Jack Johnstone appointed senior coach of Sale
Maffra and Sale are great foes in Gippsland football, and a pinch of pepper has been added to the rivalry with Sale’s new coaching appointment.
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Sale and Maffra are fierce and enduring foes in Gippsland football.
Their rivalry goes back many years.
“They hate each other!’’ Maffra’s former VFL champion Sam Pleming said this morning.
It’s fair to say relations between the clubs won’t be improved by the news that Maffra star Jack Johnstone – by Pleming’s assessment the best footballer in Gippy – has been appointed senior coach of Sale.
The 27-year-old was a Maffra junior and returned to the club in 2017 after a four-year stint with Williamstown in the VFL.
He played in Willy’s 2015 premiership under the coaching of Andy Collins.
And he figured in Maffra’s 2019 flag alongside Port Melbourne great Pleming.
Johnstone said this morning he always thought he would make the move into coaching, “but I didn’t know when’’.
“After we won the flag and COVID suspended the (2020) season, I had a lot of time to think about where my footy was at, and maybe taking that next step of becoming a coach,’’ he said.
“I never planned to do it at this age but the opportunity Sale presented to me was sort of too good to say no to at this point.
“I’ve been in pretty close contact with them (Sale) since I came back from Williamstown. They were one of the first clubs to contact me and offer an assistant coaching role there. So I’ve always had contact from them and they sent me a message probably four months ago to gauge my interest. It all happened from there.’’
Johnstone acknowledged the rivalry between the clubs, but he felt it less than others.
“It’s not so much for me. I’ve lived at Longford for the last two-and-a-half years. I’m not going to say Sale has become my home town, but it is certainly geographically closest to me,’’ he said.
He replaces Sale great Chris Laverty, who had replaced another Sale top-liner in Shane Fyfe.
Fyfe – who has crossed to Sale City as coach – led Sale to top-three finishes in 2018 and 2019 but in both years they dropped out of the finals with successive losses.
As the Magpies faltered last year, Maffra prospered, defeating Leongatha by eight points in the grand final, Pleming best-afield.
As Johnstone saw it, Sale “copped it pretty hard with injuries and work commitments to a few key players’’.
“Where we see an opportunity is bridging that gap between their really good older guys and their really good younger guys coming up, getting some battle-hardened bodies around the ball,’’ he said.
“We’re looking to develop a few of those younger guys and help them take the next step.’’
Johnstone had two years with Gippsland Power, attended the state combine and linked with Willy when he attended university.
Strong and combative, at one stage he was held up as an AFL draft hopeful. He said he “chased the AFL dream’’, but moved back to Gippsland when it became clear he wasn’t going to progress beyond the VFL.
He’s well regarded and remembered at Willy, and a few of his former teammates were quick to comment on social media when his appointment at Sale was confirmed.
Sale president Simon Turnbull said Johnstone was a “great get’’ for the club.
“To start off with it was a phone call just to sound him out, and it went from there,’’ he said.
“We were looking for someone with VFL experience and someone from outside the club who could bring in some new ideas, hence the approach to Jack.’’
Laverty, Sale’s sole 300-game player, will go on next year.
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