Delisted 20. Steve Johnson (2002-2015)

[BotsMaster]

Re: No. 20 Steve Johnson

If he keeps scoring goals like he did on Friday night then he could very well be in with a chance to win the coleman medal

 

[SJ]

Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Steve Johnson (#20)
Born: July 4, 1983, Age: 28
Origin: Wangaratta/Murray Bushrangers
Height: 189cm, Weight: 87kg
Games: 175
Goals: 363
Position: Half-forward

2011 Statistics (Total, Average)
Games: 23 (missed Rounds 7, 18)
Disposals: 514, 22.3
Kicks: 319, 13.9
Handballs: 195, 8.5
Contested possessions: 187, 8.1
Marks: 143, 6.2
Goals: 50, 2.2
Behinds: 37, 1.6
Goal assists: 31, 1.3
Tackles: 84, 3.7
Hitouts: 2, 0.1
Frees For: 31, 1.3
Frees Against: 20, 0.9

2011 BigFooty Geelong Board MVP votes: 25.5 (fifth)

Review

Come the season opener against St Kilda, many who barracked for the Cats - and, indeed, most footy followers in general - were eagerly awaiting to see how Geelong would fare in 2011. With the club gun and coach gone and a game-plan continually dismantled by 2010's better teams, change was inevitable - but how would it come? One expected change was for more players share the load in attempting to fill the Gary Ablett void through the middle rather than finding a 'straight swap', in order to reduce the impact of his absence. As such, Steve Johnson found himself spending more time than ever in the Geelong engine room in 2011. This was reflected in his figures, as Johnson recorded career-high numbers in handballs, disposals, contested possessions, clearances and tackles.

Statistically, Johnson's first quarter of the season was probably the biggest outlier from any six-week block across his past five seasons. In the first six matches he played, he was prolific with the ball (averaging 24.0 possessions - 9.2 contested - and 3.3 clearances per game) yet had very limited impact on the scoreboard (kicking 4.13). Casting my mind back to this time, I remember feeling Johnson could barely buy a goal early on, with many shots hitting the post or taking unlucky bounces. Although by no means ordinary in this stretch, the BigFooty Geelong community agreed Johnson wasn't having a large impact on games, only voting (5-4-3-2-1) in the top five Cats on the ground on one occasion - the Round 2 win against Fremantle. Five of these six were incredibly tough games for the Cats (Johnson was a late withdrawal for Allen Christensen prior to the 11-goal win against North in Round 7) including four against eventual finalists. Although Geelong turned at 7-0 after Round 8, much of the footy world still had doubts over the club thanks to numerous narrow (however gutsy) wins.

This tag was certainly not shaken the following week, when on a Friday night at Etihad, Carlton played the better footy against Geelong but blew a number of chances in the dying stages to go down to the Cats by two points. Johnson probably had his best game of the year to date with 19 touches and three goals in the heart-stopper . This kick-started a rich vein of form for the forward, polling in four consecutive matches in the Geelong Board MVP. The following week saw the Cats play in a historic match against Gold Coast in the first game at the newly-renovated Metricon Stadium. The Suns, avec Gary Ablett, almost blew Geelong away early on and took a 20-point lead into the first change. However from then it was all Geelong, kicking 18 goals to four and running out easy winners. Johnson was a clear best-on ground, kicking seven goals and racking up 29 touches. Although five majors came after the break when most of the sting was out of the game, being at the game live I also thought Johnson was Geelong's stand-out early on when the Suns were on fire, seemingly as the only Cat putting in the required effort (one passage of play featuring a number of one-percenters in the back pocket early on typified this attitude). However Chris Scott played down Johnson's game, stating "Stevie knows we're not happy with everything he did tonight - it was nowhere near the best game I've seen Steve Johnson play, nowhere near it. It was a good game, but we didn't think it was a brilliant game." Johnson duly received maximum votes in almost all awards.

