Information AboutAndrew Johns |
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Andrew "Joey" Johns (born May 19 , 1974 ) is an Australia n Rugby League player. He currently captains the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League . He usually plays Half-back , but has played in other positions at times throughout his career. RUGBY LEAGUE CAREER Early days Johns was born in Cessnock , in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales , a Rugby League heartland. Johns was the son of a coal miner and country rugby league player who also coached the sport in the district. Johns and his brother Matthew both played the sport from a young age. After playing junior rugby league in Cessnock, Andrew Johns joined the Newcastle Knights in 1989. Although he was tested off the bench in the 1993 season, he made his first grade debut in the starting line up in 1994, when, in the last trial of the year, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's regular halfback sustained a knee injury giving Johns an opportunity against the South Sydney Rabbitohs . In his debut match he scored 23 points and won the man-of-the-match award, making an immediate impact. He soon formed a partnership with his older brother Matthew, who played Five-Eighth . 1995-2001 The 1995 season saw prosperous times for Johns, as he was picked to represent New South Wales in the prestigious State Of Origin competition and went on to play in Australia 's succesful retention of the World Cup in England . Success for John continued through into the 1996 season, until mid-season when he began to tire. Johns began to question what value Rugby League was in his life. Following a surfing holiday to the Philippines at the end of the season, Johns began a journey of self-discovery, when he encounted the how little some natives of the Philippines had, he realised how lucky he really was. Putting 1996 behind him, he played a pivotal role when the Knights reached the 1997 Australian Rugby League grand final against Manly . There were grave concerns that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had a received three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight ago. However, Johns defied the odds to play and was able to win the game for the Knights by sending Darren Albert to score with six seconds remaining in the game. The partnership with his brother Matthew was broken in 2000 when salary cap pressures forced Matthew to leave the club and join British club Wigan . Andrew Johns would soon become captain of the Knights, and led them to another grand final win, beating the Parramatta Eels 30-24 in 2001 . He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for man of the match. 2002-2005 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 . He has been plagued by injury in the past few seasons, often before or during the finals series. He was the target of a massive offer from Rugby Union in 2004 , but decided to stay on with the Knights until 2006 on a two-year deal, which includes a contract with Channel 9 at the end of his career. In June 2005 Andrew Johns was picked to replace injured halfback Trent Barrett in the New South Wales State Of Origin squad, returning from a series of injuries that have sidelined him for a number of weeks. Johns went on to play the game, receiving man of the match honours. He also went on to play in deciding third game of the series. In August 2005, it was announced that Johns would be joining the English side Warrington Wolves on a short-term deal, playing in the final two games of the regular Super League and any playoff games the Wolves might get to. The Knights first made him sign a new contract, making him available to captain the team until the end of 2008. In his career, he has also represented his country at two World Cups , and one Kangaroo Tour , playing 17 games for the Australian Kangaroos . He has also played in 23 games for New South Wales in State Of Origin , captaining the side to a series win in 2003 . He has also played for the Country Origin side in 1995 and 1996 . 2006 Johns scored 30 points against Canberra in Round 2 of the 2006 competition, in doing so he claimed the point scoring record for a single club, surpassing Mick Cronin's 1,971 points for Parramatta . In round 3 (Knights vs Bulldogs) Johns made history by being the first player in history to surpass 2000 points for a single club. ACHIEVEMENTS As of April 22 2006 First grade for Newcastle
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