There is a distinct possibility the mercurial forward may have played his last game after an inglorious performance at Geelong, which has placed his position in the Giants side in grave danger.

Former premiership stars Matthew Lloyd and Kane Cornes are among those who believe Johnson will not be retained for the Giants' first final against minor premier Adelaide.

The 34-year-old is not the only senior Giant down on form with Heath Shaw and Shane Mumford both well below their best, though it would be a surprise if either of that duo was to be dropped.

It seems injuries have finally caught up with Johnson, who had little impact with and without the ball against the Cats.

His lack of pressure on opposition defenders will hurt him given the Giants have identified their tackling as one of the areas that needs considerable improvement after their drubbing at the Cattery.

The question marks over Johnson's ability to play on consecutive weeks will also count against him. The Giants will not get another week off once the finals start unless they defeat the Crows.

Matt de Boer, who was unlucky to be dropped, No.2 draft pick Tim Taranto and youngster Matthew Kennedy are all in contention to take his place. Although they do not have Johnson's star quality, there are no question marks over their fitness.

In Johnson's favour is his finals record and on-field leadership. Johnson is a triple premiership winner and Norm Smith Medallist whose ability to direct the Giants' young forward line is highly valued by Leon Cameron's coaching staff.

"He's a big game player, Stevie. We know he's had some huge finals in his career," Giants co-captain skipper Callan Ward said.

"He's played over 25 games of finals so he's a huge asset for us. I don't know how he went tonight but he's trying to do everything right. He's got the team-first mentality, which is what we need.

"He's doing everything we're asking of him at the moment. All he can do is turn up and try his best, that's good enough for us."

Fellow captain Phil Davis believes Johnson can still play a key role in the Giants' push for a historic first flag.

"Stevie's such a competitive animal, he loves winning. For us to lose last night would have cut him deep," Davis said on Channel Seven's AFL Game Day program.

"I'm sure he's getting himself ready for a big final because he's going to play an important part for us.

"That's a job for match committee to decide. He's a player that the other forwards and 22 love to play with because he knows how to win. He's been there and done that before."

Cameron dismissed suggestions Johnson was finished.

"Absolutely not," Cameron said. "That's like saying it is over for one of our players for the finals series because he played poorly tonight.

"Our entire squad will put their hands up, [those] not injured, and he'll be one of them. I'll look at that and look at who we're playing, who suits what opposition every game that we'll play. Hopefully we're playing at least three of them." 

This story first appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald