The 30-year-old former AFL midfielder and Williamston VFL captain was named Montrose coach last week, taking over from former Richmond ruckman Troy Simmonds.

Johnson is a highly regarded leader in VFL football and comes to the Demons with a great desire to succeed as a senior coach.

"I was rapt to get this appointment," he said.

"I want to bring a certain level of professionalism to the club because that is the way I go about things.

"I will be a playing coach but I would like to get to the state where I'm not required and the players take full ownership of the team."

Johnson, who along with wife Hayley moved to Croydon 18 months ago, said he had looked for a team closer to home and liked what he saw at his new club.

"I was impressed with the club and I know Troy Simmonds so I spoke to him and it sounds like things are going in the right direction," he said.

"I've already had great support from president Greg Gardoll and football manager Terry Dean. I'm told we have a good list and I intend to keep everyone improving from there."

Johnson played 70 AFL games with Hawthorn and Carlton and is a two-time best and fairest winner at Williamston, which he warmly praised for helping him develop his coaching skills while playing.

While Johnson, who works full time with the AFL Players Association, admitted his knowledge of the EFL and the division 2 competition was limited, he intended to closely study the league in the coming months.

He said he didn't intend to heavily recruit new players.

"We start preseason on November 14," he said.

"So I will start getting a feel for things then. The club is always looking around but we are not going out of our way to bring anyone in."

Gardoll welcomed the appointment and said he believed Johnson's appointment was a perfect fit.

In the workplace Johnson has also found an EFL connection in Mulgrave stalwart and fellow AFLPA employee Heath Evans.

"I've already had Heath getting into me," Johnson said.

"So the banter has already started ahead of next season."