I demand to know why it wasn't a five year contract!





In al, seriousness brilliant move from the club

Well you can't build a team around a winger but it shows we can start somewhere.

Onward and upward

Brilliant news,best wishes tom

If Tom avoids injury I have no doubt that with his ability and mature attitude he could be every bit as good as Gareth Ellis in his respective position. Only difference is we will enjoy it for longer, very happy. I know Phil Clarke considers him a future International and although Clakie waffles a bit he's a fair judge.

Personally I don't see it. I hope I am wrong but I have seen many better prospects come and go without making an impact.

For me he is decent at most facets of the game, but I don't see anything that sets him apart as special.

Comparing him with Ellis is ridiculous. I think it is more an indication of how poor the pathways at Trinity have been for a long time that gets fans so excited about this deal.

Hopefully however he proves me wrong.

Can you see that bonfire?
Please feel free to pee on it! Goodness me, enjoy the positives, we have enough bloody negatives during a season. Jeez

I think there are significantly more positives in the squad than this signing.

I appreciate due to the fact he is home grown fans get excited but as I said I just don't see anything in his game to suggest he will be anything more than average at the top level at best so personally I think a 4 year deal is a bit much. 2 points however need to be taken into account, firstly we don't know how the deal is structured and better judges than me think he is worth the 4 year deal.

Time will tell I guess. Would love to be wrong.

For me it's about the 4 years it shows commitment from the club and the player. Imagine if he managed to have a great season or two and got picked up on the cheap or nothing from a bigger club.
Four years says it all. Great vision by the club.

You speak from experience, and say much that makes sense but, not for the first time, I think you are wrong.

Wakefield has not been home to many great wingers, but this kid has the chance to be that - he is very exciting to watch and, with a decent centre inside him and work on his defensive positioning, he can make the Knights squad by this time next year! Enjoy!

Fully deserved


Plenty of promise and pace and everyone hopes that he will fulfil the massive potential that he has.
Well done for the club for putting faith in one of our own but, more credit to Tom and his family for the
loyalty that they have shown to Wakefield, fantastic to see this in the modern world.

Wigan fan underwhelmed by other clubs signing!

Which other prospects are you comparing Johnstone to?

I agree with you TRB and don't wish to be pedantic but perhaps it would have been more accurate to say 'many great wingers recently' we had great wingers in the 60's and 70's - the likes of Hirst, Prinsloo, Fred Smith, Coetzer and Slater to name but a few. Sorry, I tend to live in the past but those wingers would have walked into any team nowadays.
BTW Johnstone is a brilliant prospect, those who doubt it cannot be relied on for their RL knowledge.

I think he first needs to cement a place in the Trinity team which is not guaranteed before we can talk about England honours.

I also think second season syndrome is a big factor to consider.

He did really well at times last year and not so well at others. He clearly has bags of enthusiasm as most do in their debut year as they fly a little under the radar, I think he his still a little under the radar as he didn't burst into the scene as some do although at times he did impress.

In my opinion I have my doubts as whilst he does everything well I don't think he has that quality that sets really good players apart. I would have thought a 2 year deal would have worked better for the club but again there are plenty of external factors to consider ie potential if other clubs sniffing around which may have tipped the scales in his favour whilst negotiating, the structure of the deal etc. Most importantly better qualified than me think he is worth the deal which is ultimately what is the most important thing.

I think you're being a bit disingenuous there John, Tom has well above average speed and is deceptively strong while his mental toughness which allowed him to keep his head up when tries were scored against him was very impressive. He scored try's last year that required a level of footwork, instincts and anticipation found in very good wingers and not in average ones. He did this despite playing in a team low on confidence and ability, he had zero assistance from his centres and at times he could be forgiven for giving up because of the impossible defensive situations he was left in.

He is young, it is early but the signs are very good

Cant believe some are questioning this, tom will become a massive player for club and country in fact had he been at wigan instead of joe burgess he probally already been an international by now.i for one am very happy can see him getting 20 tries

So as ever Jonh you show yourself for what you are, a turncoat who pretends he supports his local team but really loves nothing more than putting the boot in. Every post is a negative whether it’s an attempt to convince us that Smith really rates Lyne or patronising us by claiming we’d be happier out of SL. TBH I wish you’d just do one, not because of your silly opinions but because you’re an utter fake.

Anyway with a typical display of arrogance and petulance you have again made yourself look a fool.

