Mercurial forward Steve Johnson is a coach in the making, believes Geelong coach Chris Scott.
Scott said Johnson would be virtually a walk-up start as a coach once his playing days were done.
Johnson plays his 200th game against Richmond this weekend.
“If he wants to coach, he’ll coach – I would assume wherever he wants, that’s how highly I regard him,” Scott said.
“I’m not saying he can write his own ticket completely but his knowledge and understanding of the game is very strong and it seems to me he’s going to have the application to go on and coach as well.
“It’s not a forgone conclusion but it’s a high probability.”
Scott said Johnson was an astute football thinker.
“He is highly regarded within the group and has still managed to retain his individuality as a player, and flair.
“Sometimes that means he can be as frustrating as he can be exciting but that all rolled into one mix makes for a pretty exciting player to coach and watch.”
Scott also praised Corey Enright, due to play his 250th game against the Tigers.
“Geelong has had some pretty special players over the years and those two already will go down as two of the greats.
“It’s hard to hide my admiration for Steve Johnson and part of that’s probably because I had the misfortune of paying on him a few times in my career and there were few better.
“Corey Enright is finally getting the recognition he deserves outside of the football club, because there would be no one more respected than ‘Boris’ is in the Geelong footy club.
“It’s a fantastic achievement and you get the sense that it’s not over yet.”
