Andrew Johns Retires!

[The TRUTH]

Andrew Johns retires from rugby league

By 7News

Newcastle Knights great Andrew Johns has retired from rugby league today after suffering a neck injury last week.

The captain of the NRL team collided with a team mate on Thursday and scans this morning led doctors to advise Johns to retire.

He has played 249 first grade games and won two premierships with the Knights.

He played 23 State of Origin games for New South Wales and represented Australia in 21 Test matches.

"I'm just totally numb," Johns told a press conference.

"It's really tough for my family.

"I knew as soon as I had the collision it was very serious."

Holding back tears, Johns said he had given his future a lot of thought and knew in his heart that this year would be his last.

"The biggest thing for me has been the friendships I have made," he said.

"It is really emotional because I'm going to miss it so much.

"I realise how lucky I am not to be in a wheelchair."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070410/23/131yb.html
[/b]

Terrible way for a legend to end his career

 

[ak47]

sad day for league

the great man retires

glad to see him go to be honost...........is a sad way but means he was never a quitter until forced to quit and he never played too long to suggest he was a spent force, like Cliffy Lyons.

He still had it in him.

Goodbye Joey - Thanks for the memories

and **** me, QLD will dominate SOO for the next decade - fark its a long road for Knights and Blues fans

 

[THE CHIROPRACTOR101]

big anti climax to his career..ah well when ya gotta go you gotta go!

legendary sportsman and one of the all time great league players of this world

gudluck 4 the future..and please put your brother in rehab!!!

 

[shiznit]

the greatest footballer of his era.

will be an immortal for sure.

sure he was a ******** that broke my heart in the 2001 GF but he reaaly was a joy to watch.

 

[melon]

What a wonderful talent rugby league has lost. Regarded as the best of all time by many, regarded as one of the best by all.

No doubt he will work with the Knights, or with Channel 9. I'm pretty sure he has a contract with Channel 9 actually...yeah he does come to think of it now lol.

It's almost set in concrete that he is going to be inducted as an Immortal.

 

[dobrien7]

Is a shame he couldn't go on and play that tour with the Kiwis...

Also, hearing Cliff Lyons mentioned, anyone else recall the story of him being hassled by fans at a Manly game which they were losing, telling him he should be out there helping his team when he was just there to watch, and he apparently went out in second half and had a blinder to help Manly win???

 

[C A Iversen]

Someone please find the article, lol!

(Tried, but can't find the article on that game, arrgghh!!!)

 

[dobrien7]

Ditto, only this came anywhere close...

"At the end of the 1998 season, in which he was mainly used off the bench, Lyons reluctantly retired after not being offered a contract. January 1999 found him playing for Warringah in a RU Sevens competition but following the Sea Eagles’ disastrous start to the 1999 season, he made a comeback with the club, passing the 300 first grade mark late in the season."

 

[Candyman]

Yes this is a sad time for any knight/Johns fans and even NRL fans it is a sad way to have to end your career but like his brother Matty Johns recently said.

"As a fan i would love to see him play another 5 or more years but as his brother i want whats best for him"

And i am sure he will be taken on with open arms as a coach of some sort for the Knights and be part of the game that way.

 

[esoj]

one of the legends of the game without doubt.
I have mates coming over to aus for state of origin 2 and we were all looking forward to him maybe playing. he was also going on the all golds tour with the kiwis which again would have been huge.

 

[ak47]

i will concurr with that cliffy lyons story

also the last known paid league player to have a beer and cigarette at half time in the sheds

i kid u not, even in the 90's cliffy would spark one up and throw down a tinny of VB at half time

potentially jason smith would have a durry at half time, even today - but certainly not a beer aswell

i remember when j smith was injured for the raiders and he came back from injury 2 weeks early and coach elliot, said "we got him off the winny reds onto the winny golds, it sped up the recovery obviously.

 

[C A Iversen]

The stories of some of the great leaguies always have a dose of humour in them at some point.

Alfie Langers "St George can't play" chant is a case in point.

Leaguies do seem to be the funniest when compared to the Union boys.

 

[ak47]

well in australia anyway the league boys are more in touch with common humour and slander

coz in australia 80-90% of union players grew up in private school environment, and/or boarded at school - as such, they are deprived of the everyday banter of the majority, and are subject to high discipline and strictness, preventing them in a sense from being a larrakin..or atleast delaying there larrakin ways until they leave school in which the league boys already have 10years of larrakin practice under their belt leaving the union fellas alot to cath up on

of course there are exceptions - but that is the trend

the result of this is that union players here are more educated - you will notice this on fox sports interviews in that union boys answer a question with more than yes or no or maybe - they elaborate on their answer, league boys tend to struggle

an extreme example is comparing Matt Rogers to Eals
Ryan Cross aint no spark upstairs......dumb as a bat ****...........although that has nothing to do with league as he went to same school as Tuirinui, and Frier - Waverly College

also union players have a post career outside of the sport they played....finance or law
most league players, either get into sports admin or media or labour

Shane Webcke on the other hand is the most well spoken league player i have heard.....dont judge a book by its cover - but u could sure as hell have a good idea what to expect barring few exceptions

 

[THE CHIROPRACTOR101]

they also ALLEGEDLY rape and ALLEGEDLY beat on women..and do drugs...

apart from that..they are an awesome bunch!

 

[DC]

im readin about johns injury here and i gotta say i hear he was a great player but man this guy is an idiot. Refusing to have surgery on his neck, what a dumbass. He says its so serious that he can't even play touch football and the protruding discs are within 1 cm of his spinal cord. So he's going to start going surfing more, okay, one big wave and a big fall and hitting the sand on the bottom of the ocean and your paralized why not just have the surgery so you can make sure you wont get paralized while surfing?

 

[melon]

He said last nite that if he was 22 then he could have surgery and it could help. He proceeded to say that however he was 32 and there is no need for surgery as it could bring about complications, so he is going to have cortisone injections in order to surf.

 

[DC]

He said last nite that if he was 22 then he could have surgery and it could help. He proceeded to say that however he was 32 and there is no need for surgery as it could bring about complications, so he is going to have cortisone injections in order to surf.
[/b]

Yea but the disc is 1 cm away from his spinal cord, and im sure any "complications" this sugery would bring about wouldnt be anywhere as bad as being paralized for the rest of his life..

 

[melon]

Meh, I don't know. He has his reasons.

 

[mimic]

they also ALLEGEDLY rape and ALLEGEDLY beat on women..and do drugs...

apart from that..they are an awesome bunch!
[/b]

LOLZ!

Yeah, I'm really gutted to see him go. I was hoping he'd be back for State of Origin.

This is a bad year for me. My 2 favourite players won't be playing this season! Johns and Gasnier

 

[St Helens RLFC]

I always had my problems with Joey Johns (particularly when he was in England) but there's no denying it, he was an absolutely superb player. very sad way to bow out, shame he couldn't go on until the end of the season and retired in the Centenary match.