Wayne "The Dominator" Johnston (born 19 December 1957) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er. Johnston played 209 games and kicked 283 goals for the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

(''the Blues''), in a career spanning 1979–1990. He was inducted into the Carlton Football Club Hall of Fame in 1991. In 2018, Johnston was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Playing career

After playing junior football in Wandin, Johnston attracted the attention of

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

recruiters; in 1975, after being rejected by Oakleigh because it already had a number of rovers on its playing list, he signed to play for

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

. Johnston played for Prahran from 1975 until 1978, and was part of their 1978 premiership winning team. Under VFL zone laws in those days, in 1979 Johnston asked to be cleared to play for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

; but he was part of Carlton's zone, and coach

Alex Jesaulenko Oleksandr "Alex" Jesaulenko ( ; uk, Олександр Васильович Єсауленко, Oleksandr Vasiliovych Yesaulenko, ; born 2 August 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer and who played for the Carlton Football Club and t ...

wanted to see him play before axing him. He debuted in the first game of the 1979 season against the

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

''Bombers''. Johnston impressed, and became a vital member of the 1979 premiership side. He could play either across the

half-forward line In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-forward line refers to a position on the field of play. 3 players are positioned in the half-forward line, a left and right half-forward flank player, as well as a centre half-forward. A hal ...

or in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was the recipient of the Carlton Best and Fairest award, the

John Nicholls Medal The John Nicholls Medal (formerly the Robert Reynolds Trophy from 1934 to 2003) is an Australian rules football award given to the player(s) adjudged best and fairest for the Carlton Football Club for the season. The voting system as of the 2017 ...

(at that time called the Robert Reynolds Trophy), first in 1983 and then in 1986, when he tied with

Craig Bradley Craig Edwin Bradley (born 23 October 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer and first-class cricketer. He is the games record holder at Carlton in the AFL/VFL, and in elite Australian rules football (the AFL/VFL, SANFL and WAFL). Early ...

. Johnston was made captain of the Blues from 1984–1985, and his presence was critical in high-pressure games and especially finals. He played in the Carlton premiership sides of 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1987. For 1991, Johnston was signed by struggling

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

club Sturt and was regarded as a key recruit in the hope of improving the Double Blues from only two wins in 1990, but injuries meant he played just three games for the Double Blues before injury ended his playing career and he was sacked ten weeks before the SANFL minor round ended. In 2003 he was selected in

's Team of the Century.

Personal life

With his first wife Debbie Johnston, has four surviving children. A fifth, Matt, died in 1999 from an asthma attack. After retiring from football, he moved to Brisbane in 1993, where, among other jobs, he worked as a

wharfie A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

. He stayed connected with football, however, and for a time coached the Mt Gravatt ''Vultures'' in the AFL Queensland South-East Premier League. Following the breakup of his marriage, Johnston and family moved back to Melbourne; there he found a new love, actress

Kate Kendall Kate Kendall (born 27 July 1973) is an Australian actress and director. She played Angie Piper in the long-running Nine Network Australian drama '' Stingers'' from 1998 to 2004. Kendall has appeared in television series '' The Librarians'' (20 ...

, and they married on 28 November 2004. Johnston returned to the AFL environment and served as a runner for two seasons for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. His sons are also keen footballers. One of his sons, Marc, currently plays for

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

in the VFL.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Wayne 1957 births Living people Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club Premiership players Prahran Football Club players John Nicholls Medal winners Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Sturt Football Club players Victorian State of Origin players Australia international rules football team players Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Four-time VFL/AFL Premiership players