THERE'S life in the old Giant after all.

After a slow start to the season, critics of Greater Western Sydney star Steve Johnson lined up to question him in recent weeks.

Were his ageing legs failing him? Had his once exquisite skills deserted him? Did he really deserve his spot in Leon Cameron's best 22? 

The doubters might have been ushering him towards an early retirement, but Johnson's performance against Collingwood on Saturday night, which included 24 possessions and two goals – his second a match-winning classic – showed the 2007 Norm Smith medallist isn't quite finished yet.

Johnson told AFL.com.au just minutes after his round-eight heroics at Spotless Stadium that copping heat from the media hadn't worried him, but the public support he'd received from Cameron, along with former coach Mark Thompson and teammate Jimmy Bartel did mean a lot.

"There's been plenty of good things said about me over the years, so you have to take the good with the bad," he said.

"It is nice to hear people come out and support you, the ones that know you really well, and know what type of character you are … and it does give you some belief.

"I'm not picked on the side based on credits in the bank, I'm picked to play a role each week."

After undergoing thumb surgery in the off-season, and battling a dodgy knee at age 33, Johnson always knew he would take time to find his form and touch in 2017, and he admits he's still a couple of weeks away from feeling his best.

Even still, the ultra-confident triple premiership Cat and three-time All Australian said that he had let some doubts creep into his head about his ability to produce at the highest level.

"In the past my body has been reasonably resilient, it seems to get better and better the more games I play, but sometimes you do worry if age really is catching up with you, and having a detrimental effect," he said.

"You're certainly aware when you're not quite in peak form and you're not playing to your potential, and it can be disappointing, because you want to be in certain positions and you can't quite get there.

"But my GPS numbers have been improving and I thought a performance like that (against Collingwood) was going to come.

"It was a step in the right direction and to put the running game together with some clean hands and disposals around the footy was really pleasing.

"I feel like it's starting to come together but its only one game, and I need to back it up next week."

Johnson wasn't the only Giant to come under scrutiny this week after a disappointing Friday night loss to St Kilda, and a number of on-field blowups between teammates at Etihad Stadium.

Captain Phil Davis clashed with Rory Lobb, while Johnson himself was seen in an animated discussion with fellow goalkicker Jeremy Cameron, but the 282-gamer brushed off claims of selfishness amongst the GWS players, and pointed to their come-from-behind win over Collingwood as proof that there's plenty of unity and character at the club.

GWS trailed by 26 points at quarter-time and ended the game with just one fit man on the bench, but managed to find a way to finish on top.

"There was a lot of talk about our group splintering and that sort of stuff, but it was way over the top, sometimes the outside perception is not the reality, and we moved on very quickly," he said.

"We had to really dig deep when we went two men down early, then lost 'Cogs' (Stephen Coniglio) early in the last quarter, but you can see it as a negative, or use it to galvanise the group.

"It put extra pressure on the players to step up, and I thought the way we fought right to the end was a real credit to the team and we'll gain a lot of confidence from it."