Andrew Johns

For the British triathlete, see Andrew Johns (triathlete). For the British sound engineer and record producer, see Andy Johns.

Andrew "Joey" Johns

Personal information
Full name	Andrew Gary Johns
Born	(1974-05-19) 19 May 1974 (age 50) [1] Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Weight	89 kg (196 lb; 14 st 0 lb) [1]
Position	Halfback, Hooker
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1993–2007 Newcastle Knights 249 80 917 22 2176 2005 Warrington Wolves 3 1 12 1 29 Total 252 81 929 23 2205 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1995–2003 Country Origin 3 1 7 0 18 1995–2005 New South Wales 23 4 37 4 94 1995–2006 Australia 26 12 89 0 226
Source: [2]
Relatives	Matthew Johns (brother) Jack Johns (nephew) Cooper Johns (nephew)

Andrew Gary Johns ^[3] (born 19 May 1974), also known by the nickname Joey, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is considered one of the greatest rugby league players of all time. ^{[4] [5]} Johns captained the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in 1997 and 2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side. He played in 23 State of Origin series matches for the New South Wales Blues (captaining the side to a series win in 2003), and played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 2003. ^[6]

Johns announced his retirement from rugby league on 10 April 2007 at the age of 32. This followed a long run of injuries, the last of which was a bulging disc in his neck which forced his retirement due to the risk of serious spinal injury from further heavy contact. ^[7] Andrew Johns is one of only four players to have won the Golden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal for best player in the NRL three times. He finished his career as the highest points scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2,176 points.

In 2008, less than a year into his retirement, Johns was named as the Greatest Player of the last 30 years ^[8] by the publication 'Rugby League Week', beating the likes of Queensland legend Wally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW star Brad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captain Darren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth 'Immortal' of rugby league. ^[9]

Football career

Early days

Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town of Cessnock, New South Wales for the Cessnock Goannas. At an early age it was evident he had plenty of playing ability and Johns joined the Newcastle Knights junior ranks at age 15 in 1989.^{[ citation needed ]}

Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the 1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular halfback sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity.

Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and in his début match made an immediate impact as he amassed 23 points and won the Man of the Match award. He soon formed a winning partnership with his older brother, Matthew, who had played five-eighth at the Knights since 1991.

1995–2001

The 1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence of Super League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to represent New South Wales in the 1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South Wales halfback Ricky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for the Kangaroos in Australia's successful 1995 World Cup campaign in England. He played as a hooker and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup. ^[10]

At the conclusion of the World Cup, Johns was awarded his first significant accolade, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year Johns was moved to hooker for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the halfback role.^{[ citation needed ]} Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury.

During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier. However, Johns was able to play, and with less than a minute of the match to go with scores tied at 16-all Johns made a play that has gone down in rugby league folklore. He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle wing Darren Albert for the match-winning try. With only six seconds remaining in the game Newcastle had snatched victory and secured their first premiership title. ^[11]

The following year in the new National Rugby League the Knights performed even better during the regular season than in the previous year, losing only five matches and narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Johns individually was brilliant and was awarded his first Player of the Year Dally M Medal award for the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the 1998 State of Origin series as NSW lost by one point despite scoring more tries than Queensland. His performances at club, state and national level were again rewarded as he received his second Player of the Year Dally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively since Parramatta Eels great Michael Cronin in 1977 and 1978.

Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle to another Grand Final victory, defeating the Parramatta Eels 30–24 in 2001. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test. Also that year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. ^[12]

2002–2005

Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls. Johns captained as a halfback, scoring a try and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In 2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of both New South Wales and Australia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series against Great Britain. At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference. Unfortunately, the Knights' finals campaign derailed as Johns broke a bone in his back in the first week of the finals, and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers the Sydney Roosters 38–12 to be knocked out of the season. Before his injury Johns' season had been marvellous and despite his lack of involvement in the finals series he was named the Player of the Year Dally M Medal for a record third time, a feat achieved by only one other player, Johnathan Thurston, to date.

