Tara Murray
A whirlwind 2024 has continued for Werribee’s Aidan Johnson, who has now earned a spot on an AFL list with Melbourne.
Johnson had played just one Victorian Football League game heading into the 2024 after a number of injuries had him contemplating his future at that level.
He managed to playe21 games for Werribee this season and put his name in front of AFL recruiters.
On Thursday night, Melbourne called his name out at pick 68.
The 24-year-old said on Saturday that it was all starting to sink in what had happened.
“I kind of still feel like I have a job on a work site,” he said. “It still feels a bit surreal.
“I was straight into it. I kind of got drafted at 10pm at night and 7.30am the next morning I’m down at the club and ready to train not even 12 hours late.
“I’ve gone from working on a job site to being an AFL footballer, it’s a bit crazy.”
Johnson had a nervous day on Thursday while he waited to find out whether he had done enough to be drafted.
His manager, Kyle Hartigan, said the Demons were having a meeting on Thursday morning and he would let him know.
At about 3.30-4pm, Johnson was basically just told to watch the draft from home and that was it.
“I was supposed to go to Dom’s [Brew] house for dinner and everything and I said we might have to move the dinner to my house,” he said.
“I live with Hudson Garoni and I said Dom and all that are coming over, Kyle has mentioned that we should watch it at home
“I thought, nah it’s going to happen and didn’t think too much.”
As the news was settling in, Demons coach Simon Goodwin turned up at Johnson’s house.
Johnson said he was still pretty gobsmacked at that stage.
“I couldn’t speak to be honest,” he said. “All the excitement of getting picked up, all the hard work and that started to bubble over.
“I kind of got a bit emotional and he walked through the front door and you kind of think, holy s**t this is actually real.”
Johnson said the whole journey the past 12 months had been a pretty crazy one.
He said he considered walking away from VFL before this season, but a chat with Brew played a major role in convincing him to have one more crack.
Johnson, whose local club is Yarraville Seddon, said Brew said that it would all eventually pay off and it did in more than one way.
The first was a premiership with a group he loved playing with and now being drafted.
“To be honest, it’s pretty crazy how it all ended,” he said. “It’s a bit of a fairytale ending getting picked up right at the end.
“It’s icing on the cake and a bit of a childhood dream. There’s a lot more work to come, it’s just getting started.”
Among those Johnson has reached out to early on is former Werribee teammate Shaun Mannagh, who got drafted last year.
It was Mannagh that got him to Werribee. Richmond’s Tylar Young is another with the two growing up as neighbours.
Having already kicked off pre-season training, Johnson said he’s ready for the challenge ahead.
“I’ll get to know everyone and get into the group, but my best foot forward and let actions speak words.
“There is no ceiling on it as such.”