On a sunny Saturday at Skilled, Geelong easily accounted for the Bulldogs, playing attractive free-flowing footy and kicking 23 goals in the process. Again Johnson was prominent with 27 possessions and two goals - including a set-shot snap from from 50 on the boundary line. Vintage Johnson. Thanks to the AFL and its marvellous system of equality, the following week Geelong would again play Hawthorn for the second time in seven weeks. Lather, rinse and repeat - another heart stopper with the Cats holding the Hawks scoreless in the last quarter to win by a kick. Quiet but serviceable until three-quarter time, Johnson kicked two goals in four minutes early in the final stanza to put the Cats in front. Although it seemed Geelong hadn't played half the league yet, another return match was scheduled at the MCG in Round 13, this time against St Kilda. Johnson spent more time in the middle as Bartel was subbed off early and racked up 25 touches whilst Menzel was the spark up forward, as the Cats' five-goal win was its best against the Saints in three seasons. Back at Kardinia Park, the names Bartel, Ottens, Kelly, Milburn, Hunt, Stokes and Vardy all appeared under 'out' leading many Geelong faithful to be understandably nervous, even against Adelaide at home. The Cats put any questions to bed very early on, kicking nine of the first ten goals to effectively end the game before quarter-time. Johnson had his quietest game for the season, although kicked two early goals.

Rounds 15 and 16 saw Geelong blot the copybook twice in consecutive weeks. Against Essendon under the roof, the Cats skipped out to an early lead but the plucky Bombers kicked 11 of the next 13 goals. Geelong pegged them back a number of times but couldn't land the knockout blow, falling short by four points in a nail-biter. Johnson had one of his poorer games, however was almost the match-winner late, kicking his only three goals in the final ten minutes, including one from on his back after riding a huge bump which could feature in his top ten majors ever (with lots of competition!). It was a similar story in Perth, with an early Geelong lead swamped by nine consecutive West Coast goals before half time. Again the Cats would get close, but again fail in a thriller - Johnson again serviceable with 19 and two. Straight over to Brisbane, and Geelong's season seemed to be heading south quickly as they trailed the struggling Lions at three-quarter time before a seven-goal final quarter saved face with Podsiadly's eight a highlight. Johnson capped his worst month of 2011 with a solitary goal and little impact elsewhere.

Johnson was a late withdrawal for the Round 18 scrappy (but significant) win over Richmond under the roof as the Cats found a little form. But bang, the week after Johnson and the Cats left records strewn everywhere in one of the most remarkable days in footy history. Not to be content with Geelong's 21-goal win against Casey (Melbourne's reserves) in the VFL curtain raiser, in fading light the seniors recorded the third-highest score and second-largest winning margin in VFL/AFL history against a hapless Melbourne. Johnson played one of the all-time great games, barely making a mistake with his 34 touches, kicking seven goals and assisting with 10 others. In a similar hiding handed out a week later against Gold Coast, Johnson helped himself to a half-dozen more and another 31 possessions in the 150-point win.

The next fortnight exhibited another lull in the Cats' formline. A trip to Adelaide resulted in another unconvincing win for the Cats with Johnson kicking a brace in a two-goal win. The first loss in four seasons at Skilled Stadium was to follow against an emotional Sydney team in Round 23, with the Swans keeping Geelong's guns quiet and not once allowing the Cats to gain any momentum (a very rare achievement). Four goals to nil down against Collingwood in the dead-rubber Round 24 match, and I had basically given the season away. The entire team, including Johnson with 25 touches and two goals, suddenly reignited a season that was slipping away through kicking 22 of the game's remaining 26 goals and beat the Magpies by 96 points (a club record). The win didn't mean everything, but it certainly meant something with a qualifying final against Hawthorn looming.

Heading into the first week of the finals the Cats hadn't defeated Hawthorn in September for 48 years. The fear was the previous six thrilling wins were to count for almost nothing should Geelong fall at this hurdle. Led by the marking power of Podsiadly, Hawkins, Ottens and West, and Ottens' influence in the ruck, 12 goals to six after quarter time saw the Cats home in their biggest win against the Hawks in six years. Johnson had a stack of the footy but was as wasteful as I've ever seen, disappointingly not doing the team thing at regular intervals. His highlight was a brilliant goal off the deck from 20 metres as Geelong kicked four goals in four minutes in the third quarter to blow the game apart.

After a week off, the Cats found themselves up against another finals nemesis in West Coast in the preliminary final, on a high after rising from last in 2010 and knocking off Carlton in a thriller the week before. The Cats won comfortably, and not long after a 'Stevie special', his knee would buckle in an Embley tackle early in the second half. After losing fellow half-forward Menzel to an ACL in the previous match, there was an eerie silence at the ground for much of the remainder of the quarter as Cats fans feared the worst yet again. However Johnson limped out of the race at the final break to the applause of the Geelong faithful, giving them some hope for at least 2012, if not the big one.

There is always a 'race against the clock' story or two in grand final week, with Johnson playing the lead role in the 2011 version. Closed training sessions, hyperbaric chambers, Neil Balme straight bats and helicopter vision were just part of the story as Geelong had Milburn waiting in the wings as a late replacement.

