View Full Version : No. 20 Steve Johnson
CatmanForever
4 Jun 2007, 22:59
http://gfc.com.au/portals/0/images/players/cats/Steve_Johnson_small.jpg
Steve Johnson
Fast Facts
Jumper No: 20
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 89 kg
DOB: 4 July 1983
Recruited From: Murray U18
Lingsface
6 Jun 2007, 15:28
freak, up there with my favourite players to watch when having a good day.
Hairy Cat Mooney
7 Jun 2007, 20:56
-Drafted in the 2001 Draft at pick 24
-Played in the VFL premiership in 2002
-Had played 67 games and kicked 108 goals up untill the start of this season
Was suspended by the club for drunk and disorderly conduct and returned in round 6 this year. Since then he has transformed into a match winner for Geelong kicking 4 goals against Freo in Round 8.
Steve Johnson is the x factor of the Geelong side. As well as doing the team things this year he still kicks the freakish goals.
sarah.13
7 Jun 2007, 21:19
The freak is back,bigger,faster,stronger,fitter and as exciting as ever.The 6 week suspension was the best thing the club ever did in regards to him.
His unpredictability and occasional genius is exactly what our forward line needs to complement Ablett's class,Mooney's strength and intimation,N.Ablett's awareness and the determination of Stokes,Chapman and Varcoe.:thumbsu:
someday-somehow
8 Jun 2007, 12:11
I just can't believe how much of the footy he gets...if he keeps his head and his body stays right he will become one of the most influential forward players in the competition
Cheshire Cat
9 Jun 2007, 13:20
I just can't believe how much of the footy he gets...if he keeps his head and his body stays right he will become one of the most influential forward players in the competition
He is has incredible sense of where the football is going. Does anyone remember that crumb off the pack in the forwardline against St.Kilda and he hit the post? He has natural football ability, superb to watch when on song.
CatmanForever
9 Jun 2007, 13:29
I wonder if Collingwood are kicking themselves for turning him down?? Glad he is still a Cat though! His work up the ground is great too, has become the complete package this year.
Hairy Cat Mooney
10 Jun 2007, 15:56
Played an alright game though didn't stand out. Kicked the match sealing goal in the 4th quarter.
CatmanForever
10 Jun 2007, 16:25
he fought his way back into the game after being well tagged, he showed that he is a champion for doing that
Metallica_Man
10 Jun 2007, 18:18
AFL Round 11 v Adelaide
Kicked the winning goal but other than that was quiet, was tagged though. Fought it off well
chapmanmagic35
10 Jun 2007, 19:28
SJ is working hard. It has been his first quiet game since his return.
Selwood07
12 Jun 2007, 10:24
He is still limited in not being able to chase but it seems that if he misses the mark he will still dive for the ball. One ordinary game since his return isn't bad. He has earned respect - it was lacking before this year. I see him quite differently now.
darren forssman
12 Jun 2007, 14:03
He is still limited in not being able to chase
i think he also has to realise that he cant just turn and burn and leave opponents in his wake. he just does not have the speed and often gets caught holding the ball.
I must confess I had my heart in my mouth when he lined up for the game winner on Sunday...The easy, regulation goals are the ones he can miss. But that was probably the best exponent of a drop punt I have ever seen him kick!
darren forssman
12 Jun 2007, 17:16
I must confess I had my heart in my mouth when he lined up for the game winner on Sunday...The easy, regulation goals are the ones he can miss.
i thought he was going to play on and take the man on the mark on.
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
14 Jun 2007, 11:28
I wonder if Collingwood are kicking themselves for turning him down?? Glad he is still a Cat though! His work up the ground is great too, has become the complete package this year.
I wonder how many on here would have been kicking themselves had he left? Because most of you wanted him gone.
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
14 Jun 2007, 11:48
And here's the review on him I did last season:
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5999767#post5999767
Hairy Cat Mooney
17 Jun 2007, 16:20
Played an awesome game against the Lions with 3 goals and 23 possessions. Was lively all around the ground and kicked a freaky goal. Was up there for BOG, only Gablett could steal votes on Brownlow night. His skills in the wet really lifted the side when we weren't kicking goals.
Cheshire Cat
17 Jun 2007, 16:25
Dog was vintage Dog today
If he was a couple of yards quicker hed be a superstar, gets caught holding the ball sometimes which is frustrating. Great footy brain though, If only he had the speed of Varcoe, and if only Varcoe had the know-how of Dog
Prismall32
17 Jun 2007, 18:11
Mercurial. Some dumb things and then some brilliant ones - wonder whether it's the same player. Missed a sitter today against Lions then turned it on. You have to take the bad with the good and hope one outweighs the other.
