| Steve Johnson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Johnson with the GWS Giants in June 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Steven Leigh Johnson | ||
| Nickname | Stevie J[1] | ||
| Born | (1983-07-04)4 July 1983 (age 42) Wangaratta, Victoria,Australia | ||
| Original teams | Wangaratta (O&MFL) Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 24,2001 national draft | ||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2002–2015 | Geelong | 253 (452) | |
| 2016–2017 | Greater Western Sydney | 40(64) | |
| Total | 293 (516) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2008 | Victoria | 1 (3) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017. 2 Representative statistics correct as of 2008. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Steven Leigh Johnson (born 4 July 1983) is a former professionalAustralian rules footballer who played for theGeelong Football Club and theGreater Western Sydney Giants in theAustralian Football League (AFL). He was selected by Geelong with pick 24 in the2001 AFL draft. His first few years were plagued with inconsistency, injury and off-field problems. A medium-sized forward, Johnson is renowned for his freakish ability on the field, where he has consistently wowed fans with his penchant for extraordinary goals.[1]
Johnson was born and raised inWangaratta, Victoria. He played junior football with the Tigers in the Wangaratta Junior Football League and then withWangaratta Football Club, before moving onto theMurray Bushrangers in theTAC Cup.
Johnson was suspended by his club for the first five matches of the 2007 season after he was arrested for public drunkenness inWangaratta on 24 December 2006—a charge which was later dropped. He returned in Round 6 againstRichmond where he went on to contribute 21 possessions and two goals in a match Geelong won by 157 points. He went on to post career-best numbers across the board, capped off byAll-Australian selection on the half-forward flank in September. His 2007 season was capped off when Johnson lead the Cats to victory in theGrand Final, collecting a premiership medallion, and winning theNorm Smith Medal for best on ground in the Grand Final. Johnson was hailed as a feel-good story for the year, with a good example of a player reforming after disciplinary action.
Early in 2008, Johnson lost his drivers' licence and was sentenced to 50 hours working with theTransport Accident Commission after he was clocked in over 70 km/h over the speed limit in a 50 zone. TeammateShannon Byrnes was in the car at the time. He had yet another stellar season on-field in 2008, kicking 49 home-and-away season goals and earning a spot on the forward flank in theAll-Australian team of 2008. He gathered 34 disposals in the Cats'Grand Final loss toHawthorn.
In the2009 AFL season, he played 18 matches and kicked 40 goals, finishing tenth in the Geelong best and fairest award.[2] He was a member of the Cats2009 Premiership-winning team.
In 2011, Johnson struggled to consistently produce the captivating form that had won him All Australian selection in previous years. He was still a force, though, gaining recognition by being honoured in the initialAll-Australian squad of 40. His season nearly came to an abrupt end when, during the third quarter of the Preliminary Final between Geelong and West Coast, he appeared to sustain a serious injury to his left knee. Racing against the clock in order to gain fitness for theGrand Final against the Magpies, it was heavily speculated that Johnson would be unable to gain full fitness in time. For almost the entire week, whilst his teammates trained in the spotlight, Johnson spent time up in Melbourne in ahyperbaric chamber. He recovered, and he played a vital part in the Cats' win over the Pies. He went on to kick 4 goals amongst 14 possessions, thus claiming his third premiership medallion.
In October 2015, Johnson signed a one-year contract withGreater Western Sydney.[3] In his first match against his old club in Round 2, Johnson kicked two goals as his new club won by 13 points.[4]On 28 September 2016, Johnson announced he had signed a one-year contract extension with GWS after missing theirpreliminary final loss due to suspension.[5] Johnson played the final game of his career in the 2017 Preliminary Final, where he collected 15 disposals and 4 marks in a 36-point loss to Richmond.
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | ||
# | Played in that season's premiership team |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2002 | Geelong | 20 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 101 | 50 | 151 | 40 | 28 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 8.4 | 4.2 | 12.6 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
| 2003 | Geelong | 20 | 15 | 23 | 12 | 122 | 49 | 171 | 54 | 29 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 8.1 | 3.3 | 11.4 | 3.6 | 1.9 |
| 2004 | Geelong | 20 | 13 | 21 | 19 | 143 | 54 | 197 | 58 | 31 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 11.0 | 4.2 | 15.2 | 4.5 | 2.4 |
| 2005 | Geelong | 20 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 129 | 51 | 180 | 59 | 19 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 10.8 | 4.3 | 15.0 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
| 2006 | Geelong | 20 | 15 | 30 | 13 | 139 | 60 | 199 | 70 | 22 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 9.3 | 4.0 | 13.3 | 4.7 | 1.5 |
| 2007# | Geelong | 20 | 20 | 49 | 33 | 286 | 86 | 372 | 144 | 44 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 14.3 | 4.3 | 18.6 | 7.2 | 2.2 |
| 2008 | Geelong | 20 | 25 | 53 | 31 | 333 | 174 | 507 | 147 | 65 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 13.3 | 7.0 | 20.3 | 5.9 | 2.6 |
| 2009# | Geelong | 20 | 18 | 40 | 38 | 255 | 103 | 358 | 112 | 44 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 14.2 | 5.7 | 19.9 | 6.2 | 2.4 |
| 2010 | Geelong | 20 | 22 | 63 | 36 | 274 | 136 | 410 | 131 | 50 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 12.5 | 6.2 | 18.6 | 6.0 | 2.3 |
| 2011# | Geelong | 20 | 23 | 50 | 37 | 319 | 195 | 514 | 143 | 84 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 13.9 | 8.5 | 22.3 | 6.2 | 3.7 |
| 2012 | Geelong | 20 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 299 | 166 | 465 | 117 | 94 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 14.2 | 7.9 | 22.1 | 5.6 | 4.5 |
| 2013 | Geelong | 20 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 315 | 231 | 546 | 108 | 87 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 16.6 | 12.2 | 28.7 | 5.7 | 4.6 |
| 2014 | Geelong | 20 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 265 | 199 | 464 | 92 | 94 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 14.7 | 11.1 | 25.8 | 5.1 | 5.2 |
| 2015 | Geelong | 20 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 256 | 156 | 412 | 99 | 46 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 12.8 | 7.8 | 20.6 | 5.0 | 2.3 |
| 2016 | Greater Western Sydney | 17 | 22 | 43 | 26 | 255 | 152 | 407 | 93 | 63 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 11.6 | 6.9 | 18.5 | 4.2 | 2.9 |
| 2017 | Greater Western Sydney | 17 | 18 | 21 | 16 | 159 | 115 | 274 | 79 | 50 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 8.8 | 6.4 | 15.2 | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| Career[6] | 293 | 516 | 367 | 3650 | 1977 | 5627 | 1546 | 851 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 12.5 | 6.7 | 19.2 | 5.3 | 2.9 | ||
AFL
Geelong
TAC Cup
Not long after his retirement as an AFL player, Johnson joined theSydney Swans as an assistant coach.[7]
In October 2022, Johnson signed a two-year contract to become senior coach of theYarrawonga Football Club in theOvens & Murray Football Netball League.[8] Johnson coached the Pigeons to the 2023 premiership.
In September 2024, Johnson was appointed as head coach of theNewtown & Chilwell Football Club in theGeelong Football Netball League.[9] In the same month, he presented theNorm Smith Medal toWill Ashcroft in the2024 AFL Grand Final, the youngest player to win the award in the AFL era of the sport.[10]
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Coach:Clarkson | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
