Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 3:28 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

He was let down in a few ways, for a long time during his career the clubs conditioning wasn’t the best and certainly didn’t cater for a finely tuned athlete which may have left him vulnerable to the injuries he suffered. Overusing him as a battering ram was another way we abused his athleticism, yes he’s good at it and most clubs use their wingers for this but we relied on his ability to make metres at least as much as his try scoring. We didn’t put defensive players around him, he was lambasted by his own fans and derided by opposing fans as a poor defender which he isn’t, he was just exposed by poor defenders and defensive systems inside him. That reputation possibly cost Tom a representative call!
The most crucial IMO was that once we knew what we had we should have moved heaven and earth to get a centre who could set him up to score the scintillating try’s we know he’s capable of. Take Offiah at Wigan for example, Wigan went out and bought Gene Miles for the specific reason of getting good ball to Offiah and the results were off the scale. We never did that with Tom and while I know money was an issue we had enough seasons to get someone who could pass to play inside him.

It’s great to see him scoring try’s for fun and getting a Man of Steel nomination, I hope he has a superb play off campaign and wins the lot

T J was outside Topu most of the time ,one of the better centres I have seen at Wakefield ,but like T J ended up been used as a battering ram ,been pushed back too early by poor medical staff, like T J ended up been sidelined for lot of the season .Never saw in full what could have been one of the best combinations because of poor decision .Hope it is put right this season

Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 3:29 pm  

Wollo-Wollo-Wollo-Wayoo wrote:

Strange comparison using that cash rich Wigan side of the early 80s and 90's that was the only professional side in the game and had 8 back to back challenge cup wins versus little old Wakey. Wasn't Miles only there 1 season???

I don't think Catalans Centre Adam Keighran does Tom any favours regarding putting tries or break opportunities on a plate. Maybe a vid of his 27 tries is available somewhere to check that out though?

I saw a few where Kieghran could have put TJ away but didn’t. Think he also scored a lot himself. TJ was joint top try scorer so can’t beat that. Other than 6 freak last game try’s from Miski in the last game TJ should have bagged it exclusively.

Anyway we now have (supposedly) a winger in Walmsley who can score a ton of try’s. Let’s hope we can find a way to maximise this with Jowitt and hopefully a centre who can select a pass and link up.

The one thing that the takeover gives option of is changing and refreshing our conditioning and training plans. I heard over the years about players constantly running up the hills etc. probably not the best for strain on knees etc and I’m sure there’s more modern methods.

An investment in the facilities and training quality for players I would hope will be high on the agenda.

Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 5:52 pm  

Wollo-Wollo-Wollo-Wayoo wrote:

Strange comparison using that cash rich Wigan side of the 80s and 90's that was the only professional side in the game and had 8 back to back challenge cup wins versus little old Wakey. Wasn't Miles only there 1 season???

As a continued fan of TJ I always want to see him score and, with that in mind, I don't think Catalans Centre Adam Keighran does Tom any favours regarding putting tries or break opportunities on a plate. Keighran has got 12 tries himself.
Maybe a vid of his 27 tries is available somewhere to check that out though? There is a vid that has his Wakey tries + 15 of this seasons scores. Keighran supplies his final pass for 4 of those.

Not a strange comparison at all, it’s very accurate!
I also recognised that money was an issue but the philosophy is identical
I didn’t suggest we go out and buy Latrell Mitchell did I, however a Centre with a decent pass in him would have been a start!

Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 5:54 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

Not a strange comparison at all, it’s very accurate!
I also recognised that money was an issue but the philosophy is identical
I didn’t suggest we go out and buy Laurel Mitchell did I, however a Centre with a decent pass in him would have been a start!

Do you think we could tempt hardy to come with laurel too

Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 5:55 pm  

alegend wrote:

T J was outside Topu most of the time ,one of the better centres I have seen at Wakefield ,but like T J ended up been used as a battering ram ,been pushed back too early by poor medical staff, like T J ended up been sidelined for lot of the season .Never saw in full what could have been one of the best combinations because of poor decision .Hope it is put right this season

Seriously!
You think Tupou was a wingers Centre, a Centre who could subtlety get a pass away and put his winger in space, a centre who used footwork to manipulate the defenders to open a channel for his winger!

Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 5:56 pm  

Pat Bateman wrote:

Do you think we could tempt hardy to come with laurel too

Ah the beauty of autocorrect, the gift that keeps giving

Re: Tom Johnstone : Fri Oct 06, 2023 5:59 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

Seriously!
You think Tupou was a wingers Centre, a Centre who could subtlety get a pass away and put his winger in space, a centre who used footwork to manipulate the defenders to open a channel for his winger!

Collis was a wingers wet dream.

Re: Tom Johnstone : Sat Oct 07, 2023 8:58 am  

I dont agree that the club let him down.
OK, Trinity weren't able to have a team of superstars around him and he picked up some injuries but, they treated him well and let him go at the right time (maybe we didn't have much choice there).
Having said that, they brought him on very, very well and certainly helped him become the player that he is.
The comments about him being used as a bettering ram are wrong, he plays just the same role at Catalan, as does Davies on their right wing - it's part of the game.
Maybe the difference is that Johnstone is a "marked man" and attracts a little bit of extra attention from opposition sides.

I hope that he scores a hat trick in the GF and gets MoS, the guy is box office.

Re: Tom Johnstone : Sat Oct 07, 2023 9:58 am  

We certainly did not let Tom down and yes he was used last night to bring the ball away just as he was at Wakefield and as all modern wingers are.

Re: Tom Johnstone : Sat Oct 07, 2023 10:49 am  

Correct border boy