If anyone epitomises the renewed optimism around Wakefield, it is Tom Johnstone. His recent performances have caught the eye but the level-headed winger is insisting on a much more pragmatic and measured approach to his first full season as a Super League player.
The Wildcats won three of their 23 regular season games last term, but in eight days around Easter they won three consecutive matches under their new coach, Chris Chester, to spark hope of the most unlikely of top-eight finishes for the club that was Super League’s bottom side in 2015.
With five tries in those three wins against Leeds, Huddersfield and Salford, Johnstone’s reputation has grown, but the 20-year-old is not about to get carried away. “I’m not great with all the spotlight and attention,” he says. “It’s all been a bit mad the way things have snowballed so quickly. The boys are ribbing me and saying all sorts about me but I’m just trying to keep my head down and focus on helping Wakefield to do well.”
Johnstone’s path to here has been unorthodox. He was born in Germany and he could have walked away from the sport as a teenager. “I was born in Germany because my father was in the armed forces,” he says. “He was based over there and I was there until I was about three.
“We then moved to Edinburgh and then back to Germany, until I was about six, before finally settling in Leeds.
“It was there I got into athletics; I used to do that on a Tuesday and rugby on a Thursday, and I ended up running for Leeds indoors as a teenager. I had to make a call between athletics or rugby at about 14 but it was always going to be rugby.”
Johnstone faces another big task on Sunday, as the in-form Wildcats face Wigan. That means a likely duel on the wing with the England international Josh Charnley – but it is one Johnstone is relishing. “I get nervous before every game I play and this week I’m going up against another incredible winger in Josh,” he says. “I’ve played against other international wingers before and it’s a tough ask, but I’m forming a great partnership with Joe Arundel on the edge now and we’re getting more and more confident.”
Johnstone is perhaps Wakefield’s most exciting product since the former Great Britain forward Gareth Ellis made his debut in 1999 but they have found themselves having to sell their top players in recent years. However, according to the club’s chairman, Michael Carter, Johnstone is going nowhere. “It’s as simple as this: he is not for sale,” Carter says. “He’s contracted here until 2019 and he’s a big part of what we’re trying to build alongside several more of our young stars that we want to see at this club for years to come.”
Should Wakefield pick up a fourth successive win on Sunday, Johnstone believes it would be a firm indicator of their credentials. “Winning would show this run isn’t a fluke,” he says. “We’ve had a great Easter and beating Wigan would show that we’re a team to be reckoned with and a side who can make the eight – and I believe we can do that.”