Johns' back injury at the tail-end of 2002 was the first of what seemed like a plague of injuries over the next few seasons: he had a serious neck injury that threatened his career in 2003, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the 2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005.^{[ citation needed ]}

During the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, Wales assistant coach Scott Johnson got Johns to assist with pre-match preparation by speaking to the players and presenting them with their jerseys. ^[13]

Johns was the centre of controversy in 2004 after receiving a massive offer from rugby union to switch codes.^{[ citation needed ]} Numerous past legends of both codes expressed their opinions. Debate continues about what happened during the negotiations with rugby union, since the contractual offers were made by the Waratahs without the salary top-ups from the Australian Rugby Union that had been usual in contractual negotiations with previous potential converts from rugby league. The ARU's formal reasons for not supporting the Waratahs' bid to secure Johns were his age (30) and injury history. These were later retracted after the "ecstasy controversy" (see below). ^[14]

Even without the additional monetary support from the ARU, the Waratahs were able to table an offer to Johns that was far larger than any rugby league club could offer on its own. After David Gallop, the CEO of the NRL and Channel Nine contributed money and a promise of a commentary position after his career ended, Johns finally decided to stay in league, ending months of speculation and debate.^{[ citation needed ]} He says his decision was greatly affected by his son, who wanted him to stay in league. He was also approached by the Welsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage. ^[15]

As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad. The second game in the series was his first match since returning from a series of injuries that sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns did not have to struggle to regain his form, receiving Man-of-the-Match honours in the Blues' 32–22 win over Queensland. He was again chosen as the first-choice halfback for Game 3 and performed well, sealing the series for the Blues with a strong 32–10 win, their last series win for quite some time.

In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would join the Super League side the Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League season and any playoff games the Wolves might reach.^{[ citation needed ]} The Knights agreed to these terms only after Johns first signed a new contract, making him available to captain the Knights until the end of 2008.

2006–2007

Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the 2006 season as he amassed 30 points against the Canberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta.

Back in the NRL, playing for Newcastle during a Round 18 match against the Parramatta Eels, Johns' name entered the NRL record books for the second time in the year. A Johns conversion of a Newcastle try made Johns the highest points scorer in the 98-year history of first-grade rugby league in Australia, eclipsing Jason Taylor's previous record of 2,107 points. He rather coincidentally scored the record-breaking conversion in a 46–12 loss to the Eels, who were coached at the time by Jason Taylor.

Things did not start well for Johns in the 2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. As Canterbury Bulldogs forward Sonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed. Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit. Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury. It was revealed that Johns had a bulging disc in his neck. It was confirmed that this had been present for some time and was not related to the training incident. All medical advice was that Johns should retire from professional football, since any further neck injury could prove life-threatening and on 10 April 2007, Johns announced his retirement from rugby league.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Newcastle Knights' season would fall apart: they finished 15th of 16 teams on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the Wooden Spoon with a narrow two-point victory in their last match of the season. Johns tried to soften the blow of his retirement by saying he had been seriously considering retirement at the end of the 2007 season and was quoted in the press as saying "I knew this year would be my last year, it's just unfortunate it's stopped five months before the end of the season." Commenting on his teammates' reaction to his retirement, Johns noted: "They were sort of relieved I think, after a couple of injuries this year ... I think the time's right." ^[16]

On his retirement a chorus of past league greats called for Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the former Cessnock junior had changed the game like few others before him. In October 2008 Johns completed a walk from Newcastle to Sydney to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute.

