Johnson vows to regain lost trust
Troubled Fremantle utility Michael Johnson has vowed to clean up his act but Dockers skipper Matthew Pavlich says the 25-year-old must now back up his words with actions.
Johnson fronted the club's leadership group on Monday morning before joining his teammates in a light recovery session, his first outing with the Dockers since being caught with a small amount of cocaine in the early hours of May 16.
Pavlich said Johnson, who is unavailable for senior selection until round 14, promised all the right things during his heart-to-heart with the leadership group but still had plenty of work ahead to regain the trust of his teammates.
"We are not here to divulge exactly what happened in a private session between Michael and the leadership group, it's not for public dialogue, but yes we met and it's been dealt with," Pavlich said.
"He certainly has (made) lots of commitments.
"Now it's words but we want to see actions and we are supporting him through those actions.
"He's still obviously pretty flat and devastated and really disappointed in his own actions, and he's feeling that.
"But I think he's probably starting to turn a little bit of a corner in terms of coming to grips with what's happened and getting back into the fold of the football club.
"He understands he's got a fair bit of work to do both on the track and certainly off it to make sure he gains the respect and trust back from the broader group.
"It is nice to have him back and we are here to support him."
While Johnson's training ban has elapsed, he is still unavailable for WAFL selection until June 21 and AFL selection until July 3.
"Certainly the punishment of not playing football is the major sanction," Pavlich said.
"You ask anyone what the players hold most dearest to them and that's playing games of football, being out there on the weekend in the heat of battle.
"But for Michael to be around a football club, around the environment that is elite and professional, it's really important for him to understand that he's back in the fold now.
"What we expect of him is the type of behaviour values that we hold really highly."
Fremantle have posted impressive wins over Sydney and North Melbourne in the past fortnight despite the Johnson drug saga casting a dark cloud over the club.
"(It's been) a challenging couple of weeks," Pavlich admitted.
"Challenging from an emotional perspective, and challenging to make sure the guys remained really focused as well."
Meanwhile, Pavlich said he was no closer to re-signing with the Dockers and may not make a decision until the latter part of the year.
Pavlich, whose contract expires at the end of the season, said negotiations with Fremantle hadn't begun but denied he had been approached by incoming club Gold Coast.
Dockers coach Mark Harvey is another who remains unsigned for next year despite Fremantle's flying 8-2 start to the season, and Pavlich stopped curiously short of approving an extension.
"Mark's going really well at the moment, he's coaching fantastically well and he's got a great support group behind him," Pavlich said.
"I'm not going to comment on anything else except for he's doing a good job at this point in time."
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