Murray celebrates "unmatched" Johnston after "nervous" celebrations

Rabbitohs’ captain Cameron Murray has reflected on the celebrations around Alex Johnston’s record-breaking try, revealing the fears and pride he had in the eye of the crowd.

On Friday night, Johnston passed Ken Irvine for the record for most tries in Australian rugby league history, scoring his 213th career try.

Playing their traditional arch-rivals, the Sydney Roosters, Johnston finished off a full-field break from the Rabbitohs in the minute after half-time.

From there, thousands of fans descended upon the field, and Johnston, to celebrate the historic achievement.

Murray was one of the players who ended up directly next to Johnston in the huddle and was responsible for shepherding him off the field as celebrations intensified.

Murray reflected on the moment, revealing to SEN’s NRL Crunch Time that his initial excitement turned to fear as the crowd continued to grow around Johnston and himself.

“(I) somehow found myself right smack bang in the middle with AJ (Johnston) there so it was a pretty cool moment,” Murray said.

“I got a bit scared actually. After a couple of minutes, the fun kind of passed and I was a bit nervous.

“It was really hot and humid right in the middle. I didn't realise how many people actually got on the field until I saw some of the footage after it.

“It's pretty crazy, like you said… I got a little bit nervous there, but everything turned out all right.

“Credit to all the people that were on the field, like the security guards and everyone, ushering everyone off.

“They got everyone off in a pretty good amount of time, so we thought we'd be stuck in the sheds for a lot longer than we did.

“I know, a lot of high powers in the game didn't really want it to happen, but I think they did the best of what they could on the night.”

Murray and Johnston are both one-club players, lining up side-by-side on the Rabbitohs since 2017.

The Rabbitohs’ captain was over-the-moon for his long-term teammate, particularly given the adversity Johnston has overcome throughout his career, including almost being forced out of the Rabbitohs and countless injuries.

Murray was on the bench when Johnston scored, but there was no way he wasn’t joining in the celebrations, even if running on did invoke memories of a sideline melee during Game III of the 2024 State of Origin series, which saw Murray suspended for two matches.

“I was actually on the bench, so I was a bit hesitant to run on because the last time I ran on the field from the bench, it didn't really end well,” Murray joked.

“I saw a fair amount of fans storming the huddle there and the celebration so I thought I'm probably allowed to run on then.

“I made sure I'd stuck around and… make sure AJ was okay until we got out into the shed, but it'll definitely be a memory that I'll cherish forever and something that will definitely stand out in all of our careers.

“The commitment that he's (Johnston) given to this game… is unmatched.

“I'm really happy for AJ and what he was able to achieve.”

The Rabbitohs now take on the Wests Tigers in Gosford on March 21.