The greatest of all time: Alex Johnston's TEN best tries

In a game built on collisions and chaos, Alex Johnston has made a career out of being one of the most talented try-scorers and finishers in rugby league history. While forwards crash and halves scheme, Johnston simply waits, and then runs, and rarely does he not score. Since bursting onto the scene in what would be South Sydney Rabbitohs' premiership-winning 2014 season, the Rabbitohs winger has rewritten the record books in a way that felt almost inevitable once you'd watched him long enough. Last Friday, he crossed for his 213th career try, surpassing Ken Irvine's record that was untouched for 57 years. He cemented his place not just as the greatest try-scorer in NRL history, but as one of the underrated athletes the game has ever produced. Here are the ten best tries of Alex Johnston's career. https://youtu.be/Q3p04_WNK3o?si=sJGA1XU4KtK1dOmZ First Career Try vs Broncos Alex Johnston would make his first grade debut on ANZAC Day in the 2014 season. The club would play the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, where the Rabbitohs would win 28-26 in a nail biter. The winger playing on the right edge would score his first try in the 10th minute of the game from a Adam Reynolds chip kick over the top, grounding it in the right corner post. Dummy-half run vs Wests Tigers Opening up Round 14 of his rookie season, the Rabbitohs played the Wests Tigers at home. Johnston and Kyle Turner played a significant role in this game, scoring two tries each. Being up 12-6 in the 44th minute on the third tackle, Alex Johnston would pick up the ball from dummy half around 35 metres out from their line and quickly run through the middle of the Tigers defence and all by himself, extend the lead with his second try of the night. He scored under the posts, taking the game to 18-6. It was his seventh try of the season. The Rabbitohs would end up winning 32-10 and climb up to third position on the ladder, with Johnston showing his speed and ability to break through a tackle attempt from Blake Austin. Johnston would end up scoring 21 tries in the 18 games he played that season, showing his try scoring eability early. Quick thinking vs North Queensland Cowboys In round 23 of the 2015 season, the Rabbitohs played the Cowboys in Townsville in a highly anticipated match. The defending premiers were up 19-12 in the 61st minute and on the last tackle, Adam Reynolds from over 30 metres out puts up a high kick. Johnston chases the kick and as he and Lachlan Coote let it bounce, the Souths winger quickly chips it off the bounce with his right foot and Cowboys winger Antonio Winterstein fails to gather the ball and after he loses it in-between his legs, AJ collects the ball and dives over the line to make the game 23-12 before the conversion made it 25-12. The Rabbitohs would win 31-18 on the road, and Johnston's only try in that game, displaying his quick thinking and creativity in a close game. That would be Johnston's 37th try in his career. The seventh player to score five tries in a game for the Rabbitohs Let's go all the way to 2017. The Rabbitohs played the Penrith Panthers in front of their home fans in Round 17 of the season. It was a dominating game for the Green and Red side, with Alex Johnston claiming his fifth try for the game in the 58th minute after a great delivery from Damien Cook on the left side. He would run along the sideline and extend the lead of the game. The game finished 42-14 with a Bunnies vicotry and his fifth try put him in elite company, becoming the seventh player in club history to achieve the milestone. It was Johnston's 64th try in his career. Recreating Benji's '05 Grand Final moment in 2021 In the 2005 Tigers premiership victory over the Cowboys, the game included what would be one of the most replayed and celebrated moments in NRL history; the Benji run and flick pass. Sixteen years later, Benji Marshall would play for the Rabbitohs and against the Titans in round seven that year, would have one of the best second half stretches playing for the club. Marshall scored a try of his own in the 49th minute, and then in the 56th minute, was the recipient of a Cameron Murray offload that would turn into a breakway run. Benji runs to the left side, pushing for the corner and then he slows down for just a moment, putting the ball around his back to create a flick pass for Johnston to finish the play and continue the Rabbitohs' attacking brilliance that night. Benji would also score his second try of the night, but for Alex Johnston, was able to execute the end of a play that reminded fans