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| Full name | Andrew Gary Johns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1974-05-19)19 May 1974 (age 51)[1] Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (196 lb; 14 st 0 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Relatives | Matthew Johns (brother) Jack Johns (nephew) Cooper Johns (nephew) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Andrew Gary Johns[3] (born 19 May 1974), also known by the nicknameJoey, is an Australian former professionalrugby 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 theNewcastle Knights in theNational Rugby League and participated in the team's only two premiership victories in1997 and2001, playing a club record 249 games for the Knights. Johns also represented his country at twoWorld Cups, and on oneKangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for thenational side. He played in 23State of Origin series matches for theNew South Wales Blues (he captained the side to a series win in 2003, and shares a record 4 man-of-the-match awards for New South Wales players withPeter Sterling), and played for theCountry 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 abulging 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 theGolden Boot Award more than once and is one of only two players to have won theDally 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 legendWally Lewis (voted #2), fellow NSW starBrad Fittler (voted #3) and then former Queensland and Australian captainDarren Lockyer (voted #4). On 28 September 2012, Johns was named as the eighth'Immortal' of rugby league.[9]
Andrew Johns began playing junior rugby league in his home town ofCessnock,New South Wales for theCessnock Goannas.
Four years later, at 19, the opportunity at first grade presented itself as Johns was tested off the bench during the1993 season in a handful of games. The following year in the last pre-season trial for the1994 season,Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regularhalfback sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity.[citation needed]
Subsequently, he was named in the starting line-up against theSouth 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 playedfive-eighth at the Knights since 1991.
The1995 ARL season saw prosperous times for Johns, as in the absence ofSuper League-aligned players, he was selected for the first time to representNew South Wales in the1995 State of Origin series. Incumbent New South WaleshalfbackRicky Stuart was not selected due to his affiliation with Super League. Also that year he was able to make his début for theKangaroos in Australia's successful1995 World Cup campaign inEngland. He played as ahooker and was named man of the match inthe decider againstEngland atWembley 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 tohooker for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouringGeoff Toovey in thehalfback 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 the1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their firstgrand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers theManly 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 intodummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to NewcastlewingDarren 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 newNational 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 YearDally M Medal award for the1998 season. Unfortunately for Johns and NSW fans, he had one of his worst goal-kicking games in Game 1 of the1998 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 YearDally M Medal award, the first time a player had won the award consecutively sinceParramatta Eels greatMichael Cronin in 1977 and 1978.
Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement ofPaul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined EnglishSuper League club theWigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad. The fears proved groundless: Johns led Newcastle toanother Grand Final victory, defeating theParramatta Eels 30–24 in2001. He was awarded theClive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the2001 NRL season, he went on the2001 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 theAustralian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.[12]
Having won the2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the2002 World Club Challenge againstSuper League champions theBradford Bulls. Johns captained as ahalfback, scoring atry and kicking three goals in Newcastle's loss. In2002, Johns was awarded the captaincy of bothNew South Wales andAustralia, going on to win the title of Player of the Series againstGreat 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[citation needed], and the Knights without Johns ended up losing to eventual premiers theSydney 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 YearDally 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 ananterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury which kept him out of most of the2004 season, and broke his jaw in early 2005.[citation needed]
During the2003 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 fromrugby 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 theWaratahs without the salary top-ups from theAustralian 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. AfterDavid Gallop, theCEO of theNRL andChannel 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 theWelsh Rugby Union because of his Welsh heritage.[15]
As Game 2 of the2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replaceBrett Kimmorley in theNew 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-choicehalfback 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 theSuper League side theWarrington 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.
Andrew Johns broke one of the longest-standing records in Round 2 of the2006 season as he amassed 30 points against theCanberra Raiders and in doing so claimed the points-scoring record for a player at a single club, surpassingMick Cronin's 1,971 points forParramatta.
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, eclipsingJason 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 the2007 season as he lasted only four minutes into Round 1. AsCanterbury Bulldogs forwardSonny Bill Williams went to perform one of his trade-mark hits on Johns, the tackle strayed high leaving Johns lying concussed.[citation needed] Williams pleaded guilty at the judiciary to a reckless high tackle, and received a two-week suspension for the hit.[citation needed] Johns missed the following match but returned in Round 3 against theCanberra Raiders—which would be his last career match in the NRL. On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammateAdam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury.[citation needed] 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 theWooden 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.
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| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armoff break | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006/07 | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,6 Jan 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In June 2006 it was announced that, while still playing rugby league, Johns would play cricket forNew South Wales, in itsTwenty20 series.[17] The announcement sparked much media interest and many critics and the public suspected a public relations stunt as his first match was to be played in Johns' home town ofNewcastle. Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 againstSouth Australia in front of a record crowd atNewcastle Number 1 Sports Ground. He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down.[18] In his second match, againstTasmania atStadium Australia in Sydney, Johns scored only nine runs and with that his short cricket career was over.
Johns sought to celebrate the inclusion of Australia'sDally Messenger in the originalAll Golds tour, Johns had been invited to join the New Zealand team for the match against the Northern Union.[19] Despite his neck injury, he was able to play with the squad, and completed the match uninjured, but declined another offer from the New Zealand team.[20] Queensland and Australiafive-eighthDarren Lockyer was invited to take Johns' place[21] but then Lockyer himself was ruled out after suffering a season-ending knee injury.[22]New Zealand Warriors captain andQueensland front rowerSteve Price was the eventual replacement for the match.Andrew became a commentator for Channel 9 andMonday Night Football on Triple M radio.
