Steve Johnson holds up the Premiership Cup after beating Collingwood in 2011. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun
STEVE Johnson's vision on the football field is the stuff of legend, but it goes to a whole new level on the golf course.
As yet another stray ball - not from Johnson but his playing partner - heads straight right into the deep rough the Cats star is locked on to it.
``It's why all the boys like playing with me because they never lose any balls,'' he says as he drives the cart to the tuft of grass he figures the errant golf ball will be hiding under.
And like magic, it's there.
This doesn't just happen once. It's every single time.
Dermott Brereton and the League Teams panel preview Richmond Tigers v Geelong Cats.
There couldn't be a more fitting place to interview Johnson about his 200-game milestone than at the 13th Beach golf course at Barwon Heads.
His two passions in life are football and golf. And it's no surprise that he is exceptionally good at both.
He says his golf handicap is about seven but, given he's just a couple over par after nine holes, it's obvious that could easily be a few shots less if he played more.
Geelong's Steve Johnson tees off at an AFL golf day in 2010. Picture: Michael Dodge
"It has always been my passion,'' Johnson explains. "I used to live 50m from the second tee in Wangaratta.
"After school I would just walk through this little alley way to the second tee and play nine holes and then walk home and have dinner.
"That was most days. I would either be doing that or going down the river fishing.''
And when he wasn't playing golf or fishing, he was down at the local footy ground practising his vast array of tricks.
Steve Johnson celebrates after kicking a goal in the 2011 Grand Final. Picture: Nicole Garmston
"I have people always asking about how much time I've spent practising the snaps,'' he says. "The answer is 'forever', although I don't really classify the snap as a trick because for me it's just a normal kick.
"You speak to anyone down at my local footy club in Wangaratta and they would say, 'Stevie spent hours outside the clubrooms kicking right-foot snaps trying to take soft drinks off his mates'.
"I used to play for a can of Coke after training.''
He then pauses before adding: "I didn't have to pay for too many.''
Steve Johnson tries to mark as he holds off Harry O'Brien Picture: Michael Klein
So what's the best goal out of the 384 he has kicked since his debut in 2002?
"I kicked a lucky goal which I think was in my 100th game which ran along the ground and I remember when it came up for goal of the year nomination they said that's not one of the better goals because it was was a fluke - which it probably was.
"The goals you remember most are the ones that mean something.
"I've probably looked more fondly on the ones in the prelim finals and the Grand Finals that have helped get you somewhere.''
Geelong football player Steve Johnson at the Taylor Made Performance Lab. Picture: George Salpigtidis
Given we've caught up to the group in front on the 16th tee, he's happy to put golf on hold for a few minutes - he's still only two-over the card - and reflect on his football journey, which has had more ups and downs than most.
"I specifically remember about six or eight years ago we were out on the field and 'Bomber' Thompson was there and we asked him who he thought out of our group of players would play 200 games.
"He said Corey Enright will play 200, Joel Corey, Paul Chapman, James Kelly and Jimmy (Bartel).
"I remember saying to him, `Do you think I will?'
"His reply was: `Well, I'm not too sure. I know you have the potential to, but it's whether your body gets you there, that's the question.'
"I thought to myself, `Geez, he's probably right. I'm going to need to be pretty lucky to get to 200 games'.
"I've always remembered that conversation, which is why 200 games means something to me.''
After breaking both his ankles by jumping off the roof of a pub in 2003, Johnson has had seven operations on his right ankle and one on the left.
At the end of 2006 he was put up for trade, but Collingwood knocked it back because it said his ankles looked like they'd been in a car crash.
In the end his surgeon said he could no longer operate on them and Johnson had to push through the pain.
"I only had one choice. I wasn't going to give up,'' he says. "I certainly did go through a fair bit of pain with them and, at times, it was mentally really challenging, but I always just wanted to play footy.
"I couldn't believe I was in the predicament where my career was on the line around that stage.
"It has sort of made every season and every game I have played since feel a little bit more important than maybe it would have.''