Johnson was to play! And how. Involved in the game right from the opening minutes, Johnson cemented his reputation as a star on the big stage by playing a blinder on one leg. He goalled from a clever Stokes tap late in the first to halt a three-goal Collingwood run, before kicking another from a standing start at 50 in the second after the Magpies got out to a three goal lead. With Hawkins clunking everything in the last but failing to convert it into majors, Johnson accepted a cheeky handpass to kick the all-important first goal of the final quarter before finishing Collingwood off with a snap from the boundary late in a famous win.

Johnson just missed out on his fourth All-Australian selection in 2011, probably justifiably, as he had less damaging periods (even in some high-possession games) early and mid-year. He certainly stamped his authority with a vintage performance in his third premiership, mind. Overall he had a very good season, ranked in the top three at the club in kicks, marks, goals and goal assists per game. Personally, I would like to see Johnson stick to a half-forward role and allow youngsters to be grafted into the secondary midfield roles, as I feel his evasiveness and more importantly (and less famously) his endurance are probably better than that of any other forward in the league. With Menzel I thought he provided a lethal medium forward duo in 2011, so next year Johnson will once again have to play that role as a lone hand for the team to continue to kick winning scores.

Epilogue

Five years ago I wrote a review on Steve Johnson's 2006 season.

Steve Johnson (#20)
Born: July 4, 1983, Age: 23
Origin: Wangaratta/Murray Bushrangers
Height: 189cm, Weight: 89kg
Games: 67
Position: Half-forward

2006 Statistics (Total, Average)
Games: 15 (Rounds 2-4, 7-11, 16-22)
Disposals: 199, 13.3
Kicks: 139, 9.3
Handballs: 60, 4.0
Marks: 70, 4.7
Goals: 30, 2.0
Behinds: 13, 0.9
Tackles: 22, 1.5
Hitouts: 0, 0
Frees For: 16, 1.1
Frees Against: 12, 0.8

Steve Johnson (n.) - 1. A player who can change a game in a matter of a few deft touches. (GFC Website Profile)
2. Mercurial, freakish, has talent to burn. (Fans in the outer, after a win)
3. Inconsistent, unreliable, stupid. (Fans in the outer, after a loss)

After another pre-season battling chronic ankle problems, Steve Johnson was named as an emergency for the Round 1 game against Brisbane, before replacing the omitted Andrew Mackie to take on the Kangaroos in Round 2. He was quiet but serviceable in a 69-point win, with 10 disposals and two goals.

The next fortnight was somewhat of a nightmare for the football club and by Round 5 Johnson was back into the VFL side. He was perhaps an easy scape-goat after Geelong's abysmal effort against Hawthorn (where he gained 18 possessions and kicked 2.3) and thrilling loss to the Bulldogs (15, 0.1), as Geelong tried to find new avenues to goal.

Johnson showed in two matches in the VFL side that he was a class above the secondary level, kicking two bags of five goals, and was promptly included into the Round 7 side to face St. Kilda in a must-win game at the Telstra Dome, replacing the suspended Cameron Mooney in the forward line. On the biggest stage in football (Friday night), where Geelong concentrated on shutting down the Saints rather than being constructive themselves, Johnson was a rare shining light in a very unattractive game, finishing the night with three goals out of the Cats' 12 (and a bruise the size of a dinner plate, courtesy Aaron Hamill) in an 18-point win.

A strong argument could be made that Rounds 8 to 10 of Geelong's 2006 were three of the darkest in recent memory for all connected to the club. The biggest loss in years (102 points) was recorded on a dewy Saturday night at the MCG against a flying Collingwood side, followed by the first loss to Richmond at home in over a decade and a half, and iced by blowing a 54-point lead against West Coast at the same venue seven days later. In these games Johnson was relatively quiet (though by no means Geelongs' worst), with four goals in a horror three weeks.

Round 11 saw Geelong feature in one of 2006's many Friday night 'Mockbusters', against lowly Essendon at the Telstra Dome. Here, Johnson was at his mercurial best, with three goals in a comfortable, but in no means convincing, win which saw Geelong turn for home at four wins and seven losses. A memorable goal was kicked with a banana from 50m on the run. Although he played out the game, Johnson suffered a knee injury which was expected to see him miss a month due to minor surgery.

The extent of the injury was quite not as bad as the inital prognosis had indicated and Johnson recovered for three weeks (including the split round) before making two more apperances in the VFL. Here he wasn't as explosive as he was in his earlier VFL stint, this time with three goals followed by zero. However, Mooney was once again told by the Tribunal to take some time off, and Johnson was back to face the Bulldogs in Round 16.

