Dockers debutant Matthew Johnson impressed North Beach junior football club coaches with skills and attributes

Determination, resolve, tinged with a touch of exhaustion.

It was do or die for North Beach.

Win and the Tigers would progress to the finals. Lose and the season was over.

There was only one outcome Johnson would accept.

“I think it must have been around year eight. We probably shouldn’t have won but at that age, he was running from one end of the field to the other and back,” Bill Quartermaine, Johnson’s junior football coach, recalled.

“He reached a level of exhaustion but he willed himself to win the game for us. After the game, he could hardly stand. He was in so much pain he was almost in tears.”

It was the sort of will to win Quartermaine has seldom stumbled across in almost 30 years of coaching junior sport.

“He had this fierce, competitive drive. You didn’t really see it at that level and at a young age,” he said. “He would push through extreme physical pain barriers to win. He’s fiercely competitive and driven to win. It ticks that extra box.

“A lot of kids are big and skilful and he wasn’t a monster. But when you start to see that level of drive, I thought if a kid was going to make it, it was going to be a kid like Matt.”

Depending on your definition of making it, Johnson has taken the first step in what is expected to be a fruitful AFL career. The talented midfielder will make his debut in Sunday’s Western Derby, albeit as a tactical sub, after what coach Justin Longmuir described as a “tremendous pre-season.”

“We’re really excited. We’ve been looking to get him into the team for a while now,” Longmuir said. “He’s gotten his body up to AFL standard. He’s worked on his running and his performances at Peel Thunder have been really strong. He’s made of the right stuff. He’s calm and composed in the contest.”

Quartermaine has been there from the start.

Johnson started Auskick at the North Beach junior football club around grade four and Quartermaine followed that age group right up until their final years in yellow and red.

Plenty of kids show potential.

Johnson was a class above.

“His skill and athletic traits set him apart,” Quartermaine said. “He’s a different player in that he can create time and space inside a contest. He’s got really good lateral movement as well as his toughness.

“He was willing to take a risk and go for the harder kicks, even at a young age. He can pull the trigger, it’s something he’s always practised.”

It’s a David Mundy-esque skill set to have.

The 193 centimetre, 84 kilogram midfielder is a similar size – and has earned comparisons – to Mundy, even from the Dockers doyen himself.

“He’s going to be better than me, I reckon,” Mundy told Channel 10 tongue in cheek this week. “He’s shown so much promise. He seems to have the physical attributes … the speed, endurance, and he’s a beautiful kick.”

The 20-year-old was fortunate to serve a one-year apprenticeship under the 376-gamer before he retired at the end of 2022.

“Dave was pretty good at helping me believe in myself and my ability,” Johnson said. “He always reinforced for me to back myself in and play to my strengths – so to have had that older head to go to for some advice was super beneficial.

“He has been a great player for a long period of time – so I have got a fair way to go to reach his standards.”

By the time Johnson reached the final stages of his junior footy career, he was destined for bigger and better things. The classy midfielder was one of a select few year 11s chosen to play up a grade in North Beach’s A-grade junior outfit.

Former club president and then coach Paul Johns didn’t have his services for long.

“There was no more development we could offer him. He was already at that next level so I can’t take any credit,” Johns said. “He would’ve only played a handful of games in between colts and state commitments.

“When he did come back we let him run his own course. I said ‘Matt, run on, play as much footy as you want, where you want’ and he’d still dominate.

“He was the best on ground pretty much every time he played. And the best opposition player would always go to him.

“He’s the best prospect to come out of the club.”

A junior career full of accolades couldn’t prepare Johnson for the harsh realities of the AFL. The Subiaco product was invited to attend a first-round draft function after clubs had lodged significant interest in the silky star. But Johnson slid further and further down the order until he was the only player invited to the first round to be overlooked.

The image of Johnson and his family accepting reality broke hearts across Perth. But it was quickly replaced by scenes of jubilation when Fremantle pounced with the first pick of the second round to kick off night two.

“As disappointing as it was that it didn’t happen for him, he’s stronger and better for it,” Johns said.

Quartermaine added: “He’s grounded, balanced and humble. It’s one of life’s drawbacks I’m sure he would’ve coped with and moved on from relatively quickly.”

The North Beach community is set to turn out in force at Optus Stadium on Sunday. And it won’t be just the football club. Johnson’s dad, Brett, had two seasons as a WACA-contracted player in the early 1990s and coached junior cricket, while a strong core group of mates have supported Johnson on his journey to the AFL.

Tickets are already a hot commodity. Not for Quartermaine.

“I bought tickets Monday night because I just had a feeling he was going to get a call-up,” he said. “Once I saw Fremantle lose last week, we bought them the next day. I knew there were going to be some changes and he was close.

“He’s realised the first step in his dream and we all can’t wait to see where the journey takes him.”