Mark Johnson (footballer)

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Mark Johnson
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Personal information
Birth May 23, 1978 (1978-05-23) (age 30),
Recruited from Calder Cannons
Height and weight 180cm / 80kg
Playing career¹
Debut Round 1, March 25, 1999, Essendon vs. Carlton, at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Team(s) Essendon (1999-2007)

194 games, 93 goals

Fremantle (2008-)

2 games, 1 goal
¹ Statistics to end of Round 9, 2008 season
Career highlights

For other persons named Mark Johnson, see Mark Johnson (disambiguation).

Mark 'MJ' Johnson (born May 23, 1978) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL. After the 2007 season he was delisted before being selected by Fremantle in the AFL Draft.

Known for his toughness, Johnson was part of the midfield duo known as the "Johnson Boys" at Essendon, the other member being Jason Johnson. The two are not related, however Mark does have a brother who plays in the AFL for Geelong, David Johnson.

Johnson is commonly known as "Mr. Sunbury", referring to the body building award he won as a teenager in his home town of Sunbury, Victoria.[1] He was elevated from the Essendon rookie list in 1998, playing his first game in 1999. He was part of the 2000 premiership side, and won the W.S. Crichton Medal in 2002.

He is a courageous player and sometimes his height and strength are underestimated by opposition players.

On October 15, Essendon announced that 29 year old Johnson was to be delisted by the club, giving him the option of nominating for the national draft.[2] The decision to delist Johnson was unpopular to many Essendon fans who enjoyed Mark's 'hard at it' attitude to his footy.

In November 2007, Mark was training with rival club, the Kangaroos.[3] In the 2007 AFL Draft however, he was drafted to West Australian club, Fremantle, where he will be reunited with former Essendon team mate Dean Solomon, who was traded by Essendon in 2006, and Kepler Bradley, also delisted by the Dons at the end of the 2007 season. The Essendon connection at Fremantle extends to their coach Mark Harvey, a three time premiership player with Essendon, and former assistant coach under Kevin Sheedy, as well as assistant coach Dean Wallis and Football Manager Robert Shaw.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ BomberBlitz.com: Exclusive Interview - Mark Johnson Accessed on December 11, 2006
  2. ^ Essendon FC: Essendon Delists three playersOctober 15 2007
  3. ^ Matthews, Bruce; Mark Johnson keen; 14 November 2007
  4. ^ Fremantle FC: New Home for a favourite Don November 24 2007
v • d • e
Essendon Bombers squad – 2000 AFL Premiers (16th Title)
Preceded by
Jason Johnson		 Essendon Best and Fairest winner
2002		 Succeeded by
James Hird, Scott Lucas
v • d • e
Fremantle Football Club – current squad

1 Webster • 2 J. Carr • 3 Schammer • 4 Hasleby • 5 Dunn* • 6 Solomon • 7 Peake • 8 McManus • 9 M. Carr • 10 Palmer • 11 Headland • 12 O'Brien • 13 Pratt* • 14 Grover • 15 Crowley • 16 Mundy • 17 Mark Johnson • 18 McPharlin • 19 Hinkley • 20 Tarrant • 21 Black • 22 Thornton • 23 Mayne • 24 Campbell • 25 Dodd • 26 Bradley • 27 Gilmore • 28 Murphy • 29 Pavlich • 30 Drum • 31 Sandilands • 32 Bell • 33 Farmer • 34 Warnock • 35 Ibbotson • 36 Browne • 37 Michael Johnson • 38 Smith* • 39 Mourish* • 40 Foster • 41 Duffield • 42 Head • 43 Hayden • 44 Connelly*

Coach: Harvey

* denotes Rookie Listed players


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