I deadset thought Stevie was gone, but he's proving me wrong, that 5 match suspension looks to be the best thing that's happened to him.
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
17 Jun 2007, 18:47
He's more important in games like that than in shoot-outs at the Dome. Vital, and has kept us in many similar games, especially at Skilled.
sarah.13
17 Jun 2007, 19:16
The freak is back,bigger,faster,stronger,fitter and as exciting as ever.The 6 week suspension was the best thing the club ever did in regards to him.
His unpredictability and occasional genius is exactly what our forward line needs to complement Ablett's class,Mooney's strength and intimation,N.Ablett's awareness and the determination of Stokes,Chapman and Varcoe.:thumbsu:
Just wanted to say it one more time. :thumbsu::thumbsu:
cats2rise
17 Jun 2007, 21:51
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=339464
darren forssman
19 Jun 2007, 08:37
how about when he tried to kick a goal lying on the ground when two team mates were running past him?
or when he was on the half back line and tenace was shouting at him how how he was and he still thought he had all the time in the world?
im waiting for the GF, when we are 3 points down and he marks the ball 40m out, the siren blows and steve johnson has only to kick a goal. what does he do?
a) play on
b) not make the distance
Rustybugles
19 Jun 2007, 09:43
how about when he tried to kick a goal lying on the ground when two team mates were running past him?
or when he was on the half back line and tenace was shouting at him how how he was and he still thought he had all the time in the world?
im waiting for the GF, when we are 3 points down and he marks the ball 40m out, the siren blows and steve johnson has only to kick a goal. what does he do?
a) play on
b) not make the distance
If you've followed Geelong for as long as I have - this is the stuff of nightmares! I just do not know what to make of him - he is danger itself. Exciting but unpredictable?
sarah.13
19 Jun 2007, 10:16
If you've followed Geelong for as long as I have - this is the stuff of nightmares! I just do not know what to make of him - he is danger itself. Exciting but unpredictable?
If the freak had of been traded every Geelong supporter would now be spewing!
Love him or hate him he certainly makes it worth while watching him.
Personally I believe by the time he finishes his career he will be one of the greats of GFC.
Rustybugles
19 Jun 2007, 10:38
No! I would never have supported trading him - though I'm told it gave him a fright - took himself off to the nearest pub for a fortifier! Seriously, I actually admire him for his personal turn-around even if he gives me a coronary every match!:thumbsu:
darren forssman
19 Jun 2007, 12:52
I just do not know what to make of him - he is danger itself. Exciting but unpredictable?
this is so true...you just wait for a brain fade (some think brilliance).
even when he has a set shot you are wondering if he will try to baulk the man on the mark then kick to the opposition on the goal line.
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
19 Jun 2007, 14:00
this is so true...you just wait for a brain fade (some think brilliance).
even when he has a set shot you are wondering if he will try to baulk the man on the mark then kick to the opposition on the goal line.
Yeah but then he goes and jags a few that anyone else would miss. He's a match winner. Match winners win matches. I want to win matches. Simple.
cats2rise
19 Jun 2007, 21:37
Regarding the Grand Final comment.
If he was 35m out in front, I wouldn't want to look.
If he was 45m out on the wrong side on the boundary, standing on one foot while juggling hotdogs in one hand.... I'd back him in.
darren forssman
20 Jun 2007, 08:35
Regarding the Grand Final comment.
If he was 35m out in front, I wouldn't want to look.
If he was 45m out on the wrong side on the boundary, standing on one foot while juggling hotdogs in one hand.... I'd back him in.
yeah, i agree.
TheTimeCometh
20 Jun 2007, 12:37
Yeah but then he goes and jags a few that anyone else would miss. He's a match winner. Match winners win matches. I want to win matches. Simple.
debatable.
he can be a match-winner. so if he fades on what he should get, but get what most wouldn't, would you say that levels out?
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
20 Jun 2007, 12:52
debatable.
he can be a match-winner. so if he fades on what he should get, but get what most wouldn't, would you say that levels out?
I know where you're coming from, but you take the good with the bad. And the good greatly outweighs the bad in my opinion, and the gap is increasing week by week.
TheTimeCometh
20 Jun 2007, 13:03
agree he has lifted his all-round game.
just NO reverse spins on the half backline - PLEASE!
chapmanmagic35
20 Jun 2007, 16:05
I know where you're coming from, but you take the good with the bad. And the good greatly outweighs the bad in my opinion, and the gap is increasing week by week.
It outweighs it now. Hasn't in the past.