Geelong struggled early before eventually clawing there way back into the game and clinging on to win by a whisker, reversing the one-point margin against the same side earlier in the year. Johnson received mixed reviews for his performance due to some unexplainable, but oh-so-characteristic, mistakes. However, the statistics speak for themselves - he had a season-high 20 disposals, kicked two early goals to arguably keep Geelong in with a chance, and took some crucial contested marks late in the game.

The Round 17 match against the Kangaroos in the nation's capital was one of the most heartless displays by any side this season. The match started badly with both Ablett and Ling gone after five minutes, and got worse. Johnson copped some significant criticism from the Channel 9 commentary team and fans alike for his seemingly too-casual attitude and because he failed to trouble the scorers, however he was far from Geelong's worst. On a day where two major ball-winners were out of action, true midfielders such as Joel Corey (13 disposals), James Kelly (15) and David Wojcinski (19) simply didn't step up, yet they seemed to escape blame while the half-forward (16 possessions) copped it.

It was as if the previous week's criticism sparked Johnson into action at the 'Gabba on a sunny Sunday in early August. Geelong was in control all day in an attractive game of football, and Johnson made the most of his opportunities, kicking four brilliant goals, one of them breathtaking from the forward pocket on the left foot.

Once again, Geelong undid its good work from the previous round, when it lost to St. Kilda by four goals in Round 19. In classic erratic-Johnson fashion, he showed everyone both ends of his spectrum, such as taking a brilliant one-handed mark and converting, but later playing on close to goal leading to error. He finished with two majors.

In back-to-back games at Skilled Stadium in Rounds 20 and 21, Geelong took care of a below-par Sydney then came back from 38-points down to draw with Melbourne, to officially end its 2006 finals campaign before it began. In these games, Johnson was again a lively contributer, kicking 2.1 and 4.1 respectively. Finally, Hawthorn put Geelong out of the misery it itself had begun in Round 3 by flogging Geelong in the ultimate game of the season. In the final game of a nightmare season, Johnson yet again kicked a brace of goals.

In summary, when Steve Johnson has been on the park, he has had a good season. In 15 games he kicked 30 goals (ranked #3 at the club) for an average of two per game (#1). An important feature of his goalkicking is his accuracy (only 13 behinds were recorded against his name), which is rare at the football club.

The to-do list is simple for Johnson. Get a full pre-season into himself, if possible, and try to get onto the park for every match next season (ankles-willing). He appears to be casual or lazy, but this is only an appearance - he simply doesn't look like a League footballer on the outside. Yet this man has talent. Real talent. He can kick goals from positions where perhaps less than a handful of other players could do the same. An All-Australian at Under 18 level, he should be encouraged to improvise as much as possible, while trying to cut down on unnecessary mistakes. Some 'bad' must be taken with the 'very good'. Another part of his game that could improve is his defensive pressure - too often he tries to apply a heavy bump rather than laying a tackle. He is an opportunist - a good one - and the ones that are remembered are those who have two sides to their game. If he can mould his defensive game more on those of Gary Ablett or Aaron Davey, then that may be a step in the direction of becoming an elite player in this great game.

For many of you who have joined BigFooty since then, you may not know or remember the general sentiment of Geelong supporters towards Johnson at that time - the vast majority wanted him gone in any shape or form (do a search, some of the threads are remarkable!). Geelong put him on the trade table and save for his infamous dodgy ankles he may have been a Magpie in 2007. As it turns out he found himself in trouble again at Geelong before that season, and returned in Round 6 2007 a new man. Since 2007 Johnson has:
- played in 95 wins from 108 matches, 88% winning ratio (Geelong 10 wins from 17 matches in games without Johnson, 59% winning ratio)
- kicked 255 goals (2.4 per game)
- had 2161 possessions (20 per game)
- provided 130 goal assists (1.2 per game)
- won a Norm Smith Medal
- earned three All-Australian guernseys
- represented Victoria
- polled 46 Brownlow votes

Very few players in the league are capable of averaging 20 touches and 2.4 goals per game across a season (for instance, not one player achieved that in season 2011), nevermind half a decade. Geelong has had been very blessed with having a player of Johnson's class, ingenuity, adaptability endurance and durability. Let's hope we see more of those qualities in 2012 and beyond.