Two keywords “could” and “respective”.

Could is not the same as will. All promising 20 year old “could” go all the way - or is that the sole reserve of your beloved Wigan. This is especially relevant in Toms case. Nine tries in 12 games for the worst team to ever grace SL. Joe Burgess got an England call up on the back of a slightly better percentage return whilst being spoon fed by the best team in the comp - but was soon found out by the Kiwi’s. Does this not tell you something! It’s like a farmer in death valley growing as much corn as a farmer in Kent!!

Gareth Ellis was not really a hot property until the 2004 season when he shone in a very good team which gives him an advantage over Tom. However I used the word “respective” because I rate a Back Row Forward more than a Winger and would take an Ellis over a Johnstone, Hall or Burgess any day. However that does not diminish his ability in his position and I’m more than happy to have a great young prospect on the wing.

So please feel free to snide off.

You do love a bit of drama don't you Vasty, talk about over the top, I bet you are a laugh a minute in person.

I'm made up with the process the team has made, but the more I tea about this deal the more I think it is s bit of a PR exercise given the recent losses. The lad clearly has talent but a 4 year deal off the back of 12 first team games when he was already contracted for another 3 seems a bit odd.

It is a good confidence builder for the lad though and may well assist in his development I feel it may have been sensible to wait till the end if the coming season to take a view on him and his contract but those better informed than me have made the decision and good on them I hope it works out.

In relation to negative comments I make towards Wakey I think I take a measured less knee jerk view as I do on the Wigan board also. I'm one of the few looking forward to seeing how Walton gets on next year.

Got my season ticket for first time for next year as have both my boys who have become fairly passionate Trinity fans so as ever if you want me to buy you a pint and have a chat I will be stood begin the sticks in the North Stand and happy to oblige you. I'll leave it at that on this thread for fear of derailing it!

Show some dignity and

Like you said with the wingers you named to name just a few, I'm only going to extend that list by one, his name was Gerry Mann, the only reason I named him is because of his potential and the promise he showed, at the time a lot of people were predicting his meteoric rise to the top, which if you remember did not go as the script intended. There are a lot of similarities between the two wingers although Gerry was also a decent centre but could not compete with the then incumbents in that position, Johnstone is now getting the same praise and hopefully he will fulfil all the promises he's showing and in time he'll repay all the faith everybody is placing in him, and as you say he is a brilliant prospect and at the moment he is just that, which I think is what Jonh means, why not let him develop naturally without pressure and see where that takes him.

Agree.
Also, I remember Ken Trail drooling about Gerry Mann as a future international, when he was interviewed on grandstand just after a match at Belle Vue back in the 60's. He was comparing him with some other great winger Lionel Cooper....but as you say he didn't hit it off did he. I believe he ended up at Bramley or somewhere.

Tom is a very good prospect, he has pace and is brave, god given natural qualities that cannot be coached ( agree pace can be improved upon ). What he lacks is defensive positioning which I think he can improve and some of his one on one defensive efforts last season were what you would expect to see from a young player, again he will improve. I understand that Huddersfield were very interested in him and Anakin last season so I am delighted that we have secured the pair of them. On the whole I agree with Jonh on most things , and it is reasonable for him to suggest that in perfect world we could have waited before extending his contract, that said if he plays well it could have cost us more. As usual Vasty you are wrong, your drivel directed at the wise jonh is totally over the top, you do realise that jonh is a Qegs boy so deserves your respect.

So much explained in one sentence , go on who was who's fag

I haven't posted in a while because I'll wait to see the players play this season before spouting my opinions. That said...

Disgusting comment and a ridiculous reaction towards someone who is paying into the club's coffers. Using homosexuality as a means to try and belittle someone shows how you can be a complete berk on a power trip at times.

You truly are an idiot at times. Stress on AT TIMES because you do speak some sense fairly often.

I think you've made a spectacular miscue - 'fag' in the public school setting doesn't mean homosexual; it's the practice in public schools of having a younger pupil act as a personal servant to a more senior boy. There may well have been some homosexuality involved in some instances, but I'm reasonably confident that Vasty was referring to fagging in the way I've described, rather than the American slang 'fag' - which is indeed a pejorative term for a homosexual.

Report to my office for a fatal beating, and a mauling from the school leopard.

I never meant it that way or I'd have used this emoticon

but I can see where I may have misled you - I in fact just meant he was being a bit of a creep.