NEVER write off a champion, especially a warrior like Steve Johnson.
Many wondered if the underperforming 34-year-old with a bung knee was finished after he was axed for Greater Western Sydney's qualifying final loss to Adelaide.
Instead of gracing the big stage, he had to swallow his pride and run around in a reserves scratch match.
But that was never going to be a fitting way for the curtain to come down on the Stevie J show.
Injuries opened the door for Saturday night's semi-final against West Coast, but still we asked: did the mercurial goalkicker have any rabbits left to pull out the hat?
A career-best finals bag of six goals later – including four in a blistering third quarter – and we had an emphatic answer.
Johnson's performance against the Eagles
Johnson looked in trouble in his previous four games.
The 2007 Norm Smith medallist and three-time Geelong premiership star had booted only two goals, and was dropped after failing to hit the scoreboard from just eight touches against his old club in round 23.
The magic seemed to be gone.
His lack of defensive pressure was under the spotlight, and the Giants were a shadow of the side many expected to romp to a maiden premiership in 2017.
Then, against the Eagles, Johnson only touched the ball three times by the long break.
GWS was right on top, but the veteran hadn't exerted an influence and maybe even Johnson wondered if the game was up.
Every Giant rated from the first semi-final
But with his head wrapped in bandages, the retiring great willed himself into the match in the third quarter.
First, he got involved at a stoppage across half-forward and, in shades of his glory days, pushed himself to the next contest, picked Tom Barrass' pocket and slipped through a checkside goal.
Only a minute later, he outmarked Barrass and intercept king Jeremy McGovern, before slotting his second. Suddenly, the swagger was back.
Johnson wound back the clock with his third goal, swooping on a loose ball and bouncing through a left-footer from 40m.
To cap the quarter off, he took another strong contested mark, sprayed Eagles defender Eric Mackenzie and slotted his fourth major to finish a blistering 17-minute burst.
It was party time and Johnson – as he has been so often in 292 games – was the main event.
The encore was still to come.
Just 10 seconds into the final term, Johnson inexplicably found 20m of space inside 50 and drilled his fifth just 10 seconds into the final term.
His sixth major, a vintage snap from the pocket, was the perfect ending to a memorable night.
Steve Johnson has got his fingerprints all over this third quarter! #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/edXD3tG6FQ
— AFL (@AFL) September 16, 2017
High point
Johnson's third term was the stuff of dreams – four kicks for four goals. He exploded into life, and pleasingly found different ways to hit the scoreboard. He roved a pack to get into the game, outmarked taller opponents and swung through a left-footer in a quarter which, given the lingering questions if he had anything left in the tank, will rank among his greatest career highlights.
Five things we learned: Giants v Eagles
Low point
It's nitpicking when a player drills six majors in a cut-throat final, but maybe even Johnson had a few doubts if it was going to be his night when he touched the ball only once in the opening quarter. The Giants were commanding field position and pumped the footy inside 50 on 16 occasions but their veteran couldn't get near it and his Achilles heel was exposed when he didn't lay a tackle either.
The stats sheet
| K | H | DISP | MARKS | I50s | TKL | G | B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Q3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Q4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
What they said in the rooms
"Things seemed to go my way tonight. I think it was the knock in the back of the head that knocked some talent back into me. I was pretty fortunate tonight, the ball was moving down pretty fast, but I was always confident I could play a role even though I wasn't selected last week. It's good that things turned around and I've got a bit of confidence going into next week." - Steve Johnson speaking to Channel Seven post-match.
"His first half he looked like he was probably trying too hard. Sometimes you can do that in finals, you'll be in the spots (and) he probably didn't cash in the opportunities and fumbled a little bit. But then he kept on turning up. He's clearly a special player. For him to do that in a semi-final (at his age) is quite unique. I think what really hurt him was going out of the team, but he was the first to admit that he thought his performances weren't up to scratch. He needs to rest up, see how his knee is and look to play next Saturday." - GWS coach Leon Cameron
"He's a very good player. He wasn't alone. I think a lot of their forwards had a really good look tonight and it was off the back of good pressure. They were really good at putting heat on us and our inability to handle transition opened up our backs. It wasn't us tonight." - Eagles coach Adam Simpson
How will Johnson fare against Richmond?
Cameron Ling summed it up in his post-match chat with his ex-Geelong teammate when he highlighted Johnson's belief that he was born to play in front of 90,000 fans at the MCG. Taking on the rampant Tigers in the preliminary final will be as hostile an environment as any of the Giants will experience during their football careers, so Johnson's experience in his 26th final and ability to turn nothing into something could be crucial.
