A “lightbulb moment” will see Tim Johannssen make his NRL debut for Wests Tigers against the Cowboys on Thursday night at Leichhardt Oval.
Rewind 12 months and this strapping young fella had lost the hunger for footy after helping the Bulldogs to a premiership winning season in the Jersey Flegg Cup.
I just didn’t feel the desire and drive anymore, so I walked away from the game.
Tim Johannssen
“I was struggling in certain areas in my life and was not sure what my purpose was until I invited God into my life.”
At 22 years of age, Johannssen will become the 11th player at Wests Tigers to make his NRL debut this season, by far the most of all Telstra Premiership clubs. Parramatta is next on the list with seven debutants in 2024.
Having 11 players debut in one season is the most since 2016, when both the Roosters and Knights had 11 first gamers in their squads.
Tim joined Wests Tigers this season from feeder club Ryde-Eastwood after winning the Jersey Flegg Cup with Canterbury-Bankstown in 2023.
The soon-to-be Wests Tigers Player #291 was born in Switzerland and moved to Australia as an infant with his parents; his mother Ana who is Spanish, and Australian father Adam, who has Norwegian ancestry.
Tim played his junior footy with the South Tweed Bears. Fresh out of school as a 17-year-old, he then moved to Newcastle where he played couple of seasons of SG Ball at the Knights, as well as some Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup.
Despite winning the Jersey Flegg Cup at Belmore after a mid-season switch from Newcastle, his hunger for the game had waned.
Until I invited God into my life, I was making a lot of wrong choices. He has been there for me every step of the way.
Johannssen
“I wasn’t eating well, I had lost a lot of weight, and I was making poor decisions.”
Still questioning his future, it was a random visit at his place of work by NRL development officers that tipped Tim over the line, and back into the game.
A teachers’ aide at Prestons Public School, Casula, Tim says he vividly remembers the precise moment when he knew that rugby league was his calling.
“I just picked up one of the footballs that the development officers had brought to the school, I tossed it up in the air, and that was a lightbulb moment for me,” said Tim.
“I was asking for guidance and that to me was the sign I needed, and here I am today, and I am just so grateful.”
Tim says his younger brother Noah, who plays for Wests Tigers in the Jersey Flegg Cup, has also been by his side every step of the way.
‘We are really close and he’s been solid as a rock by my side through this journey.”
Tim has played 12 games for Wests Magpies this season in the NSW Cup, and really caught the eye last Friday against the Warriors in Auckland.
Scores locked at 14-14, about five minutes remaining on the clock, he powered his way to the line from about 50 metres out, beating a handful of defenders in the process, to score the match-winning try.
Good luck young man. Great to have you back in the game.
