Stevie J can help propel GWS Giants onto bigger and better things, says Paul Chapman

EVERY great team has a game they can look back on as a catalyst. Geelong’s was the 2004 preliminary final. For GWS, it can be the Round 1 loss to Melbourne, writes Paul Chapman.

Steve Johnson tackles Martin Pike during the 2004 preliminary final.

EVERY great team has a game they can look back on as the catalyst for setting in stone what would become a dynasty. For me at Geelong it was the 2004 preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions.

Yes, we lost narrowly but when Stevie Johnson ran through Luke Power in the first quarter he set the scene for everybody. We might have been the young kids on the block but no longer were we going to let Brisbane push us around as they had done for four or five seasons. It was a turning point for our football club and in games like that Stevie was definitely our barometer.

Those were the times I loved playing with Stevie the most. You knew whenever the ball was in his area he would do something, crashing into a body if he couldn’t win the ball. Being out there with him, you would say to yourself, “Stevie means business today” and it was easy to follow him.

His biggest and best games were when he just wanted to do the right thing all the time, no matter what happened or what the stats looked like. He just wanted to make sure we had a good win. When he was in one of those moods he was one of the better blokes to play with and set great examples for his teammates.

Luke Power left dazed after a collision with Steve Johnson in the 2004 preliminary final.

Wind the clock forward 12 years to Round 1 this year when Stevie and GWS travelled to the MCG to play Melbourne. Yes, I have been critical of Stevie playing a little bit for Steve and I think he played like that on that day because he desperately wanted to get off to a good start at his new club. But in fairness so did the whole GWS football club.

They were selfish and had they picked easier options and had they given the first option to guys in better positions, they probably would have won that game. But I honestly believe that loss and the way they played has been a catalyst for the way they are now playing.

When he was in one of those moods he was one of the better blokes to play.

Paul Chapman

Their coach, Leon Cameron, didn’t hold back at having a crack at a few blokes either, including Stevie. When I’ve watched them since they go even harder at the ball than their opposition and when there is someone out, they just give it and don’t worry about who is kicking the goals. And Stevie has been a part of that.

He’s talking a lot on-field and showing great leadership, structurally setting up his younger teammates and there’s no doubt he has been a very good recruit. I believe they are a team that can go all the way if they can deal with the occasion of finals. The mental side of things will be their biggest challenge but they have players in Stevie, Shane Mumford and Heath Shaw who have been there.

And when you are in a good team where all you have to do is play your role, then you become quite hard to beat. If they stick to that I think they are every chance. Why not? They will continue to get better year after year but why not start here?

I knew Stevie had more footy left in him towards the end of last year. He hasn’t lost any speed, even if he didn’t have that much to start with. He’s still getting over the ground very well. By all accounts, GWS train as hard or harder than anyone. My mate Josh Hunt who went there from Geelong towards the end of his career can attest to that. I have heard that Stevie keeps right up there with them, which doesn’t surprise me.

Steve Johnson has been a positive influence at GWS this season.

What is he like away from the football field? He is very confident in his footballing ability and why he shouldn’t he be? He backs himself and generally he backs it up. Clearly it has been a great move for him and for the Geelong Football Club. The only reason I thought he wouldn’t have gone there was the actual move to Sydney.

I have been one of his harshest critics and he knows that. I don’t apologise for it. We were all like that and it’s one of the main reasons we were so successful at Geelong. I haven’t spoken to Stevie since we had a reunion last year. It was before my book came out. We were joking about what might be in the book and he was quick to remind me that he’s going to write one and would get the final word.

Over the years we have spent plenty of time together, including outside the footy club. Yes, we tangled a bit and demanded a lot from each other. Most assume that we had a strained relationship during our time at Geelong but we got along better than people think.

I like to think I was always upfront with Stevie. I respected him enough to tell him to his face. Everything I said was never directed at him on a personal level. For the most I enjoyed playing with him. Perhaps there were times when I was too critical too often. But we needed him to be better — it was crucial for our success.

Before a game, or at training, he would always have a ball in his hands. Around the club we would play a game called footy golf, where you would play through three or four rooms and end up kicking the ball in a bin. You would have to use a lot of skill and finesse to know where to leave the ball to line-up your next kick. He was a star at it, as was Gazza (Ablett).

Playing alongside him in matches you could hear him snorting and panting — like he was completely spent. But somehow he would keep going all day, hitting contests and then kicking a goal. He just kept finding something which was pretty incredible really. He didn’t look like an athlete, say like Joel Selwood or Mitch Duncan, and if you saw him on a beach you may not pick him as an AFL player. But then there was the year he went walked the Kokoda Track and came back in ripping nick, and had a great year.

Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson celebrate a goal for Geelong.

When he first came to Geelong in late 2001 he looked like a duck when he ran and as his ankles got worse, so did his running style. But looks can be deceiving because the man can run. He was a hard trainer from day one, and he stood out at training when he had the ball in his hands. It was just a matter of whether he could find it or not. His game smarts were obvious after a couple of months. And he has learnt a hell of a lot from Bomber and Scotty.

Could he become a senior coach? It would probably only be his actions on the footy field as a player that would hurt his potential to be a successful coach. It’s hard to say to guys, “OK boys let’s all be selfless — one in all in” when you yourself had struggled with that part of your game during your career.

Kids aren’t dumb, they go back and look at your playing days and the way you handled yourself on the field. If you weren’t that selfless a player at times, how can you demand that from your players and expect that they will carry it through? Maybe the Giants realised that day in Round 1 that selfishness can’t win games — the same day I believe they became a serious football side.

Originally published as Stevie J can help propel GWS Giants onto bigger and better things, says Paul Chapman