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GREATER Western Sydney’s champion recruit Steve Johnson will benefit, not stifle the development of the club's younger players, according to coach Leon Cameron.
The three-time Geelong premiership player was traded by the Cats on Monday in exchange for the Giants’ fifth round selection in the 2016 NAB AFL draft.
Johnson played 253 games and kicked 452 goals for the Cats and won the Norm Smith Medal in in 2007.
Despite his experience, some have questioned the move with plenty of GWS youngsters already struggling for senior opportunities, but Cameron told NAB AFL Trade Radio that Johnson's wealth of footy knowledge makes him an ideal pick-up.
"We found that having Heath Shaw in the back half, and (Shane) Mumford and Ryan Griffen adding to our middle, (that) we're just lacking a little bit of experience in our forward half," Cameron said.
"We've got some exciting young kids as everyone knows but they're only at that 70 to 80-game mark and we're looking for some more experience in that area of the ground.
"We've got Will Hoskin-Elliott who we were looking forward to making some really big inroads this year, (but) unfortunately Will's had some shocking (injury) interruptions with pre-season, and (has) always come in underdone.
"I think he (Johnson) can really help Will in his development of his game.
"Devon Smith, we've got Rhys Palmer as well, we've got a couple of really young kids (like) Jarrod Pickett who we took in the draft last year.
"Probably early in the first year or two they (younger players) all got games because there wasn't enough older players, now there's an urge at our footy club that you have to earn your games.
"You've got to be able to play some good footy, train the way you want to train, do the things that we want to stand for, so you can earn your spot the week after.
"At the end of the day we're at the stage where we need to be really competitive and we need to win.
"We got 11 wins in the year just gone but we need to get back there and add some as well, and we feel that adding Stevie to our list can help us do that."
Cameron revealed Johnson will play every game in 2016 if possible, and will then sit down with the club at the end of the season to discuss his future.
The Giants won't put a target on the amount of games the former Cat will play, believing any set schedule could be a distraction for the club.
"We discussed this, and his role is to play footy for us and if he plays 22 games, he plays 22 games," Cameron said.
"We like to mix things up a bit so there's no doubt he'll have a bit of a run on the ball at times, but predominantly in our front half to play good footy and help develop our forward list from there.
"He's a really competitive player and he thinks he can play some really good competitive footy next year."
Johnson's form in 2016 will likely determine if his time at GWS will end in a playing capacity at the end of the season, with Cameron saying a role in recruiting, coaching and list management has already been discussed.
