“I was just waiting and waiting, and I felt a bit crook actually. But I'd rather be taken at 62 than at No. 8 and be playing at a different club,” – Ben Johnson on waiting for his name to be called out on Draft day 1999. Herald Sun, 9 March 2001.
“Ben is a left-footer from Greensborough, plays mainly in the midfield and wins a lot of the ball. Represented Victorian Metro at U17 and U18 level. He made U18 All-Australian this year playing mainly at half back,” – Recruiting Manager Noel Judkins, In Black and White Magazine, December 2000.
“They call me Roids, but that’s fine by me. It’s good to have a bit of fun with the boys,” – Johnson on the nickname he received when he first arrived at Victoria Park (in reference to the Canadian sprinter of the same name who was stripped of his 1988 Olympic Gold Medal for testing positive to steroids), In Black and White, June 2000.
“Collingwood spoke to me at the Draft Camp in October but they really didn’t say too much about whether they would select me. When my name was called out I was just relieved. I didn’t care what number I went, just so long as I went. But to go to Collingwood was a bonus because I barracked for them as a kid. I used to love watching Peter Daicos and I remember sitting at home and watching him and Collingwood win the premiership in 1990,” – Johnson, In Black and White, June 2000.
“I have always wanted to play in the AFL. My father (John) played in the under-19s at Collingwood but I think he didn’t get along with someone so he left. But he has always been keen for me to play and although he has never put any pressure on me he has always encouraged and helped me. He has been my main influence,” – Johnson, In Black and White, June 2000.
“I played my first game in the first round and that was grouse. I was a bit nervous before the start but that match has so far been one of my best for the club,” – Johnson on his debut against Hawthorn in round one, In Black and White, June 2000.
“Ben has a very good attitude to football. Nothing frightens him and he trains pretty hard and has high expectations of himself…we think he will end up being a very fit and strong endurance runner once he does the work and will continue to improve as long as he does the work,” – Football Operations Manager Neil Balme, In Black and White, June 2000.
“Rowdy came up to me and asked me whether I would like to carry the number. I said it would be an honour. As a kid I had two Collingwood jumpers, one was Rowdy's and the other Peter Daicos' - both fair choices I reckon. I had no hesitation giving up No. 31,” - Ben Johnson on receiving Gavin Brown’s No. 26 jumper. Herald Sun, 10 February 2001.
“I hope it gives Ben as much out of football as it gave me,” – Gavin Brown on bestowing Johnson with his old number. Herald Sun, 10 February 2001.
“I'll talk just as long as I don't have to do it in front of a camera, I s..t myself,” – Johnson on his media shy persona. Herald Sun, 9 March 2001.
'It's an awkward style, I suppose. But I only noticed it last year when I saw myself on tape. Mick (Malthouse) said to me last year 'if you hit the targets I don't care how you look or what you do, as long as you hit the targets',” - Johnson on his unique kicking style.
“Players such as Ben Johnson and Rhyce Shaw possibly didn’t achieve their aims, but I suspected that they would always find it pretty hard in their second year,” – Mick Malthouse, In Black and White, December 2001.
“Benny Johnson and Rhyce Shaw were the two reasons I didn’t chuck it in and go back to Perth in those early years,” – Leon Davis, The Age, 15 September 2012.
“Mick didn’t say anything to me at half time. He left me on him (Peter Burgoyne) but he didn’t say one word. ‘Tunnel’ (assistant coach Dean Laidley) went right through me at half time, but Mick didn’t say anything. Everything went wrong, turnovers, free kicks, it was the worst 15 minutes of my life,” – Johnson on his disastrous first half in the 2002 Qualifying Final against Port Adelaide, In Black and White, June 2006.
“I reckon that tackle was a big, big turning point for me. It was just my fingertip, too, I still can’t believe I dragged him down. I reckon my footy turned around after that,” – Johnson on his famous tackle on Peter Burgoyne that saved the game against Port Adelaide in the 2002 Qualifying Final, In Black and White, June 2006.
“It would have been easy for a young bloke to drop his head, but. Gee, what he did just showed how much mental toughness he has,” – Gavin Brown, In Black and White, April 2003.
“Took the honours on Akermanis early in the first half and Hart in the third term. Desperate efforts at the ball and creative with his handball. 7/10,” – Robert Walls on Johnson’s performance in the 2002 Grand Final loss, The Age, September 2002.
“Shaw, Cole, Lokan and Ben Johnson gave the team consistent run out of defence. Johnson even showed he had the potential to become a damaging midfielder,” - Peter Ryan, In Black and White, December 2003.
“…who is going to take over from players such as Scott Burns or Shane Wakelin…is it going to be Tristen Walker and will Alan Didak, Leon Davis, Ben Johnson and Josh Fraser step up? That is the evolution of a club,” - Mick Malthouse, In Black and White, December 2004.
“He remains our best kept secret,” – In Black and White, December 2004.
“I was always brought up to hit the ball hard. If you’ve got a chance to clean someone up, go for it,” – Ben Johnson, In Black and White, December 2004.
“Once you’re over the line, it doesn’t matter what’s happened before, that’s with me anyway. I could not train all week and still be confident for the game,” – Ben Johnson, In Black and White, December 2004.
“Don’t worry about anything that’s out of your control. No point. Just work hard on the things that you can control,” – Ben Johnson, In Black and White, December 2004.
