Gold Coast Titans streaker Javon Johanson opens up on that tackle
The streaker crash-tackled by a security guard during the Gold Coast Titans’ NRL match on Saturday night knows how to dish out the hits herself. Here’s what we know about her.
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The Gold Coast Titans NRL match pitch invader so heavily tackled by security that it’s under review says: “I got what I deserved”.
Javon Johanson has opened up on her 30 seconds of infamy as she now faces court, being dumped for her public spectacle and it can be revealed she has a junior football resume.
The Gold Coasters who sprinted on to the field from the stands at Cbus Stadium on Saturday before being crash-tackled, was a pioneer for females in male-dominated sports 16 years ago.
She beat 300 boys to be judged the Gold Coast’s best and fairest second runner-up 2006 in under-14 Bs Aussie Rules – a feat no other girl had achieved at the time.
“The best part is when I smash the boys because the crowd go ‘ohhh’,’’ Ms Johanson said in an interview in 2006. She was 12.
“I like the roughness.
“Everyone ignored me when I first started playing,’’ the Keebra Park State High School student said.
“They used to say ’don’t pass it to the chick’. Then when I reached under-10s they started passing the ball to me a bit more and they’d say `she’s getting a bit tougher now’.’’
Titans chairman Dennis Watt has called for a review of the security tackle of Ms Johanson, saying it seemed “heavy handed” to him and “over the top”.
Ms Johanson, who told Seven News she “got what I deserved” and that the security guard was “doing his job”, told Triple M: “I used to play AFL and rugby and I have three brothers, so getting tackled was not a problem. The tackle was honestly fine, it was more how much air I got. I guess it just looks so much worse. He could have just grabbed me at that time and I would have fallen over.”
Along with facing a $5000 fine under stadium rules and a court appearance, she reposted footage on TikTok of the tackle and a text from a person she suggested was her boyfriend appearing to break up with her.
“You’re an idiot and a disgrace. Thank you for an absolute embarrassment. Don’t try contact me,” the text read. She captioned it: “When your man doesn’t come to the footy but wakes up to this.”
Ms Johanson, a Gold Coast native, has an Instagram filled with happy snaps of friends and family, including one of her posing by the pool at Nineteen at The Star.
One of Ms Johanson’s most recent posts shows her drinking a cocktail with a friend at The Sporting Globe Robina with the caption: “Life’s too short to be anything but happy.”
She is also a frequent traveller, posting pictures of holidays in Osaka, Japan as well as Melbourne, Tasmania and Noosa.
In her younger years she became just the second girl on the Gold Coast to have played 100 Aussie rules games, turning out for Surfers Paradise Demons.
Even though she collected a series of awards for her feats in 2006, she said: “I was pretty amazed to do so well in the awards because the boys are rough and big and I didn’t think I’d had a good year.’’
The judging panel disagreed, rewarding the ruck rover for her deft touch with handballs and consistency with kicks, tackles and goalkicking.
She was also part of the Keebra Park team that won both the under-13 and under-15 finals at the district touch finals that year.
At the time, Ms Johanson said she would consider going further in Aussie rules but also loved four other sports – rugby league, touch football, athletics and swimming.
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