarkyn_24]

Ah, how we do forget …

Let me take you back to round 18, 2012.

We were playing GWS at Showgrounds stadium.

The record shows that Cameron Wood’s stats as 22 hitouts, 5 marks (0 contested), 4 kicks, 7 handballs, 3 tackles, 0 goals, 0 behinds. Even managed a clanger.

Now that might not sound so terrible, but let’s not forget that was GWS’ first season in the competition. You might remember that game as the one where Scott Pendlebury was coaching Adam Treloar on the ground about where to position himself at center bounces. If you don’t see anything unusual about that, consider that Adam Treloar was playing for GWS at the time.

This was a game where GWS got absolutely slaughtered. The final score was

GWS 7.12.54 to Collingwood 26.18.174

Did our Cameron Wood play his role in that? No.

He was up against:

(1) The no-name ruckman Johnathon Giles who beat him in the hit outs 29-22, possessions 19-11, marks 10-5. Giles even got on the scoreboard with 1 goal 2 behinds.

(2) The rucking juggernaut that was Israel Folau who managed 10 hit outs.

I was at that game and Cameron Wood was the epitome of a witches hat in a game where Collingwood was treating GWS like witches hats. Never ran more than a very light jog. I was standing right on the boundary fence at the time of a throw in, and I reckon if somebody handed me a broom stick I could have leant over the fence and done a better rucking job than Cameron Wood, and my follow-up wouldn’t have been any worse than his (despite me not being on the ground)

Stuffed if I can figure out how Cameron Wood could have possibly registered 3 tackles in that game. The only plausible explanation is that Israel Folau forgot he was playing AFL and ran through Cameron Wood with the footy tucked under his arm.

That was Wood’s second last game for Collingwood.

In his last game for Collingwood (which was against a proper team - West Coast) he somehow managed 5 clangers in a game where he only had 8 possessions. And a measly 12 hitouts in 86% gametime.

I was at his final game for Collingwood. It was awful.

It was still miles better than Johnson’s two most recent efforts.

The stats don’t support your claim. The eye test doesn’t either. I don’t know why you’ve decided to even single out Wood over any number of other players that have also performed poorly at Collingwood, but while you do I will continue to reiterate that as bad as some of his games were. Johnson’s have been worse.

Wood went at close to three 1%ers a game in his time at Collingwood. Johnson averages less than one.

 

[VinnieB]

Defence forces a different mentality.

I think it's a shame that it sounds like he's playing forward still. He marks more like an interceptor than a modern forward.

He played games as a defender in the VFL. Zero urgency to run back to defence whenever there was a turnover. Often just ball watching.

 

[sr36]

He played games as a defender in the VFL. Zero urgency to run back to defence whenever there was a turnover. Often just ball watching.

Not hard to learn. My view is more on thinking he's a write off as a forward. He has the jam and cream, but just doesn't have the skillset for the core role.

 

[Aussie pie]

I thought similar things about the Alex Fasolo’s move to defence but he surprised me. I’m not sure we’ll see AJ moved to defence any time soon though.

He already has, played a couple of VFL games down back and looked really good but then got pushed back forward.

 

[swoop42]

One of that lot cost us the 2007 prelim

Just as Johnson did in the 2022 prelim which we lost by a point.

2 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle, 0 1% from 66% TOG.

You can forgive the lack of goals but the complete lack of urgency and effort was borderline unforgivable.

One of the worst displays I've ever seen from a Collingwood player in a game with so much on the line.

 

[VinnieB]

Not hard to learn. My view is more on thinking he's a write off as a forward. He has the jam and cream, but just doesn't have the skillset for the core role.

It seems he doesn't have the drive.
And, he really isn't that good.

 

[VinnieB]

He already has, played a couple of VFL games down back and looked really good but then got pushed back forward.

He didn't look good at all. His opponent was loose and hurting us, while he just watched. That's why they didn't persist with him.

 

[sr36]

He didn't look good at all. His opponent was loose and hurting us, while he just watched. That's why they didn't persist with him.

They moved him so quickly that it felt more like a Wallsy give him a run in the ruck defence to free him up rather than trying to get him to learn the position.