IF IT was up to Mick Malthouse, three-time premiership forward Steve Johnson would be dumped for Thursday night's qualifying final against Adelaide.
But the Greater Western Sydney veteran also has allies in the debate over whether he should line up in his 25th final, with ex-teammate Jimmy Bartel and Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin calling for his inclusion.
Johnson, 34, has yearned for consistency this season with a knee injury he sustained in round three destroying his ability to regularly train.
He needs the joint drained weekly, sometimes twice, and can struggle to simply walk down the stairs at home when it's particularly bad.
His effectiveness took a nosedive in round 23 when he managed just eight touches against Geelong; his 16th game for the season.
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Malthouse said he wouldn't risk the mercurial goalsneak, as he just wasn't the player he once was.
"I don't think he's capable of doing the things he'd want to do," Malthouse said on Monday.
"He in his own mind would probably want to play, and think that he should play.
"Leon Cameron – who is another fantastic young man and terrific coach – he may have totally different ideas of why he should play.
"You've asked me a question from outside, and I'm saying that I've got nothing but good thoughts about how Steve Johnson has played his career.
"But, having looked at Greater Western Sydney with their set-up and finals football is pressure football, if you can't bring pressure and you can't last and you can't get to the opposition … you've got to pick a side that's going to win, not hope to win."
But Bartel, who was drafted to Geelong in the same 2001 intake as Johnson, said the finals big stage was tailor-made for his former teammate.
He urged the Giants to play him ahead of former Fremantle midfielder Matt de Boer, despite the ex-Docker's ability to play a role on one of the Crows' running defenders.
"I'm probably getting a little bit defensive because he is a mate, but I've seen him up close and the whole point of him getting to the Giants is for this," Bartel told RSN927 on Monday morning.
"That's where the conversation I find a bit strange has changed, that Matt de Boer is the better option.
"He's not the better option.
"Why is Matt de Boer a lock? He's only kicked one goal in 10 finals.
"You got him up to GWS to be a big moments in finals player, so why don't you play him in the big moments in finals?"
Melbourne coach Goodwin agreed the Giants should structure their attack to give the 291-game player the best chance of shining.
"I'd be playing Stevie J, without question," Goodwin added.
"He's a big-game player, he leads from the front and I reckon he'd set up their forward line incredibly well.
"I'd just be more concerned with the mix around him and would be setting up my forward line so it would accommodate Stevie J to have his impact that he needs."
Malthouse, who has coached 52 finals, including three premierships, across a 30-year career, urged the Giants' match committee not to be afraid to make the hard call.
"It's up to the selection of Greater Western Sydney – coaches have got to take that responsibility. Not the player," he said.
"They're the decisions you make as a senior coach or a match committee, that are part and parcel of making those hard decisions.
"If you can't make those hard decisions, you won't make any decisions.
"Steve Johnson, if he plays or he doesn't play, will not be the first casualty of selection in finals. It's just a simple fact, you pick the best side you possibly can."
