The Scone Thoroughbred, a Country player of the Year a dozen years ago, led his side to a famous and hard-earned 16-14 Aplus Contracting Hunter Valley Group 21 first grade grand final win over Muswellbrook Rams on Sunday.

At age 38 he was the oldest player on the field. He was also the best and named man of the match after the pulsating match. Those of us lucky enough to have seen Johnson play when he was a teenager at Tamworth High School, slicing through defences as a brilliant running halfback have been just as lucky to have seen him since, giving his all for Scone over the past decade or so.

He, and injured captain-coach Daniel Ritter, are the only survivors from the last Scone side that won the 2006 premiership. And John was delighted he could finish with another title at Olympic Park on Sunday.

“It’s been an emotional day. Been a long time coming,” Johnson said after the game.

In recent years he’d broken two ankles and one arm as his premiership hopes seemed to be slipping away.

“The missus hasn’t been too impressed. But that’s it. Leave it to the young blokes now,” he said.

Johnson’s experience and ability to run and draw defenders from dummy half was a principal reason why he played in number 15. 

Down to start off the bench he, instead started and then moved into the backrow when Jarrod Wicks came on.

“They terrorised him the first 10 or 15 minutes of the major semi. We worked on a  few things and thought this might be better,” he said.

It worked perfectly, Johnson creating some good chances out of dummy half and then Wicks coming on to tidy up around the ruck with a lot of good defence. It then enabled Johnson to adopt a running role, something he excelled at.

“That last three minutes we played on raw emotion too,” he added of a tough and tight finish to a game it took control of with some stinging second half defence and a lone try to Tim Smith.

“But I think our last 10 minutes was the best we played all game too.”

While he knew there were no second chances and he was playing his last game he was also determined to win it for not only his club and teammates but for Ritter.

The Scone captain-coach had torn his knee to piece in the preliminary final against Aberdeen and was having a knee reconstruction in Newcastle a day after Sunday’s grand final. Ritter has been an outstanding friend and leader, John said.

“He’s the type of bloke you’d do anything for and anything with.”