 

[Scottland2007]

Currently 34 goals short of overtaking Billy Brownless and moving to 3rd on the all time goal kickers at Geelong. Sitting on 408, needs to get to 442.

 

[SJ]

Currently 34 goals short of overtaking Billy Brownless and moving to 3rd on the all time goal kickers at Geelong. Sitting on 408, needs to get to 442.

Probably won't get that this year at the current rate.

 

[Scottland2007]

Probably won't get that this year at the current rate.

Would love to see him get a bag of 8 against a bottom 4 side, that would put him almost 2 dozen off getting there. But yes reality is, he needs to be in our best 22 next year and he should get it. Would help if he didn't shank every 2nd kick like yesterday. I am pretty excited to watch a current player get high up on our all time goal kicking table.

 

[manboob]

Let's get him to 500! I for one think he's best 22 this year and next and then can go spend a year back forward before he retires. Wishful thinking? Who cares!

 

[Baudolino]

Let's get him to 500! I for one think he's best 22 this year and next and then can go spend a year back forward before he retires. Wishful thinking? Who cares!

Maybe I'm misremembering a Stevie J sound byte, but hasn't he subtly alluded to the idea that 2015 is most likely going to be his last year before retirement? I'm sure I recall him saying something to that effect.

 

[Scottland2007]

Currently 34 goals short of overtaking Billy Brownless and moving to 3rd on the all time goal kickers at Geelong. Sitting on 408, needs to get to 442.

410, 32 to go.

 

[Scottland2007]

410, 32 to go.

Just the 1 against Port? 411, 31 to go., 1 against Tigers. 412. An even 30 to go!

 

[SouthSwans]

 

[SJ]

Before I even watch this - you legend! I was thinking about making one of these one day!

 

[SouthSwans]

Before I even watch this - you legend! I was thinking about making one of these one day!

I was thinking about who my next one was going to be for a while and I needed someone who could comfortably sit next to my Akermanis highlights compilation and had as much accessible footage and as many amazing highlights as Aker did. So in the end it was a no-brainer. All the way with Stevie J!

 

[SJ]

I was thinking about who my next one was going to be for a while and I needed someone who could comfortably sit next to my Akermanis highlights compilation and had as much accessible footage and as many amazing highlights as Aker did. So in the end it was a no-brainer. All the way with Stevie J!

I'm going to create a top 20/50 goals compilation when he retires.

 

[FredLeDeux]

I was thinking about who my next one was going to be for a while and I needed someone who could comfortably sit next to my Akermanis highlights compilation and had as much accessible footage and as many amazing highlights as Aker did. So in the end it was a no-brainer. All the way with Stevie J!

Absolutely terrific effort, mate.
SJ would this get a better airing in its own thread on the main Geelong board?

 

[Turbocat]

Top effort , almost brought a tear at times

 

[ReaganPurds]

Absolute gun!! Probably should kick a drop punt once in a while

 

[dazbroncos]

And so it goes, that the mercurial has ended his time at GFC, or had it done for him.

http://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/2015-09-04/johnson-to-play-last-game-for-cats

Getting older sucks.

The great thing about SJ is that all his greatest showtime moments have been recorded for all of time.

So the SJ show may continue in reruns and syndication forever.

GO Catters

 

[cats2rise]

Too soon, dazbroncos.

 

[manboob]

 

[SJ]

He hasn't necessarily retired, has he?

 

[FredLeDeux]

He hasn't necessarily retired, has he?

No, none of the three have.

 

[dazbroncos]

Well they aren't delisted really yet are they?

Its a quick edit to change to delisted.

And im probably doing that under the bias that Id rather see them retire than play on elsewhere….

Once its announced i'll change it.

Go Catters

 

[SJ]

Well they aren't delisted really yet are they?

Its a quick edit to change to delisted.

And im probably doing that under the bias that Id rather see them retire than play on elsewhere….

Once its announced i'll change it.

Go Catters

For now, they are still current players.

 

[Daniel Flynn]

Geez you guys must be a bit worried if he keeps up the form of last night... 3 goals good to see he still has it

 

[Turbocat]

Geez you guys must be a bit worried if he keeps up the form of last night... 3 goals good to see he still has it

Why would that worry us? Id expect him to kick a lot of goals for GWS... his form last year showed he could still play. GWS are at different stage than us have that many kids , they need someone like him.. but even so their issue will be who misses because's he plays.More zone kids at the end of this year again.
We had to make a hard choice play him or play a kid short term = miss those goals but long term not have too many the wrong side of 30. Hard choices are part of what makes clubs. He will always be a club champ no matter what.