Alex Johnston is within reach of league’s greatest record – and he won’t let injury stop him getting it
Billy Slater finished with 190 career tries (in 319 NRL games) and sits third behind Johnston on the all-time list, followed by Manly legend Steve Menzies (180) in fourth and former Dragons, Canterbury and Roosters flyer Brett Morris (176) in fifth.
The only current NRL players on the leaderboard who remain an outside chance of overhauling Irvine’s remarkable mark are Roosters veteran Daniel Tupou (164 tries and 33 years of age) and Parramatta recruit Josh Addo-Carr (140 tries and 29 years of age).
Johnston has avoided questions about reeling in Irvine’s record, which has stood since 1973, for fear of jinxing himself.
“And now you know why I didn’t want to talk about it last year,” Johnston told this masthead. “Everyone was talking about it last year, how I was going to get it, and then I get injured.
Alex Johnston is helped off after injuring his Achilles in Canberra.Credit: Getty
“It doesn’t take much for [the record chase] to get pushed back.
“It’s close, but it’s still so far away.
“Just to be in this position, it’s something you’d never even dream of.
“To think I could do something that people thought was impossible … it would be pretty special to do it.”
Johnston’s Rabbitohs deal runs out at the end of this year and Souths are happy to see how he returns from the serious injury before starting a conversation about his future.
“I feel good,” he said. “I don’t know how long my contracts will be from now; I [might have to] take one or two years at a time.
“I’d love to stay at Souths; Souths is where it is at.
“[The injury] put a lot into perspective. I’m grateful for what I’ve accomplished so far. I consider myself lucky I’ve played for so long, and [I know] how hard I now need to work to get back to where I want to be.
“If I’m playing good footy, I’m sure the contract will sort itself out.”
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Johnston commenced running in late January and said one of the biggest challenges was adjusting from running in joggers to football boots.
Souths are expected to start the year with 20-year-old Tyrone Munro on the left wing, while Isaiah Tass has spent most of the pre-season on the right wing.
