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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jack Snape

Alex Johnston bedlam delivers one of rugby league’s most unforgettable nights

Alex Johnston surrounded by fans celebrating his NRL try-scoring record at Allianz Stadium
Spectators storm the field after South Sydney’s Alex Johnston became the highest try scorer in NRL history against the Roosters at Allianz Stadium. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Alex Johnston is adored by all in rugby league, but even so, this was extreme. On Friday night, as he and his Souths teammates celebrated the second-half try that made him the NRL’s greatest try-scorer, one of the first into the melee was a fan wearing not the cardinal red and myrtle green, but the Roosters’ tricolours.

This Craig Salvatori flashback donned a 1990s cotton jersey pulled tight by desperate security, with No 8 on the back, and adorned with a faded Samsung along the belly. As more fans launched themselves over the fence, the guard in yellow flicked his hand dismissively at him, gesturing that he was not worth it and letting him go. The crack in the dam wall quickly became a flood.

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