Steve Johnson expected to play in preliminary final but dodgy knee a ‘week by week’ proposition

THE Giants say mercurial forward Steve Johnson’s knee is a ‘week by week’ proposition but expect him to play in Saturday’s preliminary final despite missing training on Tuesday.

Steve Johnson and Brett Deledio walk laps during GWS Giants training. Picture: Phil Hillyard

MERCURIAL Giants go-to-man Steve Johnson did not train on Tuesday but GWS is confident he will line up against Richmond on Saturday afternoon at the MCG.

Johnson has been a week-to-week proposition all season on his dodgy knee and is literally limping over the finish line as he looks to finish his storied career by lifting the big prize one last time.

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The sight of Johnson walking slow laps of the boundary line while his teammates train has become a regular occurrence in 2017, but Giants officials expect the 34-year-old to complete Wednesday’s main session at their Sydney Olympic Park base.

Johnson has not played three consecutive matches since Round 9, but that’s exactly what the clutch forward will have to do if he’s to lead GWS to its first premiership.

Coach Leon Cameron knew Johnson was on his last legs at the start of the season and sat down with the veteran to map out a plan for how they would manage his ailing body.

To a large extent, the plan was geared around having him primed for the business end of the season that is now reaching its climax.

Left out of the first week finals’ disaster against Adelaide, Johnson did what he does best last week against West Coast and in the pressure moment delivered a six-goal masterclass.

A man who has always prided himself on the big stage, Johnson must now find a way to produce his trademark class for three arduous do-or-die matches in a row.

Steve Johnson and Brett Deledio walk laps during GWS Giants session. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Before the finals, GWS staff hoped that the AFL’s pre-playoff bye week would help the three-time premiership player get through an entire campaign.

It will all be laid bare on Saturday at a packed MCG as the Giants tackle the Tigers.

“It would certainly help him,” Giants’ football manager Wayne Campbell told The Daily Telegraph on the eve of the finals.

“Whether it’s been two weeks on, one week off, or week on, week off, he’s been that for most of the year. So that week off would certainly help him.

“(All season) it has just come down to whether he gets through training and how it goes from there. It depends on how the knee pulls up and how he’s feeling.”

The Giants’ recruitment of Johnson was geared around his ability to perform in big matches, but despite his brilliance against the Eagles there are lingering fears he doesn’t have enough gas in the tank for successive performances of that magnitude.

“To an extent (it’s been about finals) but I think it’s been a little bit more short-term than that,” Campbell said.

“If he’s been feeling good and his knee has been feeling good we’ve played him. And if his knee hasn’t been feeling good we haven’t played him.

“We certainly have had an eye to the future to not absolutely burn him out, but I think if there was an emphasis it would be more so on the short-term to say ‘OK, is he actually right for this weekend or not?’

“It definitely has been a week by week proposition.”

Johnson walked laps with fellow veteran Brett Deledio, who finished the session with ice on his Achilles area.

Jeremy Cameron, who is expected to be out for the year with a hamstring, walked laps of the field as well.

Ruckman Shane Mumford has all but been ruled out for the season as well, and would need a miracle to play in the Grand Final if GWS qualifies.

Originally published as Steve Johnson expected to play in preliminary final but dodgy knee a ‘week by week’ proposition