‘Almost crying’: Emotional Souths star closes in on impossible record as Wayne reveals Crowe promise

An emotional Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston has admitted he was “almost crying” during the game on Sunday after becoming the first player in the NRL era to score 200 tries.

Johnston is now just 13 tries away from breaking Ken Irvine’s all-time record of 212 which has stood for 52 years and was long considered untouchable.

The 30-year-old has endured an injury-plagued 2025 but scored a hat-trick in a 36-30 loss to the Warriors on Sunday afternoon, which takes his season tally to five tries in four games.

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Johnston was welling up in an interview with Fox League after the game when discussing what he’s overcome to become the first player this century to score 200 tries.

“The crowd started going crazy and I’m not going to lie, I was almost tearing up,” he said.

“I don’t want to get too deep here but there were some dark times in the past 10 months so it was good to contribute.

“In the middle of the game I was almost crying and just thinking about it now it’s getting me. It’s great support, I love this club and hopefully I keep scoring.”

Johnston said it has been impossible not to think about breaking Irvine’s incredible record, but added he doesn’t think it’ll happen this season.

“Every single person I see in the street brings it up so it’s hard not to (think about),” he said.

“But my goal for this year was to get to 200 and I’ve got there now so whatever I get from now is a cherry on top, but hopefully I get there.”

Wayne Bennett said he was “really proud” of Johnston and revealed South Sydney co-owner Russell Crowe wants Johnston to finish his career at the club.

“He’s a special player, he’s so good,” Bennett said.

“He’s not only a good athlete but he’s also pretty smart the way he positions himself and works it all out and gets to the try line.

“I know Russell Crowe is really proud of him too and it’s really important to him that Alex remains on the wing here for as long as he gets the job done and I feel the same.

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“He means a lot to the club and the fans and looks like breaking a record that has been there for a long, long time. It was a great day for him.

“That one where he pulled up a couple metres short of the try line but still got the ball up in the air knowing that if he keeps it there, we’re a chance. You’ve only got that long to think about that stuff and he gets it right.

“He’s only 12 behind now, we’ve just got to keep him on the footy field.

“They go through a lot, these guys, he came back and hurt his back and missed a game then came back and hurt his hamstring and missed more football, that’s all just happened this year.

“It’s a pretty emotional business, you just don’t see all the emotion because they learn to live with it and handle it.

“Their careers depend on their bodies and his was not in a good place.”

Souths teammate Jai Arrow added: “Someone pointed it out when he scored the third try that it’s a pretty remarkable achievement to be the first one in the NRL era to score 200 tries. It’s hard scoring one let alone 200 so he should be massively proud of his achievement.”

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