Past Travis Johnstone (2008-2010)

[Sherminator.]

Re: Travis Johnstone

An Essendon supporter in front of me was rubbishing Johnstone from the second he took the field.

He soon shut up after that kick to Henderson.

Lol'd.

Okay, now imagine Henderson is Brown and Trapper is making those kind of passes lace out 9 out of 10 times.

 

[chopperduck]

Re: Travis Johnstone

i think trav ended up with about 5 inside 50's didn't he ? pretty good for the first game without any of our big name forwards playing. him, adcock and great at hitting the forwards. with trav in the team, should free up power a bit more too and he certain aint bad at hitting targets. i think hooper is really good at finding a forward too. maybe not in tight situations, but if he breaks away and is heading towards the 50 with a forward leading towards him he is a really good chance at hitting the chest.

was a few games last year where i thought i was clearly delivering it the best to our forwards.

i thought half our problem last year was that we blew most of our few chances we got bringing it into our forwards because of poor delivery. trav will definately help us with this.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Link

Matthews said he had no regrets with trading Wood for Johnstone, such has been the ex-Melbourne midfielder's impact since his arrival."When we decided to let Cameron Wood go and bring in Travis Johnstone last October it was on the basis that we had Beau as part of our ruck stocks," he said.
"I have a feeling we would probably make the same decision now because we are really pleased with what Travis has done."

 

[ZoBlitz]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Had a good first quarter as has been said and then faded out of the game.

I think he will be big asset to the team, could get Browny to the 100

 

[The Great Gabsby]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Had a good first quarter as has been said and then faded out of the game.

I watched Travis closely in the game and his performance was basically what we saw from him most weeks at Melbourne. Turns it on for patches of brilliance but then tends to go missing. Unless he has a drastic attitude change then you can basically expect more of the same during the year. That said, sometimes his 15 odd possessions can be so damaging that it doesn't really matter if he goes missing for a while.

He seemed to be floating between the half back and half forward flank. Are these the positions Leigh is planning to play him in during the year?

 

[Lace Out]

Re: Travis Johnstone

I watched Travis closely in the game and his performance was basically what we saw from him most weeks at Melbourne. Turns it on for patches of brilliance but then tends to go missing. Unless he has a drastic attitude change then you can basically expect more of the same during the year. That said, sometimes his 15 odd possessions can be so damaging that it doesn't really matter if he goes missing for a while.

He seemed to be floating between the half back and half forward flank. Are these the positions Leigh is planning to play him in during the year?

Leigh was asked where he would played and he basically said you have your key backs and forwards and rucks and the the rest of them are interchangeable.Didnt give much away really.You'd have to say he will played as some type of linkman which he had played at Melbourne,probably not much point changing the way he has played very well all his time at this level.

 

[T Rick]

Re: Travis Johnstone

 

[T Rick]

Re: Travis Johnstone

 

[cotcha now]

Re: Travis Johnstone

he got a haircut finally. looks totally different ,being in the lions jumper

huge loss to the dees wat i think, brisbane gona play finls definetly this year

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Link

Top 10 players ‘Under The Pump’: By Ryan Daniels
Posted Mar 4, 2008 - 9:43 AM

Ryan Daniels continues his intriguing lists in the preseason of 2008, this time looking at the players on the brink of football extinction, who are in need of a career best season.

Travis Johnstone (Brisbane)
There is no doubting the former No. 1 draft pick’s ability. That has never been the problem. The issue with Johnstone is that he shows just enough brilliance throughout a season to cause his coaches to pull their hair out. He has the potential to be a top ten midfielder but seems destined to remain a waste of raw talent. A new environment up in Brisbane may be just the thing he needs to jump start his career. If not, this could be the last of his second chances.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

started on the bench and played mostly at half back with only occasional stints in the middle. I think we might see this a fair bit more but I am not convinced that he and Drummond should be playing at the back at the same time as neither of them are great defensively. He did lay a few tackles today though. He got 15 (maybe a few more) possessions and as I mentioned before when he has time he is very good but when he is pressured all bets are off. One thing which was interesting was that he was one of the most vocal on the field yelling and directing traffic. He might well become one of the onfield leaders in a very short time.

Interesting observation. I saw one or two examples of this in the NAB Cup game against Essendon so I'll be keeping an eye out for this.

Also I think Johnstone will be much more effective for us at half forward. I saw when he was at Melbourne how well he reads the play. He will kick it into space and force the forwards to lead into the right spots. It was an area we struggled in at times last year. Not only will he help with his own input but hopefully a few of the others can learn a thing or two as well.

 

[LionInTheWest23]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Also I think Johnstone will be much more effective for us at half forward. I saw when he was at Melbourne how well he reads the play. He will kick it into space and force the forwards to lead into the right spots. It was an area we struggled in at times last year.

If he can average around 15-18 possessions on the half foward and around 8-10 effective kicks inside 50 I'd be very happy. Hopefuly he can secure a spot on the half foward.

 

[BigCat2]

Re: Travis Johnstone

If he can average around 15-18 possessions on the half foward and around 8-10 effective kicks inside 50 I'd be very happy. Hopefuly he can secure a spot on the half foward.

If it were up to me I'd tell my midfielders to feed Travis the ball and create space for him so he can optimise his disposal. Last year we weren't high possession winners but we made it much harder for ourselves by winning the hard ball out of the centre, only to deliver a nothing kick into forward 50 that is easily swept away by defenders, and get hurt on the rebound.