rugby league fans and the Tigers fans specificially of the famous play from the '05 Grand Final. The game finished 40-30 in a club victory over the Titans in Gold Coast, and the Rabbitohs winger scored his 112th for his career with nostaglic fashion. Breaking Merritt's all-time record During Indigenous record in 2022, Alex Johnston broke the South Sydney Rabbitohs' all-time try-scoring record, surpassing Nathan Merritt who scored 146. The record-breaking moment occured in the 59th minute in the 44-18 win against the Wests Tigers. Merritt's record had been considered untouchable, and in so small feat, Johnston crossed with the quiet inevitability that defined his career. Johnston tied the record in the 48th minute of the game and thanks to a Campbell Graham at a later stage, the Rabbitohs erupted, knowing the record was broken as AJ was putting the ball down. It would be Johnston's 147th career try and he didn't slow down the rate he was scoring them. Five Tries in a game and the Ken Irvine Medal In Round 20 of the 2020 season, the Rabbitohs and Roosters played each other and in what was expected to be a close game, the Bunnies dominated with a 60-8 victory. With the season schedule reduced due to the global pandemic, it was the last round of the season before the finals. The moment that sealed the fifth try for Johnston was after Cameron Murray scored his try. The team went the full field and Corey Allan who was over the line and could have scored himself, looked to his left and saw Alex Johnston, passed him the ball and let the PNG winger score his fourth for the game. The fourth and fifth tries sealed not just the victory for the game, which was already decided, but the recipient of the Ken Irvine Medal for most tries in a season. He would also win it in 2021 and 2022, becoming a three-time consecutive winner. It also helped the Bunnies in their finals pursuit, setting up the finals fixture that would see them play Newcastle in the elimination final in the first round of finals that year. Johnston's 150th Try Scoring 150 tries in a rugby league career is exclusive to a limited amount of players in the game's history. When Johnston scored his 150th try, it was clear this was a player that was on his way to methodically building something historic. Against the Titans in Round 14 of the 2022, Johnston achieved this milestone with a hat-trick, becoming the 15th player in history to reach that number. It was his 14th for the season and he would move into 15th place on the all-time list, passing Bob Fulton and Greg Inglis. His 150th career try was in a game that saw Cody Walker and the left edge carve up the young Titans side, crashing over in the corner. The Rabbitohs ended up winning 30-16 over the Titans at cBus Super Stadium. Johnston's 212th Try Last Friday night, the Rabbitohs struggled at the start of the game against the Roosters. The Roosters were up 12-0 and the Bunnies searched for a way with under 10 minutes to go in the first half. The Rabbitohs ran a sweeping shape to the left edge that saw space for Latrell Mitchell to create and embrace a double-team with his left arm free throwing a flick pass that left Alex Johnston open enough to run over the line in a tightly fashion and get as close to the goal posts as he could. The historic moment 12 years later after making his debut, Johnston would go over the line and put the ball down for the 213th time in his career. At the start of the second half, the Bunnies received the ball. After strong efforts from David Fifita and a pass from Cameron Murray to Latrell Mitchell, the Rabbitohs found space in the open field on the left edge. Mitchell was able to draw Tedesco into him and pass the ball to Johnston, who used his agility to beat Siua Wong and score the most historic try in the game, slipping past Blake Steep's tackle attempt to tie the game 12-all one minute into the second half. Rugby league fans experienced an all-time Australian sporting moment that no one expected to see happen, as fans ran onto the field and the moment created a 16-minute stoppage for the ages. The Roosters would win 26-18, but it didn't upstage Alex Johnston being the new record holder for most tries of all-time, a record that Ken Irvine had with 212 total since 1973.

		P	W	L	PTS	+/-
1	MEL	2	2	0	4	74
2	NZW	2	2	0	4	58
3	PEN	2	2	0	4	46
4	NEW	2	2	0	4	30
5	WST	1	1	0	4	28
6	CAN	1	1	0	4	1
7	CRO	2	1	1	2	20
8	SOU	2	1	1	2	2

The greatest of all time: Alex Johnston’s TEN best tries

Johnston broke the all-time try scoring record with his 213th try.

10. First Career Try vs Broncos

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