On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane. The Knights board renamed the new $30 million East grandstand ofEnergyAustralia Stadium the Andrew Johns Stand. In addition, in a first for the NRL, his number 7 jersey was retired for the match with new younghalfbackJarrod Mullen wearing number 18.[23] Later in the year the Knights named Johns ashalfback andcaptain for their commemorative Team of the Era.
In June 2007, in what would be the first of his involvements as a specialist part-time coach, rival code theAustralian Rugby Union hired Johns as theWallabies in-play kicking coach for the duration of the2007 Tri Nations Series. On 27 October 2007, Johns married his partner Cathrine Mahoney in a secret wedding on a Sydney island.[citation needed] When Johns returned from his honeymoon at the beginning of the2008 Pre-season, he began a part-time coaching role with theParramatta Eels, working one on one with Eels halvesBrett Finch andTim Smith. In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club theNewcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role. The third club to hire Johns for his coaching services was theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, who signed Johns for the 2008 season. The role involved him in specifically working with the halves,hookers and backs.[citation needed]
In February 2008, a year after his retirement, Johns moved a step closer to becoming rugby league's next Immortal after being named the Best Player of the Last 30 Years by a major rugby league magazine. On 17 April 2008 he was named inTeam of the Century as ahalfback by a 28-man judging panel, who voted in a secret ballot and chose the team from an original list of the100 Greatest Players named earlier in the year. Later, Johns said he felt "the game has forgiven me". On 9 September 2008 at the Dally M awards in Sydney, Johns and his wife Cathrine announced they were expecting their first child in March 2009 (Johns has a son from his previous marriage).[24] On 1 March 2009, Johns and Cathrine welcomed their first child and son, Louis Byron[24]
In 2010 theMelbourne Rebels announced they had secured the services of Johns to work with theSuper Rugby club's inside backs.[25] Recent Rebels signingJames O'Connor said "Obviously he comes from a league background but there was nobody better at taking the ball to the line and pulling those balls back ... the chance to work with him was pretty awesome."[26]
Despite Johns' ecstasy use controversy, he was officially announced as the eighth'Immortal' of the game on 28 September 2012, afterRugby League Week magazine stated the voting criteria were to be based solely on a player's "on field performance" (despite admitting to using ecstasy while playing).[27][28] In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of theManly Warringah Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles.[29]
On 26 August 2007, Johns was arrested forfare evasion on theLondon Underground, and subsequently found to be in possession of oneecstasy tablet. He was cautioned and released with no further charges. Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.[30] This initial statement was met with a great deal of cynicism from both the press and the public. On 30 August, Johns revealed, live on theFooty Show, that he had regularly taken ecstasy throughout his playing career, mainly during the off-season. He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman.[31] Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression anddrug use while playing in the NRL.
TheARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision not to proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision.[14]
In June 2010, during the lead-up to Origin II, New South WalescentreTimana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland playerGreg Inglis as a "black c*nt" during a training session.[32] Johns was subsequently fired from his role as NSW assistant coach. Though he apologised for the incident on Tuesday 15 June,[33] it is alleged it was not the first time Johns had used racist language in a football environment.[34] Inglis demanded Johns be barred from any involvement in rugby league.[35]
Johns was the catalyst to theMore Joyous Scandal, engulfing leading Sydney horse trainerGai Waterhouse, advertising figureJohn Singleton (racehorse More Joyous's owner) and bookmaker and son of the horse trainerTom Waterhouse. Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson. Singleton received word of this and verbally attacked Gai Waterhouse on live television. Johns feared hisChannel 9 commentating career would be over due to the trouble he caused Tom Waterhouse, a Channel 9 advertiser. Johns's commentating career survived, although his reputation was further damaged. Both Waterhouses were cleared of any major wrongdoing by aRacing NSW inquiry, however, Singleton and Gai's longstanding partnership ceased[36] until 2016.[37]On 28 September 2023, it was announced that Johns would be stepping down from his role within the New South Wales coaching staff after the NSWRL board informed him his contract would not be renewed after another series loss.[38]
In 2019, Johns revealed that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. His doctors were of the view that his playing career could have contributed to the diagnosis. In an interview with his brother, Matthew Johns onFox League on Sunday night,[when?] he said, “They think maybe a contributor could be some of the concussions I’ve had and ... continual head knocks”.[39] Johns lost his driver licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018.[40] The Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) initially refused to return his licence but later did so on appeal.[citation needed]
Following the NSW loss to QLD in game 3 of the 2022 State of Origin series, resulting in a QLD series win, Johns was visibly upset while part of a commentary panel during the family friendly Channel 9 live broadcast. In an incident after the game, in which media speculated at the time might have been his unofficial resignation, Johns made the out of context statement in response to a question about the game, “Now we have to listen to all the bullshit from you (Queenslanders) in the next 12 months. It drives you mad.”[41]
Johns is founder and co-owner of Steel City Beer Company withMatthew Johns,Danny Buderus,Kurt Gidley andMatt Hoy.[42][43]
| Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Knights 1993–2007 | 249 | 80 | 917 | 22 | 2,176 |
| Warrington Wolves2005 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 29 |
| Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country Origin 1995–1996, 2003 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 18 |
| New South Wales1995–2000, 2002–2003, 2005 | 23 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 94 |
| Australia1995–2003, 2005–2006 | 27 | 12 | 90 | 0 | 228 |
In February 2008, Johns was named in the list of Australia's100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by theNRL andARL tocelebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[44][45] Johns went on to be named ashalfback in Australian rugby league'sTeam of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players.[46][47] In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and Johns was again named as ahalfback.[48]
| Preceded by | Australia national rugby league team captain 2002–03 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Jason Taylor (2006) | Record-holder Most points in anNRL career 2006 (2,108) – 2009 (2,176) | Succeeded by Hazem El Masri (2009) |
| International | |
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| National | |