I think the return of Bradshaw, acquisition of Travis and more experience and training into young players will all contribute to more meaningful attacks.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Link

The arrival of Travis Johnstone and return from injury of Daniel Bradshaw will immediately make the Lions better.
Johnstone, on his day, was the most dangerous player at Melbourne. You tagged either Trav or Cam Bruce if you were plotting the Dees' downfall.
At Brisbane, the prodigiously talented midfielder should be able to break the chains.
Black, Luke Power and Nigel Lappin will soak up much of the attention.
You can picture Johnstone burning up and down the wings at the Gabba. Traded players so often thrive in year one at a new club.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Re: Travis Johnstone

He certainly seems to be getting some press, his name always seems to be mentioned in the articles I'm reading.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Link

Power also paid tribute to new signing Travis Johnstone, secured during last season’s trade week in arguably the week’s second most talked-about deal after Chris Judd’s move to Carlton.
“Travis will release a lot of pressure on the Blacks, Lappins and Adcocks of the team,” Power said.
“He’s such a laid-back character, he fits in very well with the Brisbane lifestyle and he’s been great since he joined.
“He’s going to add a lot to our team and you don’t recruit class players like that every day of the week, so he’s going to add to the depth of our side.”

 

[OldLion]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Needs a team role - not sure where he fits. Keen to see him show real desperation.

 

[danielcan]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Needs a team role - not sure where he fits. Keen to see him show real desperation.

If you sit close enough to the fence during a game, you'd see that he displays great leadership. This is what I've found at two Challenge games I attended.

 

[stopeedie]

Re: Travis Johnstone

The best kick going round. The NAB challenge game where he kicked it down Lachie's throat was priceless. Looks GREAT in a lions jumper too!

Ohhh bruce, its sppppeeecciiaalll!

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Link

Brisbane's midfield will be bolstered by big-name signing Travis Johnstone, who has transferred from the Demons. Despite struggling at times in trials, Matthews was expecting Johnstone to step up against the Eagles and said he may be used a utility to further boost Brisbane's flexibility.
"He hasn't had a fantastic pre-season. He's played some good footy for us. He's played well. His fourth game was his best. He's another very high-quality player, experienced and I think he'll add to our group," Matthews said.
"I think he hasn't got a core role. You play him all over the place. A bit forward, a bit midfield, a bit defence. We've been a bit locked into our structure. While we've had a structure that worked well at times, we want to be less predictable. He's a player that can play a lot of positions."

Link

Black said Johnstone was a handy addition. "It is great having him on board," he said.

"He has only played patches over the summer but his first game against Essendon at Carrara was really good but he was used sparingly after that.

"But he is a terrific user of the footy and hopefully he can get a lot of the ball in his hands this week and as the year goes on."

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Link

Dees smile as Johnstone runs riot
Mark Stevens
March 15, 2008 12:00am

AFTER 21 weeks of pain, there were wry smiles all round in the Melbourne coaching box. You can imagine the the raised eye-brows as Travis Johnstone was left to run around as if he gorged a truckload of garlic.
The damaging Demon had spent most of his AFL life getting tagged.
Johnstone himself said last month: "I got the heaviest tag every week, even when I wasn't playing well".
If you're not convinced that Johnstone is a constant target for the opposition, consider the list of nagging taggers assigned the job last year.
In the first nine weeks alone, Johnstone copped six of the league's best stoppers: Steven Baker (Round 1), Brad Sewell (Round 2), Cameron Ling (Round 3), Ben Mathews (Round 5), Kane Cornes (Round 6) and Brady Rawlings (Round 9).
It reads like a who's who of AFL pests.
Yet in that now infamous Round 22 clash with Carlton last year - billed as the game neither team wanted to win - Johnstone was allowed to play half-back/wing without the usual close attention.
Johnstone finished with a staggering 42 disposals - the most recorded by a Melbourne player since official records started in 1990.
It was to be Johnstone's last game in red and blue. He was traded to Brisbane soon after.
What a way to go out.
Given the amazing stats, it was obvious that Johnstone's name would be raised when Carlton coach Brett Ratten fronted the media yesterday to denounce Tony Liberatore's claims the Blues tanked late last year.
Ratten's defence was understandable.
Heath Scotland had 41 touches for Carlton playing a similar role to Johnstone and the Blues thought he was more damaging.
And Champion Data stats back up Ratten's claim that Johnstone was sloppy with his work. Of his 42 disposals, 13 were ineffective.
Seven of those stuff-ups were clangers by foot.
Player rankings points also support Ratten's defence.
Scotland finished with 146 points. Johnstone had 119.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Was tonight a sign of things to come?

He got 20 disposals. Most of those came in a little hot streak in the 2nd and 3rd quarters which helped get us back in the game. Then he disappeared. His kicking was one minute spectacular the next minute ordinary.

 

[Dylan12]

Re: Travis Johnstone

Alot to like nonetheless - I don't think i would be wrong in saying that that first pass to Browny on his left excited and teased many of us of things to come (especially if he can ram the ball down the throats of Browny and Braddy with quality delivery).

TJ was not alone in going awol for periods but he still looked the type who could break the game open and hopefully will do over the coming months.

 

[konstas_87]

Re: Travis Johnstone

i wont be too critical early because the whole team was average with its disposal tonight. However if he is to be a solid midfielder in our team he needs to show consistency, not just flare.

i also thought he lacked body strength in physical contests, although no1 has ever claimed he is a contested player so he can hardly be criticised for that i guess.

 

[notting18]

Re: Travis Johnstone

I am wondering if people are setting the bar too high for Johnstone. He is not in the Black class of midfielder in my book, but he has the same level of class when he turns it on. I think anything over 20 touches a game will be a good game for TJ this year, as he has the ability to set up 2 or 3 goals a game with those touches.

Maybe we may just have to live with 1 to 2 quarters of brilliant flare a game than 4 quarters of consistent footy.