Johnston remains without a deal for 2026, but Bennett and Johnston are confident something will be thrashed out.
Alex Johnston helped himself to four tries for South Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
“We’re still chatting, I don’t know if it’s locked in yet, I know my manager and Souths were in talks this week,” Johnston said.
“We’ll see what happens. I think it’s very close.”
Bennett said after the tight loss to the Storm: “We’re negotiating with him [about 2026]. We believe that will happen, but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s a bit more negotiating to be done.”
For a player who crosses the tryline as often as Johnston, it is a shame he does not have a decent celebration.
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Celebration?“I’m not that flairy. I’ve got nothing. I can’t think of anything. If you come up with something, let me know.”
That magical moment now looks like happening much sooner than everyone expected after Johnston bagged four tries during Saturday night’s golden-point 25-24 loss to the Melbourne Storm.
His career try tally moved to 206, just six adrift of Irvine whose mark has stood since 1973.
The 30-year-old Johnston said he had even surprised himself how quickly he was zoning in on the record after nine tries in his past four games.
“I’m not that flairy – I’ve got nothing,” he said.
“I can’t think of anything. If you come up with something, let me know.”
Johnston was on the end of three wonderful passes from Latrell Mitchell on the weekend. How many times has Mitchell rifled a pass for Johnston to score in the corner. Come to think of it, how often did Greg Inglis do likewise earlier in Johnston’s career.
“They are two special fullbacks I’ve played with,” Johnston said.
“Then you’ve got guys like Cody [Walker] who probably has even more try assists [involving] me.
“The centres I’ve had over the years as well … I’ve been lucky to be on the end of a pretty special backline.”
Souths lost a fourth straight game, but also a fourth straight opponent that was in the top four on the ladder.
They are also expected to welcome the return of Walker, Campbell Graham and Peter Mamouzelos for next Saturday’s clash against the Dolphins.
It’s an away game in Brisbane. Surely, Johnston does not ruin it for everyone and scores six tries.