He remarkably didn't have his first full pre-season until 2008. He rates that year and 2009 as the best of his career, although a hip injury on the eve of the finals impacted on his output in the premiership win.
"I played just a couple of weeks after surgery and I did pretty well in the preliminary final, but felt a bit guilty playing the 2009 Grand Final because I couldn't move and then Steven Baker gave me a bit of a touch-up,'' he says.
"It was more like being in a cage match than being in a Grand Final.''
The pair had a long history and the St Kilda defender was hit with a 12-match suspension the following year for whacking Johnson in a fiery re-match.
"I've got no issues with him,'' Johnson said. "I wouldn't say I respected him because I thought he stepped outside the rules a little bit too often, but if there was a player on my team who got inside the opposition player's head or did his job to make his team better, well, I would respect that and that's the way I've looked at it.''
Johnson's recovery from a dislocated knee suffered in the 2011 preliminary final to play a pivotal role in the premiership victory over Collingwood is right at the top of his career achievements.
"That's my most memorable game,'' he says. "I didn't get a heap of the footy, but just the emotion leading up to that game. It was about 'will I play or won't I play? Am I making the right decision?' I didn't want to play poorly after what I did in 2009, so it meant a lot to me to get out there and play, and play pretty well.''
All his teammates ever talk about when asked about Stevie J is, not the trick goals, but this mental strength.
"I've never really been blessed with athletic ability,'' Johnson explains. "But when it comes to running, or whatever it is, I am very competitive so I think that's what has got me to the AFL to start with, just my competitiveness.
"If we were running a cross-country at high-school I would get out in front and just wouldn't let anyone come past me.
"I have got a bit of mental stubbornness so that has probably been my greatest asset. That relates to a lot of challenges I've been faced with through my career.''
Johnson loves playing and watching football. "It is the greatest game on the planet,'' he says.
As a kid his mum and dad would drive him down to the MCG to watch his beloved Collingwood a handful of times each year.
"I would just be glued to my seat watching every bit of play. I'd be watching 50m ahead of the play to see where Nathan Buckley was running or Paul Williams. I guess it has never left me,'' he says.
"I think a lot of AFL players probably get sick of footy and want to go home and just turn away from it, whereas I am a little bit the opposite.
"I don't mind sitting down to watch Melbourne and GWS or whoever it is. For some reason it's ingrained in me.
"I have a SuperCoach team and what that does for me is it actually makes you watch the player that you've got picked in your side.
`" watch them really closely and you learn how they get their kicks so it's just another learning tool.''
His captain? "Gazza (Gary Ablett). I left him out the last few years, but I said `Never again' and I've stuck by that, which I'm happy about.''
On his former teammate, Johnson says: "I never thought he would get as good as what he has got, but now I still don't think we have seen the best of him. He is incredible and one day I think he will go down as one of the greatest players of all-time.''
Peter Daicos was his idol growing up, but he calls Buckley the best player he has seen.
He says former teammate Matthew Scarlett should go down as one of the greatest defenders in history, while Scott Pendlebury is another current player he enjoys watching play.
He is glowing of Joel Selwood and is still moved by the skipper's performance against Sydney two weeks ago. "He actually inspired me to just shake my head and think this bloke is a great leader.
``He is someone everyone in the competition can look up to and see how you're supposed to attack a contest.''
On Geelong's 5-0 start and refusal to go away as a premiership threat, Johnson calls for caution, although warns: "We do think we'll play better footy towards the end of the year.''
He is loving the new freedom of playing more through the midfield this season, with his body the best it has been for some time.
At 29, he doesn't feel like the end is near despite his current contract running out next year.
Coaching appeals to him down the track but for now he is enjoying fatherhood - his son Archie was born last year - and looking after his two poodles, although what has become a yearly request for a photo with his dogs is again politely declined.
"If I get to 300 games, I'll bring out the poodles,'' he says.
And with that he's out of the cart and back on the tee.
The wind chill factor has risen significantly during the 20-minute chat and he's cooled down, which results in his first wayward drive of the round.
Don't worry. He found it.
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