Brad Johnson (Australian footballer)

Brad Johnson
Johnson working for Fox Footy at a pre-season match in March 2017
Personal information
Full name	Brad Johnson
Nickname(s)	Johnno, Smiling Assassin, Springboard
Date of birth	(1976-07-18) 18 July 1976
Place of birth	Hoppers Crossing, Victoria
Original team(s)	Western Jets
Draft	11th overall, 1993 Western Bulldogs
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s)	Forward
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1994–2010	Western Bulldogs	364 (558)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010.
Career highlights
3x Charles Sutton Medal: 1999, 2002, 2006 5x Western Bulldogs leading Goalkicker: 2001, 2005, 2006–2008 6x All-Australian Team: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006 (c), 2007 Western Bulldogs Captain: 2007–10 AFL Rising Star nominee: 1995 Western Bulldogs Team of the Century
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Brad Johnson (born 18 July 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who was the captain of Australian Football League team Western Bulldogs. Despite his small size for his position, he was considered to be one of the best forwards in the game because of his overhead marking ability, and he also had the ability to play across half forward or in the midfield.

AFL career

Brad Johnson preparing to kick for goal during the 2007 AFL season

Footscray/Western Bulldogs career

Johnson made his debut in the 1994 season, and he is known for his roles as a damaging forward or midfielder. Known as the "Smiling Assassin" due to the constant smile on his face, he is a popular figure around the club and has won three best and fairest awards – in 1999, 2002 and 2006.

In 1996, Johnson, along with the entire Western Bulldogs club (then known as the Footscray Football Club), was filmed for the documentary Year of the Dogs, which was released in 1997. The documentary followed the turbulent 1996 season, where the Dogs finished in the second-last position on the ladder.

In 1997, Johnson and the Dogs had a good season. They finished third on the ladder and made it all the way to the preliminary final. In the preliminary final, the Dogs faced the Adelaide Crows and led at the final break by five goals. In the fourth quarter, the Crows made a stirring come back to win the game by 2 points. Johnson played in several other preliminary finals in his career, but he never competed in a Grand Final.

In 2000, Johnson was a part of the Bulldogs side that ended Essendon's winning streak of 20 games in the classic round 21 clash. The Dogs defeated the Bombers in a fierce contest by just 2 goals. Right on half-time Essendon player John Barnes turfed Johnson and left him concussed. This led to a vicious brawl between the teams. At the end of the game Johnson ran on the field and confronted Barnes, giving him the last word. The Dogs were the only team to beat Essendon that year, who would later go on to win the premiership.

Johnson was the springboard in what many consider to be the greatest mark in the history of the AFL when Gary Moorcroft took the mark of the year in 2001, earning him the nickname "Springboard". It is considered to be the greatest mark of all time by many, including in a 2021 AFL-run poll of more than 30,000 fans, where Moorcroft won with 25% of the vote.

Johnson has represented Australia in International Rules Football in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003.

In 2005, he kicked a Goal of the Year contender – an amazing soccer-style half volley from an extremely tight angle on the boundary line.

Johnson has been selected in the All-Australian Team in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he was chosen as captain of the Bulldogs following the injury of Luke Darcy and also as captain of the All-Australian Team. Under Johnson's leadership, the Bulldogs made the finals for the first time since 2000. In their Elimination Final, the Dogs defeated Collingwood by 41 points. They were knocked out in the semi-finals by West Coast. Johnson capped off his 2006 season by finishing second in the Coleman Medal with 70 goals, an amazing feat considering that he had played the final 11 games of the season with a shoulder injury that later required surgery.

In round one of the 2007 season, Johnson kicked a career-high eight goals against the eventual premiers, Geelong. Despite several impressive wins, the Dogs didn't make finals this year.

He started the 2008 season against the Adelaide Crows in his 300th game and kicked five second-half goals, including three in the last seven minutes as the Bulldogs came out on top by three points. The Dogs continued this season with many impressive performances and even finished third on the ladder. Their remarkable season came to an end when they lost to a strong Geelong side in the Preliminary Final by just under five goals. That same year Johnson was selected to represent the Victorian football team in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match, although Johnson pulled out just weeks before the match.

In his later seasons, Johnson twice had the misfortune of missing shots on goal after the final siren to win the game. In Round 9, 2008, against North Melbourne, Johnson missed a shot at goal from 35 metres out on a 45-degree angle. A year later in the same round, Johnson had the same opportunity but this time against the Geelong Cats from 10 metres in front of goal on a tight angle in which he also missed.

The 2009 season was another marginally successful season for the Dogs under Johnson's captaincy. The Bulldogs for the second consecutive year finished third on the ladder. The Dogs played their final match in a Preliminary Final blockbuster against the Saints, losing by just 7 points.

On 1 August 2009, Johnson became the games record holder for the Western Bulldogs. With 342 games, he surpassed Chris Grant's old record of 341 games for the club. Johnson went on to play a total of 364 games for the Western Bulldogs and as of 2022 remains the club's record holder for most games played.

In 2010, whilst recovering from a previous injury Johnson, was struck by the club's drinks cart in training. His then manager Ricky Nixon later said that the resulting injury was worse than Johnson and the club let on and that it hastened the end of Johnson's career. On 6 September 2010, Johnson announced his retirement from AFL at the end of the 2010 season. Johnson played his final game on 18 September 2010, after the Bulldogs' second consecutive loss to St Kilda in a preliminary final.

On 4 June 2014, Johnson was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Playing positions

Brad Johnson regularly played as a half-forward flanker; however, when he was heavily tagged or out of the play, he was able to play as a forward pocket or midfielder.

Statistics

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
1994	Footscray	33	9	7	7	90	24	114	23	8	0.8	0.8	10.0	2.7	12.7	2.6	0.9
1995	Footscray	6	21	10	9	199	91	290	78	33	0.5	0.4	9.5	4.3	13.8	3.7	1.6
1996	Footscray	6	22	14	13	264	85	349	90	20	0.6	0.6	12.0	3.9	15.9	4.1	0.9
1997	Western Bulldogs	6	24	16	15	375	125	500	122	25	0.7	0.6	15.6	5.2	20.8	5.1	1.0
1998	Western Bulldogs	6	24	29	14	330	133	463	120	26	1.2	0.6	13.8	5.5	19.3	5.0	1.1
1999	Western Bulldogs	6	24	26	21	382	162	544	133	22	1.1	0.9	15.9	6.8	22.7	5.5	0.9
2000	Western Bulldogs	6	21	32	16	346	121	467	120	35	1.5	0.8	16.5	5.8	22.2	5.7	1.7
2001	Western Bulldogs	6	22	48	32	327	109	436	124	36	2.2	1.5	14.9	5.0	19.8	5.6	1.6
2002	Western Bulldogs	6	22	44	28	334	154	488	137	47	2.0	1.3	15.2	7.0	22.2	6.2	2.1
2003	Western Bulldogs	6	22	42	23	335	167	502	146	40	1.9	1.0	15.2	7.6	22.8	6.6	1.8
2004	Western Bulldogs	6	21	19	24	332	120	452	133	51	0.9	1.1	15.8	5.7	21.5	6.3	2.4
2005	Western Bulldogs	6	22	42	23	329	139	468	149	42	1.9	1.0	15.0	6.3	21.3	6.8	1.9
2006	Western Bulldogs	6	24	74	42	332	135	467	174	30	3.1	1.8	13.8	5.6	19.5	7.3	1.3
2007	Western Bulldogs	6	21	59	26	292	114	406	165	37	2.8	1.2	13.9	5.4	19.3	7.9	1.8
2008	Western Bulldogs	6	25	50	28	331	118	449	172	37	2.0	1.1	13.2	4.7	18.0	6.9	1.5
2009	Western Bulldogs	6	25	37	26	353	185	538	176	66	1.5	1.0	14.1	7.4	21.5	7.0	2.6
2010	Western Bulldogs	6	15	9	8	170	69	239	91	14	0.6	0.5	11.3	4.6	15.9	6.1	0.9
Career			364	558	355	5121	2051	7172	2153	569	1.5	1.0	14.1	5.6	19.7	5.9	1.6

Honours and achievements

Brownlow Medal votes
Season	Votes
1994	0
1995	0
1996	2
1997	4
1998	7
1999	3
2000	6
2001	6
2002	4
2003	2
2004	3
2005	6
2006	19
2007	14
2008	0
2009	1
2010	0
Total	77

Individual

• All-Australian: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006 (C), 2007
• Charles Sutton Medal (Footscray F.C./Western Bulldogs B&F): 1999, 2002, 2006
• Footscray F.C./Western Bulldogs Leading Club Goalkicker Award: 2001, 2005-2008
• Australian Representative Honours in International Rules Football: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003
• AFL Rising Star Nominee: 1995 (Round 7)
• Footscray F.C./Western Bulldogs Captain: 2007–2010
• Footscray F.C. Team of the Century - Interchange

Media and personal life

Brad Johnson is married to Donna Johnson and they have two children, Ella and Jack.

Johnson co-hosted children's AFL show Auskick'n Around on Fox Footy Channel with former Essendon Football Club captain Matthew Lloyd before the show was cancelled at the end of 2005.

Brad Johnson is currently the Mix 101.1 Resident Footy Expert on Friday Morning with Brigitte Duclos and Anthony Lehmann.

He has also appeared as a panellist on the Seven Network's AFL Game Day as well as on their coverage of the 2010 AFL Grand Final.

After retirement Johnson made his debut for 3AW Football and Fox Sports in season 2012.

In 2013, he contributed to the website The Roar under the moniker of Johnno.

In 2016, Johnson took part in the EJ Whitten Legends Game. He wore The Big V and was one of the best on ground, kicking 3 goals.

External links

• Brad Johnson's profile on the official website of the Western Bulldogs
• Brad Johnson's playing statistics from AFL Tables