A new and improved Tom Johnstone

Wakefield Trinity?™s Tom Johnstone has immense talent. He has demonstrated his freakish ability on numerous occasions and scored tries that live long in the memory of rugby league fans.

The winger scored two stunning length-of-the-field tries in defeat against Leeds Rhinos during the opening round last season and fans anticipated more of the same throughout the year. But that was as good as it got for Johnstone in 2021, who once again fell victim to an agonising run of injuries.

Johnstone has had little luck during his professional career. He?™s been struck down with two ACL reconstructions, as well as a more recent string of concussions. The star winger has shown tremendous resilience however, fighting his way back to fitness after several troubling setbacks.

But Johnstone admits that despite his efforts, he hasn?™t been completely honest with himself. Following some soul searching at the back end of last season, he has hit the ground running in preseason – both figuratively and literally – as he prepares to return better than ever in 2022.

“I?™ve looked at myself and I?™ve not done the right things away from rugby to reach where I want to be,?? Johnstone admitted.

“So now I?™ve stepped away and looked at myself rather than pointing the finger at other people and I?™ve done what I need to do. I want it all this year. I want to play every game, but I want to play well, as well.

“I?™m coming for a big year personally. This is what I?™ve been building towards for the past few years. It?™s not clicked for one reason or another but now I feel like I?™ve sorted everything off the field.??

Willie Poching on @WTrinityRL's winger Tom Johnstone:

"He?™s raring to go. He had a change of mindset about how he approached his career and his training and he?™s seeing the benefits of that through pre-season... I think we?™ll see a better Tom Johnstone this season."#BringItOn pic.twitter.com/IcpybtqG6I
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) February 3, 2022

Those off field issues, Johnstone explains, stemmed from naivety on his part. The winger confessed that he has previously overlooked some important aspects off the field that contribute significantly to the success of a professional athlete on the field.

“I used to go with the mentality of when I was younger – I could eat what I wanted and stay in shape. As the years have gone on, I?™ve been playing and after 20 minutes been absolutely knackered.

“I?™ve never really thought of nutrition as that big a part even though it's actually huge - it?™s a bit naïve really. So, I?™ve gone to see a nutritionist and sat down with him, and we?™ve trained through preseason and just worked on getting my body composition right and working on fuelling for a game more.

“When I was kid, I never ate before a game. It must be nerves, but I kept it going all the way through to first team.

“I?™ve been playing on empty and just been exhausted so I?™ve just been trying to eat more, eat the right things and do all the right things off the pitch.??

??™???™???™???™©??™???™???™? ??™???™???™???™???™???™? is back! 💪

Bring the competition and create your #FantasySL team below 👇#SuperLeague #BringItOn
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) February 2, 2022

Now, after a complete shift in mindset, his newfound attention to detail is starting to pay dividends. Johnstone is reaping the rewards from addressing these long-standing issues and finding solutions thanks to the help of experts.

“I did my own off-season plan, went with a speed coach, a new nutritionist – things like that. I managed to drop myself down to 92-93 [kilos] so I?™m feeling really good.

“With the speed coach, it wasn?™t just about the speed. It was the way I run and things like that, to try and avoid injuries and maximise what I can do. Just working on getting up to speed, evasiveness – a lot of things. And more prehab to knock down on the injuries.

 “I?™ve managed to have no niggles; I?™ve trained everyday over preseason other than I think two [days] due to having Covid over Christmas - so I?™m feeling spot on and ready to go.

“Everything I?™ve been doing off the field - I hope it correlates and I can put in a good start to the year and try keep myself fit and build from there.??