AFL’s next high flyer

Meet the Weipa wizard — Enrico Miller. Despite having almost no AFL experience prior to playing in a state carnival last month, he has picked up the game quickly. Next month he will represent Queensland at the School Sports Australia Championship in Darwin. “His selection as a bottom age player is quite phenomenal when you consider he has (had) limited football opportunities,” AFL Cape York regional manager Rick Hanlon said.

AFL JASON Johannisen has endured a “bumpy ride” this season but has backed himself to withstand the physical pressure that has come in spades so far this year.

The Norm Smith medallist has borne plenty of physicality from opposition players in recent weeks, with coach Luke Beveridge recently labelling the treatment “concerning” and calling a hit laid on the speedster by Eagle Mark Hutchings “cowardly”.

But the 24-year-old said he now approached games prepared for the focus he drew.

“It’s obviously been a new challenge for me and it’s been a bit different,” Johannisen said.

“It’s been a bumpy ride. But I think that with the support from the coaches and my players, we’re starting to overcome it. I’m able to prepare for it and just have to back my strengths and keep working on my game to try and overcome it.”

But while he rejected the suggestion that some opposition players had crossed the line, he said he could not be distracted by it.

“We play a physical sport, so it’s nothing that we haven’t seen or done before,” he said.

“It’s just a bit of niggle and stuff like that. It’s footy, really.

“It’s not how I play my sort of game.

“The physical stuff that I receive, it doesn’t really faze me. I know it’s coming.

“I just try and focus on my job at hand and try and help the team get the win.”

Johannisen – who migrated from South Africa as a child – joined teammate Lin Jong at the Immigration Museum to launch the Game Changers: Diversity in Football exhibition.

The premiership playmaker recently signed a five-year deal to stay at the kennel and said despite speculation he could be on the move, it never crossed his mind.

And now that the deal is done, he said a weight had been lifted.

The only sticking point, he said, was the length of the deal – he wanted a long one.

“Yeah and also with the CBA negotiations we wanted that to be finalised. It was just the standard process.”

The reigning premiers are currently 10th on the ladder – out of the eight only by percentage – and Johannisen admitted there had been frustration in the team’s inability to recapture their blistering 2016 form. And he said they had been “jelled” by external commentary.

“(There’s) not a sense of disappointment but it’s probably a little bit frustrating at times that we can’t play the way that we want to play,” he said.

“Over the last two weeks, we’re building on that and we hopefully can get some momentum and take it in against Essendon this week.”

IT’S JUST A BIT OF NIGGLE AND STUFF LIKE THAT. IT’S FOOTY, REALLY JASON JOHANNISEN