By Jonty Ralphsmith
Beaconsfield VFL goal kicker Matt Johnson scored three majors on the weekend in Frankston’s 28-point win over Coburg.
Johnson also laid five tackles and took four marks on a wet day at Piranha Park, in Frankston’s comfortable win, with his performance keeping him in touch with Frosty Miller Medal leader Hudson Garoni.
Garoni has 41 goals in 2024, with Johnson three behind him in his second year as a consistent member of a VFL outfit.
He crossed to Frankston ahead of the 2023 season after three years at Casey where he only broke through for one game, limited by the health of Melbourne’s list.
As well as his trusty goal kicking, Johnson is also third in the competition for tackles inside 50.
“It’s a mindset type of thing where I’ve accepted my role,” Johnson said on Frankston’s ‘The Pod-Cast’
“At Beacy I’m used to playing a key forward role and then coming to VFL level and I don’t really fit those shoes so I have tried to change my game to become more of a small forward.
“It’s been a nice improvement to add tackles inside 50 to my game.
“I put a lot of time and effort to my goal kicking – I quite often go down to the oval with my girlfriend and dog and those little extras have paid dividends in the last couple of weeks
“My kicking has always come naturally, and general timing but I do put a fair bit of time into my run up and technique.
“I put in many hours to get it right and I think that way you get a lot of consistency so then when you play a game, it’s no different because you’ve done it 1000 times before.”
The long time Beaconsfield Eagle added that he is motivated by team success at VFL level, having endured some misery in the win-loss column.
“I had that constant aspiration to get the best out of myself and I’ve gotten to a point now in my career where (if I got drafted), that’s great but I’m really craving team success and I’ve had a couple of years where we haven’t won many games.
“Something I’ve learned is I’d prefer to have a half decent game and win than have a really good game and lose.”
