Lewis Johnston - 2008 AFL Draftee Profile
Flashy, blonde, and barracks for Collingwood - Lewis Johnston has all the attributes to divide opinions come draft day this year. A strong athletic power forward from South Australia, Johnston impressed with a couple of key performances during the NAB U/18 Championships, but might fall lower due to a couple of glaring weaknesses in his game…
Height: 192cm
Weight: 87kg
Position: Key Position Forward
Club: North Adelaide
Who we think he may turn out like: Dermott Brereton
Who we hope he doesn’t turn out like: Clive Waterhouse
A bottom aged draftee, Johnston definitely brings a lot to the table. A power forward in the U/18 competition, he is an exceptional athlete capable of taking a contested grab and leading strongly with good pace. He is very good at presenting himself as a lead up forward, but can also vary his leads to work different angles and use his pace to run around his defender. He is also a good kick of the ball on his left foot and is far from hopeless on his right side.
For all of Johnston’s positive attributes, he also comes with a couple of strong negatives. His major weakness is his defensive mindset - which he also admits to himself. When the ball is turned over his chasing is virtually non-existent, and he can be exploited by an opponent who is prepared to run off him and play positively themselves. With the increase in attacking backmen in the AFL, this is a glaring weakness which he will have to focus on.
His other major weakness at this stage appears to be a lack of discipline. Throughout the carnival he gave away a number of silly free kicks which he will need to rein in or he might find himself spending a lot of time riding the pine at the top level.
All in all, Johnston is an exciting package with a few question marks hanging over his head, meaning he could turn out to be the steal of the draft, yet still a risk if a team was to select him with a medium first round selection.
Do you like the look of Lewis Johnston? Will he make a successful step up to the big time or is he going to be put in his place very quickly? Let us know below!
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Comments
[…] - Mitch Robinson Nov 11 - Chris Yarran Nov 12 - Jackson Trengove Nov 13 - Shaun McKernan Nov 14 - Lewis Johnston Nov 15 - Aaron Cornelius Nov 16 - Nick Suban Nov 17 - Sam Blease Nov 18 - Stephen Hill Nov 19 - […]
[…] - Phil Davis (North Adelaide) 11 - Collingwood - Steele Sidebottom (Murray U18) 12 - Sydney - Lewis Johnston (North Adelaide) 13 - St Kilda - Tom Lynch (Sandringham U18) 14 - Western Bulldogs - Ayce Cordy […]
Sounds very similar to Fevola that he is flamboyant but lacks in 1%ers etc.
I would recruit him if your after a KP player, I reckon Adelaide would be in the mix, especially that they are after a few this draft.