“People think they’re all bad, but they just play tough footy, that’s all. You can’t hold it against them for doing that. There’s a lot of respect there,” – Ben Johnson on the Brisbane Lions, In Black and White, December 2004.
“He really expanded his footy this year. He was almost our seventh midfielder. Because he had so much work to do this year, and because of his never-say-die attitude, Johnno was running like a midfielder in the end,” – assistant coach Guy McKenna, In Black and White, December 2004.
“Benny’s a sensational half back and back pocket player. I miss the fact that we don’t have him down there all the time, but he hates playing in the backline,” – James Clement, In Black and White, August 2005.
“He wears (number) 26 with great pride and if I had a favourite player that played for Collingwood, when I wasn’t barracking for Collingwood, it’d be (number) 26 – Gavin Brown – and this bloke typifies that spirit,” – Mick Malthouse, In Black and White, June 2006.
“He was pretty close to getting dumped and pre-season basically I just said to him, ‘Let’s go. Let’s go train’. All Swanny ever needed was to work a bit harder and he’d be a star,” – Johnson on the pre-season that turned around Dane Swan’s career, Herald Sun, 24 July 2010.
“Ben is a seven-year player, so this season was always going to go one way or the other: a dour back pocket or a running, accountable midfielder, and he’s taken steps in that (latter) direction. He’s got some way to go, but he’s well and truly on the way. He’s getting smarter. He used to use a lot of energy without the production,” – Mick Malthouse, In Black and White, December 2006.
“Just looking at it (on replay), it made me feel sick. I got it very, very wrong,” – Ben Johnson on his bump on Melbourne’s Daniel Bell in round 20, 2007, that saw him suspended for six weeks.
“I had one of my worst years and I thought, ‘Do I still want to play footy?’ But after that season I had a good chat with Mick Malthouse and he really set a challenge for me. From there I just found a whole lot of passion again,” – Ben Johnson on the challenges of the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Herald Sun, 24 July 2010.
“We’ve done pretty well. You don’t usually get three blokes from the one draft who last 10 years,” – Ben Johnson, Herald Sun, 24 July 2010.
“I can’t say I’ve ever been so nervous before a game as against the Bulldogs, I don’t know why, I just felt emotionally drained. Benny Johnson grabbed me and said ‘we’ll be right’ and it helped me through a little bit,” – Mick Malthouse, The Age, 24 September 2010.
“Johnno cuts the lines very well, he gets the footy and he will cut to his left side and it buys him a couple of metres and then he is off again and that is why he has stayed in the side,” – Paul Licuria, The Age, 24 September 2010.
“He uses the ball better than most people give him credit for,” - Nick Maxwell, The Age, 24 September 2010.
“He is just a boy’s boy. Everything is about the players, he couldn’t care about anything outside the playing group. He is a very loyal person and friend,” – Nick Maxwell, The Age, 24 September 2010.
“Ben’s living a dream and it’s just terrific to be around him,” – Mick Malthouse, Herald Sun, 24 July 2010.
“He’s the bloke I warm up with every week and have trained with every week that I can remember. It’s a little bit disappointing to not have him out there, but I have no doubt he’ll help me celebrate when the time’s right,” – Dane Swan laments Johnson’s injury-enforced absence from his 200th gacome me against Richmond in round four, 18 April 2013.
“I tried my best to teach him to kick, but he just wouldn’t learn,” – Leon Davis, The Age, 15 September 2012.
“He is the ultimate team man,” – Josh Fraser, The Age, 15 September 2012.
“If Mick wanted to know an opinion or the truth about an issue, he would go to Benny…that’s why in the group he does not need to be in the leadership group because blokes listen to him anyway,” – Leon Davis, The Age, 15 September 2012.
“He was a good player at TAC Cup level but I didn’t think he’d play over 200 games. But he’s got there because of him - his attitude and willingness to work, and I admire Benny. He was still going through as an under-18 player he should have been captain one year, but thought it might have interfered with his development, but he’s done a terrific job to get to where he’s at. There are players like that who you can go through and say ‘I didn’t think he’d make it’ but they do. But there are others on the reverse side who have the skill but just don’t want it enough,” – Keith Burns, Collingwood’s Legendary Under 19 coach and Johnson’s Preston U18 coach in 1998-1999.
“We worked pretty hard for it, and it finally happened. We just want another one now. As you get older, your desperation grows,” – Ben Johnson on winning the 2010 premiership, The Age, 25 April 2011.
“I’ve said to myself I’d like to leave the game on my terms. If I’m still playing well enough I can see myself going another two or three years, but that’s only if I’ve got 100 per cent passion for it. I’ll never, ever let my club and teammates down again by having a bad attitude,” – Ben Johnson, Herald Sun, 24 July 2010.
“He has a real passion about Collingwood and that is rare. You don’t get many players that are really passionate about their club, but Benny is. His whole family, his mum and dad come in the rooms and his sisters come to every game. He grew up a Gavin Brown fan and then when he got the No. 26 he was so emotional,” – Paul Licuria, The Age, 24 September 2010.
“I remember saying to him, ‘what were you doing wearing track pants and Ugg boots for a photo?’ and he was like ‘I don’t need to be anyone I am not’, and I thought you are spot on,” – Paul Licuria, The Age, 24 September 2010.
“When I leave this footy club, I want to be a successful player and a respected player. It doesn’t last forever, footy. I definitely know that now,” – Ben Johnson, The Age, 23 August 2009.
“Every club needs a Johnno,” – Eddie McGuire, The Age, 25 April 2011.
