Catalans' Tom Johnstone explains why he'll be ruthless on Wakefield Trinity
Catalans’ Tom Johnstone knows he could hammer a nail in Wakefield’s relegation coffin - but can’t afford to feel guilty.
The England wideman, 28, returns to the club where he made his name on Friday knowing victory for the French outfit could all but send Trinity down. But with long-time leaders Catalans having lost top spot following two successive losses, Johnstone - who scored a hat-trick on his Dragons debut at Belle Vue in February - insisted: “I can’t think about Wakey anymore.
“My priority is winning the comp with Catalans and getting us in the best position for the Grand Final. It’s tough to see Wakey on the brink, especially given all the years we managed to avoid relegation. I’ve a lot of close friends still at the club and I was there for the best part of ten years through thick and thin with them.
“Some of my best mates still play there like Max Jowitt and Reece Lyne who were groomsmen at my wedding. I’ll be a groomsman at Reece’s in December. When I watch them, I’m still desperate for them to win but we need a win, too. I have to concentrate on Catalans getting that Friday - and just hope Wakey get two victories in their last two games.”
Prolific Johnstone scored 87 tries in 115 games for Wakefield but his strike rate’s even more impressive after moving to the south of France this year where he’s grabbed 25 tries in just 24 Dragons appearances. They have been top for most of the year but a shocking 34-0 home loss to Wigan followed by last Friday’s 26-18 defeat at Hull KR has knocked the wind out of their sails. They have fallen to second, although are still joint-top with new leaders Wigan and third-placed St Helens.
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On what’s gone wrong, Johnstone - surprisingly snubbed by England boss Shaun Wane for the mid-season Test against France - recalled: “Wigan came out all guns blazing. We handed them a big defeat at Magic Weekend on the big stage and you could sense they wanted to right some wrongs when they came to our place. They were just far better than us on the day. Credit to them.
Catalans’ Tom Johnstone knows he could hammer a nail in Wakefield’s relegation coffin (Anna Gowthorpe/REX/Shutterstock)“Against Hull KR, if we could go back and change a couple of things, I think we’d have got the win. We didn’t get a few things right and they punished us for it. But we’re confident we can get things right again. We've been confident all year."
Johnstone had a number of worrying concussion issues in his time at Wakefield so Catalans fans may have feared the worst when he came off following a head knock in that trouncing from Wigan. But, although his failed HIA meant he had to sit out last week's game, thankfully he is now free to return. Johnstone said: “I thought nothing of it at the time but as the first half went on my left eye became more and more blurry and to the point I couldn’t see out of it.
“I came off with the HIA but it wasn’t like any of the others I’ve had and I’ve had zero symptoms in the 11 days since. I’m 100 percent confident I’m ready to return as are the medical team who are happy for me to go again. It is good to know."
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