Alex Johnston (rugby league)

Alex Johnston (born 14 January 1995) is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League. He has played his entire professional career to date primarily as a winger for the Rabbitohs, with whom he won the 2014 NRL Premiership.

Background

Of Indigenous Australian and Papua New Guinean descent, Johnston was born in Sydney, New South Wales, where he played his junior football for the La Perouse Panthers before being signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs. As a youngster, Johnston played for the New South Wales Under 16s and 18s teams and Australian Schoolboys team.

Playing career

In 2013, Johnston played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs' S. G. Ball Cup and NYC teams^[2] before moving on to the Rabbitohs' New South Wales Cup team, North Sydney Bears in 2014.

In Round 8 of the 2014 NRL season, Johnston made his NRL debut for the Rabbitohs against the Brisbane Broncos.^[3] He scored a try on debut.

In September 2014, it was revealed that the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team were attempting to have Johnston pledge his allegiance to Papua New Guinea as his grandmother is from a village in Lumi, a place in the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.^[4]

On 5 October 2014, in the Rabbitohs 2014 NRL Grand Final match against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Johnston played on the wing and scored the first try of the match to lead the South Sydney Rabbitohs 30-6 victory.^[5][6]

Representative career

On 14 October 2014, Johnston was selected for the Australia Kangaroos 2014 Four Nations squad but didn't make an appearance in any of Australia's four matches.^[7]

References

External links

• 2014 South Sydney Rabbitohs profile