Johnstone: I wanted to stay at Wakey

Exciting young winger Tom Johnstone never entertained the thought of leaving Wakefield and is excited about his future at the club.

Johnstone made his Super League debut in 2015 and finished the year with 18 tries in 22 matches.

The 20-year old was in demand from rival clubs but in December he agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Wildcats.

“It’s really good,” Johnstone told Love Rugby League.

“I’m very happy to sign the new deal and I’m loving pre-season although the early mornings have been pretty tough, 6.30am starts. But loving pre-season with the new faces and especially under Brian for the new year.

“Coming from Wakefield’s academy, coming up from that I just wanted to stay here. I really enjoy the place.

“I like the coaches around me so I just felt comfortable and I didn’t want to leave that.”

Johnstone said his goal in 2016 is to become more consistent and cement his place in the starting 13.

“To try and solidify a wing spot,” he said.

“I know Ritchie Owen is coming back from injury and we’ve got Reece Lynne as well, so just trying to keep them out of the team in a sense.”

Johnstone said it has been amazing for him to learn under a veteran coach like Brian Smith.

“The experience and knowledge he knows is another level,” he admitted.

“I’ve never met anyone like it. And little things, anything you do if you think you’ve done it right there’s always that little bit that he can tweak and make better and help ypu perform a little bit better.”

Wakefield have posted friendly victories over Leeds and Featherstone in recent weeks. The Wildcats open their Super League season against Widnes at home in early Febrary.

“We had one game where everything went right and we did, and then one game where it was a bit tough and so we’ve covered most things for the season,” Johnstone said.

“We’re just trying to put it all into place now and kick on a bit.”