When Aidan Johnson says AFL Football feels like a holiday he’s joking – but there’s an element of truth to the quip.  

There was a time when the former Albury plumber was crawling under houses with a torn patella tendon because he had to keep working to pay the bills. 

 A time when he’d roll out of bed before the sun was up after arriving home from VFL training late the night before.  

He’d spend his days on worksites and behind the wheel, crossing the city in peak hour traffic to get from work to training.  

So the mature-age recruit can be excused for enjoying the luxuries of life as a professional athlete.  

“I used to live in Newport and then I’d drive from Newport out to Kalkallo which is out in the Northern suburbs for work,” he said. 

“From there I’d drive over to Werribee and train… at probably 3:30pm or 4:00pm most days. 

“It was taking an hour, an hour and a half every day to get to training. You're not driving anything over 80 km/hr. It's just bumper to bumper the whole time. 

“Once I’d finished training, I’d drive back over to Newport and then get up bright and early in the morning and drive back out to Kalkallo the next day.” 

The self-effacing and quietly spoken Johnson downplays the grind now. 

“That's the way I've been brought up. Tough it out and get going,” he said. 

“That kind of work hard mentality is what I've always been brought up to be.” 

He remembers the days as an injury-riddled Werribee full forward with fondness.  

“It was tiring but I loved doing it and I love working hard,” he said. 

“I didn't really slog too hard doing it but yeah the energy levels were pretty low at some stages in the middle of winter, it's pretty cold.” 

The Albury local won a senior premiership for the Lavington Panthers in the Ovens and Murray Football League, booting 53 goals before making the big move to Melbourne to chase his football dreams.  

Fellow mature-aged AFL recruit Shaun Mannagh was a driving force behind the move, the Panthers teammate and now Geelong Cat convincing his friend to pull on the Werribee yellow and black.

“I was pretty set back at home being a plumber. I would have started my own business. 

“I just thought I'd give it a crack and come down and play but the injury and stuff delayed it a fair bit.” 

The ‘injury stuff’ Johnson refers to is a torn patella tendon that derailed his early days in the VFL. 

“I wouldn't wish it on anyone,” he said of the unique and painful knee injury. 

“It's shocking. You can't really walk up and down stairs and stuff like that. 

“It wasn't even a big impact really. I'll just kind of ran and jumped for a contest and then it just went bang. 

As a working plumber, Johnson couldn’t afford the time necessary to get off his feet and properly attack his rehab. 
 
There were still jobs to finish and ladders to climb.  

“I was in the trenches, underneath houses so I physically could not rest,” he said. 

“I was up and down ladders. Some days I'd be that sore that I could feel my knee pulsing and some days I would fall over in the trenches and just buckle away. 

“If I didn't work then I don't get paid. I don't know where the money comes from kind of thing. 

“You kind of want to strive to do your best at footy, but then obviously being a semi-professional player, you've kind of got to put your life first as well.” 

It was in these dark times that Werribee CEO Mark Penaluna used to tell Johnson that patience was a virtue. 
 
Two weeks ago, he texted the same phrase to Johnson when he was named for his AFL debut. 
 
Penaluna had been right and patience had paid off for Johnson. 

It all came together for Johnson in 2024, dropping 13kg and playing a crucial role in Werribee’s premiership run.  

It was enough for Melbourne to take a swing on the now 25-year-old with pick No.68 in the National Draft.  

“It's a bit surreal,” he said. 

“Going out and playing on the 'G the other day was kind of the mode where I'm like this is actually a full-time job. 

“I was pretty good driving into the game, but I think once I ran out and Max started talking to us in the huddle I started to get a bit nervous and a fair bit of butterflies. 

“Sitting on the bench and you kind of hear people screaming and stuff, you think it's a bit bigger than the Werribee crowd. 

“Once I got into it, I forgot about all the noise around me and just started playing. You think of playing AFL your whole life and especially on the MCG.” 

Johnson’s second game will also be on the MCG this Saturday, after he spent Round 2 on the sidelines with a rough conduct charge.  

It’s no surprise given his reputation as a tough-as-nails enforcer. 

“Being out in the country and playing senior footy at a very young age, you've kind of got to learn to be a bit rough around the edges,” he said. 

“I probably get a bit too aggressive sometimes. I just hate getting beaten so I just kind of get a bit grumpy sometimes. 

“I did step over the line a bit which I regret, but that’s the way it is when you play that tough brand of footy. 

“You learn from your mistakes and just keep on going.” 

Johnson won’t be getting ahead of himself as he runs out onto the hallowed turf again, taking things one contest at a time. 

He’ll be launching into each contest with an extra spring in his step however. 

“Now this is a full-time job I kind of just cruise around, and I get a lot more sleep and time to recover and stretch, and my body feels a million times better,” he said.  

“I feel a lot better. My energy levels are probably through the roof now. I bounce around. 

“I’ll just put my hand up, play the best I can, be the best teammate that I can and just see where it takes me.”