Alex Johnston scores as South Sydney Rabbitohs honour Nathan Merritt in emotional clash
Nathan Merritt had just gotten lost in the tunnel when Alex Johnston’s hands caught the crowd’s attention.
His hands took part first. Suddenly, after this aerial tackle on his own 10-metre line, his body caught the attention with a neat turn with a head-to-eye movement in the empty space between him and Canterbury’s try line. His legs then stole the show, running 90 meters untouched to open South Sydney’s account.
This was his 97th try at the Accor Stadium in 99 matches played at this venue. This statistic is ridiculous. However, Johnston is the top scorer in NRL history. He is also the Rabbitohs’ record goalscorer since 2022. However, before that he was being held by another winger. Another great club. The man who rang the Souths’ Legacy Bell four minutes ago. Who was the center of attention and the focal point of the celebration and the person facing the emotions before kick-off? Who was Alex Johnston before Alex Johnston?
Merritt’s look was like the goal Johnston had scored for his predecessor. His friend is a First Nations player. His friend. He is 42 years old and has 12 months to live.
Earlier this week, Merritt described feeling as if her soul had been taken away when she announced the fatal prognosis of stage four liver and esophageal cancer.
While in the throes of chemotherapy, I hope some of that success will return to him on Good Friday when he attends his first NRL game in more than two years to watch his Rabbitohs defeat the Bulldogs 32-24.
“It’s pretty dishonest at the moment, so I’m just taking each day as it comes and enjoying each day,” the father-of-five told Nine’s pre-match broadcast. “It’s a good day for me. I’ve got a box there with 20 family and friends. It’s a great opportunity for me to celebrate a little bit about the Souths and what I’ve done here and enjoy the moment.”
Merritt admitted that this match may have been the last one he could physically go to. So the club nominated him to ring the bell; this tradition dates back to the first match played at Birchgrove Oval in 1908. As one of its champions, a pioneer and a local fixture.
“Devastating news for Nath. Very sad news,” Cody Walker said on Fox Sports. “He has forever been a pioneer of our club and our local community in Redfern. He’s got a bit of a tough road ahead of him. We’re all thinking of him here at the Rabbitohs.”
As the bell rang and the players ran past him onto the field, those who knew him well were patting him on the back. Of course, there were also boos from the blue and white portion of the 49,813 crowd to salute their longtime foes.
But there was something about the way Bulldogs fans joined South fans in a standing ovation just moments before as Merritt was introduced and showed a tribute video on the big screen showcasing the most of his 154 career tries, including 135 for the Rabbitohs. This man, in short, became the glue that united two hostile fan bases on what has traditionally been one of the most hostile of fixtures.
As he was in Merritt’s playing days, he was the South’s goal-scoring connector over and over again during its lean years. Don’t forget his only goal in his career; His stunning match-winning shot from 30 yards in the 80th minute against the Wests Tigers at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Be enlightened in the dark. A soul that has been lost for a while.
Yesterday he recalled one of his favorite memories playing against the Bulldogs. “There was a year, I think it was 2013,” he said. reporter this week, “we came up with a trick play and Adam Reynolds kicked it downfield for me. We caught them off guard on the opposite side of the field.”
And again he wished, out loud, that he was well enough to travel to the Allianz Stadium last month and be part of the pitch-invading mayhem that accompanied Johnston’s record-breaking tackle against the Roosters.
“This was so beautiful to watch,” he told Nine. “I was watching it at home. It felt like jumping on the TV and jumping onto the field. It would have been a great moment to be there on the field.”
It felt right for Johnston to score in the fourth minute. Use your hands, torso, and legs to honor all that has come before.
