Mark Johnson has made his name as a tough-as-teak back pocket - an uncompromising defender who never gives an inch. He has been one of the stars for the Bombers over the past two seasons and an integral part of the premiership win in 2000. He recently missed a couple of matches because of a shoulder injury. In one of those matches Carlton's Matthew Lappin took the Bombers apart - how Essendon supporters wished a fit Johnson had been available. Johnson returned to the senior side last weekend with most thinking he would significantly stiffen the Essendon defence. It came as a surprise to all when Johnson lined up on the half forward line.

And Johnson went forward with great success kicking a personal best three goals in the match. He also spent time on the wing and in the middle where he also had an impact. Essendon assistant coach Robert Shaw said his performance hadn't surprised the coaching panel. ""Mark Johnson is more than simply a back pocket. He is one of the best medium-to-small defenders in the competition but we know he can play good football further up the ground,"" Shaw said. ""Whether that means he will spend time on the wing, in the middle or up forward I don't know but it certainly gives us another option with the finals coming up.""

Johnson's last quarter on the weekend was sensational. He kicked two goals, cleared the ball from centre and ran hard. ""I suppose I was pretty fresh after having a couple of weeks off and that helped me run the game out,"" Johnson said. ""We are a pretty fit side and when we were level with Collingwood at three-quarter time we were confident we could run the game out better than them.""

Johnson enjoyed his foray into the forward line. ""You don't want to be a one-dimensional player so it was good to spend some time further up the ground,"" Johnson said. ""I kicked a couple of goals which was good although I'm not sure if I did enough for Sheeds to leave me up there though.""

Johnson said his previously injured shoulder felt good during the Collingwood game. ""It came up a lot better than we thought it would. Initially I thought something major might have been wrong but it improved quickly - I very nearly played against Sydney. I got ran into a couple of times and didn't feel a thing so that is a good sign,"" Johnson said.