Scott said on Wednesday that evidence debunking the impression Johnson had defied a team directive by brazenly striking Christensen had lessened his anger "a little bit" at Johnson missing Saturday night's home clash with Sydney, which would have been his 250th game. Yet his fifth suspension in the past three seasons still rankles.

"I was certainly disappointed at the appearance that it looked like he targeted one of our ex-players, which we specifically spoke about not doing, but that had nothing to do with it and as it turned out he is very disappointed with his actions," Scott said. "I'm a little bit more comfortable - and only a little bit more comfortable - that there was more to it than first met the eye.

"It had nothing to do with Allen Christensen so that gives me a level of comfort, but the reality is once again we're without him for another important game, which is very disappointing."

It is understood Johnson struck Christensen in the last quarter last Saturday after being grabbed to the groin, believing his former teammate to be the culprit. The Cats have subsequently discovered another Lion in the pile of bodies fighting for possession was responsible. Regardless, Scott said Johnson owes his team.

"He's under no illusions that those sort of actions hurt the team and he needs to find a way to help the team in the next couple of weeks to make up for it. We haven't got many games to go in the season to get ourselves in a position where we can play finals, so it has hurt us as a team and it has certainly hurt him as an individual."

Thirty-two and out of contract, Johnson is no certainty to extend his career into a 15th season. However Scott insisted discussions around his future still warranted a level of respect befitting his contribution to the club.

"I think we can separate the two issues a little bit. I think that is the respectful thing to do - even on issues to do with form, I think it is unfair to target a couple of games at the end of the season as the pointer to whether the player should continue on or not," Scott said. "We'd like to take a bigger sample size than that.

"I'd love to say it hasn't been a pattern of behaviour with Steve, it clearly has. He is aware of it. I'd like it to be different but we have to deal with the reality.

"To answer the question, this incident will be treated separately to the question of how long he plays with us."

While guaranteeing only that Johnson will be "in the mix" to return for the following week's clash with Hawthorn, Scott said the Cats would again resist the emotional temptation to replace him against the Swans with a "like for like" player in Daniel Menzel, despite conceding the victim of four knee reconstructions was playing well enough through four games back in the VFL to warrant promotion.

"More than anything else it's gut feel and I've said all along if we make a mistake with Dan we're going to make it by being too conservative. There is a big part of me - and the other coaches when we see him at VFL level - that thinks he is just the player we need and on form he is playing well enough to come into our team, but it's just not as simple as that.

"We are playing the long game with Dan the same way we are with Nathan Vardy and Josh Cowan and Mitch Clark for that matter."

Mathew Stokes and George Horlin-Smith loom as replacements for Johnson, while Scott said Dawson Simpson would be considered as a potential foil for Sydney's big ruckmen.

Captain and 200-gamer Joel Selwood will break the banner on his own in the absence of Johnson, with Scott saying it feels "like it's only the beginning to an extent" for the triple premiership 27-year-old.

"We've been a pretty successful team over the last 10 years, and Joel's clearly been at the forefront of that. But the thing that I admire - and all our supporters I would suspect - is that when we've been under a little bit of pressure, Joel's the one that stands up."