Stevie J, Deledio to the fore in AFL final

Greater Western Sydney veterans Steve Johnson and Brett Deledio boast a combined 539 AFL games of experience but the pressure is on both to deliver in Saturday’s semi-final.

Retiring star Johnson was omitted for last week’s qualifying final, having produced arguably his worst performance for the Giants in the final round of the regular season against former club Geelong.

Deledio was restricted by a sore achilles last week and managed just three kicks against Adelaide, while the former Richmond midfielder’s lack of pressure was also criticised.

Johnson and Deledio’s best football is on par with the league’s most talented players but it has been rarely sighted in 2017.

Johnson’s chronic knee problem has restricted him to 16 games and 15 goals this year.

Deledio had been steadily building form and fitness since making a delayed start to the season in round 20 but is yet to dominate.

The 30-year-old will be desperate to improve a personal finals record of 0-4 when GWS face West Coast at Spotless Stadium.

“Every player, no matter how good they are, they go through (poor) games and form slumps,” GWS midfielder Dylan Shiel told reporters on Friday.

“Brett wasn’t the only one that was down on form last week.

“There were plenty of others, like myself. We’re all excited we have that second chance and we have to make the most of it.”

Deledio failed to train on Friday but Shiel insisted he is in no danger of missing the knockout clash with the Eagles.

“Those blokes north of 30, they don’t like to train too much,” Shiel said.

“Brett’s in really good condition.”

The prospect of Johnson being a last-minute withdrawal is also slim, with the 34-year-old having impressed coach Leon Cameron on the track this week.

“You can probably say that now, because we lost,” Shiel quipped, when asked if the Giants missed Johnson’s spark in last week’s qualifying final.

“He’s training really hard. He’s excited, he knows what this time of year is all about.”

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