Jason Johnson is considered a ""small"" in terms of AFL football - the ""just-under-six-foot"" type who spends his footballing days around and under packs looking for the football. But as a small he has stood very tall over the past two months for the Bombers. Mid-fielder after mid-fielder has been relegated to the medical room - first Misiti, then Mercuri, Long wasn't far behind and Blumfield brought up the rear. Others have missed games from time-to-time as well but the one constant has been Jason Johnson. He has handled the responsibility sensationally.

""There is no doubt he has been fantastic for us,"" Essendon assistant coach Mark Harvey said. ""With those other blokes in the side he had spent some time on the bench but he has been running games out for us and doing a very good job. He really shows leadership qualities in terms of the example he sets for players around him. We have been very happy with him over the past few weeks.""

""There are times in everyone's career when players have step up. In times of adversity you really find out how players are going and he stepped up for us. We weren't struggling in terms of winning games but in terms of options to rotate through the middle we were a bit thin.""

Johnson himself has thrived on the responibility but is quick to praise those around him. ""Damien Peverill was exceptional during his time on the senior list - we combined pretty well so he certainly helped,"" Johnson said. ""And the others that have been thrown in there at times have also done well. We knew that everyone did a bit we could cover the loss of the others.""

Johnson said he was pleased with his form in recent weeks. ""I'm learning all the time and getting better in some areas,"" Johnson said. ""Consistency is the most important thing and we all know that. There are some good players who will miss out in the next few weeks so the pressure is on.""

This weekend Johnson will clash with Paul Hasleby - one of the young guns of the competition and a very similar player. ""He is good player and made a real impact for a young bloke,"" Johnson said. ""They have quite a few good on-ballers - Troy Cook, Adrian Fletcher and Peter Bell are good players so it will be hard work on Saturday.""