Hairy Cat Mooney
2 Aug 2007, 23:20
This man is on fire! I seriously reckon he has been the difference between our form at the very start of the year, and the form now. His performance on the weekend just shows how much hard work he has put in. The SJ of old would not have run a quarter of what he did on the weekend. Anyone reckon his a chance for AA next year?
deadfish
4 Aug 2007, 18:54
He was awesome today, Well done SJ, saw him out the other night, and he was on the waters :thumbsu:
keep it up mate.
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
18 Mar 2008, 09:15
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23392985-19742,00.html
Freakish kid born for the big stage
Scott Gullan | March 18, 2008 12:00am
In the first extract from The Mission, Scott Gullan's inside look at the Cats' 2007 season, we see what makes Steve Johnson tick.
STEVE Johnson was one of the late risers. He'd had the best sleep-in of his life. The previous night he'd almost polished off a block of chocolate and there were two bars left; he made short work of them as he flicked on the TV.
Johnson started watching a panel show as the guests were giving out tips for the Norm Smith Medal.
Former Kangaroos superstar Wayne Carey was next up. "Steve Johnson," Carey said.
"Oh, s---," Johnson thought.
The enormity of what lay ahead hit, and hard. "That's when I thought to myself, 'S---, this is pretty big now, this is Grand Final day. You are really involved in it now.' "
There were no streamers or banners up on the walls (in the MCG rooms) before the big game; no 'Eye of the Tiger' motivational songs being played. "It was pretty similar to a normal, regular sort of a game," coach Mark Thompson said.
Assistant Ken Hinkley had been in this situation as a player three times and knew more than most what the day meant. "Unfortunately, this game might be the undoing or the absolute making of a footy club," he said. "I arrived nice and early and everything felt relaxed, the players were OK.
"There were blokes taking 48 minutes to get their rubdown. Tommy Harley was doing his thing, making sure every part of his body was right. There were other blokes just doing what they do . . . and I had a bit of fun with Stevey."
He was used to Johnson's confidence in their normal muck-around conversations but even Hinkley was left shaking his head after their pre-game chat. When Hinkley asked his half-forward how he was feeling, Johnson replied: "I'm not worried about this game. This is my stage. This is where I do it, a full MCG on Grand Final day. Why do you think they put air in my lungs for?"
Hinkley couldn't top that. "I have got confidence and sarcasm, arrogance, all those things but he eats me," he said of Johnson. "Some people think he's kind of quiet but he's anything but shy when you know him."
It is no surprise to learn that Johnson's football hero was Peter Daicos. He had been a mad Magpies fan and spent hours out the front of the family home, opposite a golf course in Wangaratta, practising 'Daicos-isms' with his brother, David.
Two light poles 40m apart were the targets. Each time they hit one, a point was scored. Every kick was taken from where it landed.
Despite his freakish skills, Johnson almost didn't make the grade. He tried out for the Murray Bushrangers under-15 side and failed. He was injured before a trial game for the under-16 squad and was again rejected. The following year he wasn't even invited to try out for the under-17s.
He figured the problem was his ungainly running style. He shuffled, Cliff Young-style, and to many he looked slow. In reality he had an above-average aerobic capacity and covered the ground as well as anyone.
Johnson then implored two local running coaches to improve his technique. It worked andthe rest is history.
As he mucked around in the changerooms before the big game, having shots at bins, Johnson was enjoying a sense of belonging.
Before his suspension earlier in the year he had never felt that connection with his teammates.
"I feel like I am part of the team now," he said. "I can see that my teammates like having me out there."I have had my differences in the past with a few of those guys (in the leadership group). Now there is a mutual respect amongst myself and them and pretty much the whole group."
Tomorrow: What the players really said about each other to set up the premiership
Partridge
18 Mar 2008, 09:28
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23392985-19742,00.html
Sensational excerpt. I love players with confidence to perform on the big stage.
catempire
18 Mar 2008, 10:36
How good is this quote:
"I'm not worried about this game. This is my stage. This is where I do it, a full MCG on Grand Final day. Why do you think they put air in my lungs for?"
S "Thinks He's Daicos" J
18 Mar 2008, 11:33
How good is this quote:
Possibly my next signature, it will be getting changed this Thursday.
He's a freak!
Young Gazza is a freak also. Varcoe shows some freaky signs too.
sarah.13
18 Mar 2008, 13:16
IMO it's a freaky team!
todays extract from the sun about the players assessments of each other
Link
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23399403-19742,00.html
I_am_geelong
20 Mar 2008, 09:48
I love the detail about eating a block of chocolate the nite before. Very Steve. Not sure if its true.....but Ilove the story.