Cricket career

See also: List of cricket and rugby league players

• Cricket portal
• Sports portal

• List of cricket and rugby league players

References

1. "Andrew Johns: Profile of a champion". The Australian . News Corporation. 10 April 2007. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
3. "Let Joey go for the good of the game – League – Sport". smh.com.au. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 1 January 2006.
4. "Biography at NRL Sunday Footy Show". jump-in.com.au. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
5. "Bob Fulton Backs Calls For Newcastle Knights Great Andrew Johns To Join Rugby Leagues Immortals". foxsports.com.au. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
6. "HALL OF HEROES: Andrew 'Joey' Johns". warringtonguardian.co.uk. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
7. "Graham Lowe: I can see Cleary now, Warriors' reign will come ... – 23 Mar 2007 – nzherald: Sports news – New Zealand and International Sport news and results". nzherald.co.nz. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
8. "30 Greatest NRL Players". sportsbar.net.au. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
9. "Andrew 'Joey' Johns named rugby league's 8th Immortal". The Australian. 28 September 2012.
10. Johnson, Martin (30 October 1995). "Nothing focuses an Aussie sportsman more than stuffing the Poms". The Independent. UK: Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
11. "Ten greatest grand final moments". dailytelegraph.com.au. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
12. "Andrew Johns". Australian Honours Database. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
13. McBryde, Robin (2007). Staying Strong. Wales: Y Lolfa. p. 154. ISBN   9780862439927.
14. Morton, Jim; Beniuk, David (4 September 2007). "ARU knew about Johns drugs". Daily Telegraph. News. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
15. "Wales launch Johns bid". BBC. 14 January 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
16. "Joey gives the game away". leaguehq.com.au. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
17. "Joey's surprise code switch". smh.com.au. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
18. "No cricket fairytale for Johns". smh.com.au. 7 January 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
19. "Legend Johns to represent Kiwis". BBC. 1 March 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
20. "Neck injury forces Johns to quit". BBC. 10 April 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
21. "Lockyer to star in All Golds game". BBC. 8 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
22. "Lockyer faces long injury lay-off". BBC. 14 July 2007. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
23. "Joey's one last good Knight". foxsports.com.au. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
24. "Baby boy for Andrew Johns and Cathrine". theherald.com.au. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
25. "Andrew Johns breaks the code to help Melbourne Rebels and Melbourne Storm". Herald Sun. News. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
26. "Melbourne Rebels run silent on Andrew Johns' involvement". The Daily Telegraph website. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
27. "Criteria for Selection of Rugby League's Next Immortal Released". dailytelegraph.com.au. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
28. "Andrew 'Joey' Johns named rugby league's 8th Immortal". theaustralian.com.au. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
29. "Andrew johns signs on as assistant coach with manly Sea Eagles". news.com.au. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
30. "Joey busted for ecstasy". Daily Telegraph. 30 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 September 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
31. "Andrew Johns admits being foolish over drug arrest". Daily Telegraph. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
32. Kerry O'Keeffe (15 June 2010). "ABC Sport – Race row deepens around Johns". ABC News. Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 12 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
33. The Courier-Mail (Qld), Sunday 13 June 2010; ninemsn.com.au
34. "The Andrew Johns racism controversy". smh.com.au. 20 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
35. "Kick Joey out of league: Inglis – State of Origin". foxsports.com.au. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
36. "John Singleton dumps Gai Waterhouse in public spat". theaustralian.com.au. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
37. Patrick Bartley. "How Gai Waterhouse and John Singleton got back to business". Sydney Morning Herald.
38. "Fittler quits: NSW on lookout for new Origin coach". www.nrl.com. 28 September 2023.
39. Pengilly, Adam (17 March 2019). "Andrew Johns' shock admission on contributing cause to his epilepsy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
40. "'I fell over in a cafe and smashed my head'". 17 March 2019.
41. "Andrew Johns's State of Origin reaction pilloried on social media". abc.net.au. 13 July 2022.
42. "Newcastle Legends Behind Launch of Steel City Beer Co". 16 April 2021.
43. "Knights say cheers to stadium beers". 18 March 2022.
44. "Centenary of Rugby League – The Players". NRL & ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
45. Peter Cassidy (23 February 2008). "Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players". Macquarie National News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
46. Balym, Todd (17 April 2008). "Johns, Meninga among Immortals". Fox Sports Australia. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
47. "Team of the Century Announced". NRL & ARL. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
48. ARL (2008). "Australian Rugby Football League 2008 Annual Report" (PDF). Australian Rugby Football League Limited. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
49. "Hall of Fame induction for Johns and Bennett". ABC News. abc.net.au. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

Further reading

• Johns, Andrew; Neil Cadigan (2007). The two of me. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN   978-0-7322-8653-8.
• Masters, Roy (19 March 2005). "Moody Blue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax. Retrieved 16 June 2010.

External links

• Andrew Johns at IMDb
• State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats
• 2001 Ashes profile
• Andrew Johns at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
• Andrew Johns at IMDb
• Andrew Johns  at ESPNcricinfo
• Australian Network Entertainment profile

Cricket information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Domestic team information
Years	Team

Preceded by Gorden Tallis	Australia national rugby league team captain 2002–03	Succeeded by Darren Lockyer
Preceded by Jason Taylor (2006)	Record-holder Most points in an NRL career 2006 (2,108) – 2009 (2,176)	Succeeded by Hazem El Masri (2009)