The day Stevie J whacked Chappy

GEELONG triple premiership star Steve Johnson has opened up on his tumultuous relationship with former teammate Paul Chapman, including the time the pair came to blows.

GEELONG triple premiership star Steve Johnson has opened up on his tumultuous relationship with former teammate Paul Chapman, including the time the pair came to blows.

In his new book, Stevie J , Johnson says throughout the club’s glory years, Chapman constantly berated him for being selfish.

“Chappy thought I was a selfish player,” Johnson wrote.

“He had convinced himself I was selfish and he seemed a bit obsessed about it.

“If he was in a good position but I didn’t give him the ball, he’d react with fury.

“‘You f***ing selfish c***’ was a phrase he directed my way on many occasions.

HILARIOUS: STEVIE J’S STORY ABOUT NATHAN ABLETT’S GRAPES

LIST ANALYSIS: ABLETT RETURN DOESN’T GUARANTEE FLAG

What are you lookin’ at, mate?

“He did this right throughout our glory years and I felt that I was one of the most unselfish players on our team during those years.”

Johnson tried to get Chapman to understand the constant berating was causing resent, and even took the issue up with other players, who told him to just ignore it.

The relationship between the two deteriorated in late 2008, when a personal issue “bubbled over”.

Johnson does not expand on the issue in the book, but the pair did come to blows after a heated preseason training session in early 2009.

“He tackled me to the ground in a training drill. He went too far. He really drove me into the ground and was holding onto me,” Johnson wrote.

“I decided enough was enough. I landed a punch on him while we were on the ground. Then I hit him two more times after we stood up, before all the boys came charging in and separated us.”

No, they’re not fighting, they’ve just won the flag.

While Johnson says the pair were “never great mates”, a meeting with new captain Cameron Ling in 2010 helped break the ice.

“I told Lingy we had to sit down and try to understand what his (Chapman’s) problem was with me,” Johnson wrote.

“Chappy said he thought I was making too many decisions that were not right for the team. He thought I was bit of a smart-arse on the field ... held onto the ball for too long and that I tried to take on opponents as a way of showing off to the crowd.

“But I told him my instinct when under pressure was to shoot off into space to buy myself a bit of time, then scan the field and look for an option.

“Chappy seemed to develop a much greater understanding of the type of player I was and our relationship was much better during the remainder of our careers at Geelong.”

Chapman and Johnson celebrate a goal during the 2009 Grand Final.

Mutual respect between Johnson and Chapman, after the latter’s move to Essendon. Picture: Wayne Ludbey