Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron admits he has been surprised by the impact Steve Johnson has had on the Giants. The former Geelong champion turns 33 next week but age is not stopping him from playing a starring role in the Giants' march to their maiden finals appearance.
Johnson's four goals against Carlton on the weekend takes his season tally to 28, two shy of the 30 he kicked last year which was not enough to convince the Cats he warranted another season. He is the Giants' leading goalkicker alongside Jeremy Cameron and Toby Greene.
The Giants would not have signed Johnson had they not believed he would improve the side, though few would have expected just how well he has gone.
"We said to Stevie he needed to do a really hard preseason. He bought into that and he's getting the benefits of that," Cameron said. "His foot's been a bit of an issue over the last month but other than that his body is really holding up. He's probably exceeded expectations, to be totally honest. It's not the hitting the scoreboard but what he gives to our young group."
Johnson's on-field direction is highly valued by the Giants, whose forward line did not have a seasoned veteran to show the way until now.
"He helps our young blokes stay in the game. We haven't had that in the first three years of footy where it's all about 'can I get a kick myself' or 'can I get a goal'?" Cameron said on Fairfax Radio. "It's about staying in the game and playing defence when you have to, do this, do that, screen out for someone. That's been the most pleasing thing we've had from Steve."
The Giants will learn on Monday the extent of captain Phil Davis' calf injury but remain hopeful any damage will be minor.
"But sometimes these calves can be three or four weeks," Cameron said. "He's had a wretched run with injury. It hasn't allowed him to get into a rhythm over a number of years. It's really important for us, we need him back up and running as quickly as we possibly can."
The Giants head into their week off in the top four and may well stay there given their soft run home. They should start favourites in six of their final eight home and away matches, which leaves them well placed to finish with 16 wins. No team with that record has missed a top-four placing since the introduction of the top eight.
"We're still only 10-4, so we're not finals participators yet, we need to get to 13 to confirm that," Cameron said. "We're enjoying our footy at the moment, we compete a lot longer, we're very, very hungry, and while you're hungry you're going to be in games. Hopefully, we can stay sound in terms of injuries, but as long as that hunger's there we give ourselves a chance against most sides."
