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HallOfFame

Andrew Johns

Halfback

Player Bio

Inducted:
2012
Date of Birth:
19 May 1974
Birthplace:
Cessnock, NSW
Nickname:
Joey
Debut Team:
Newcastle Knights
Date:
17 April 1993
Opposition:
Gold Coast Seagulls
Venue:
Seagulls Stadium, Tweed Heads West
Representative:
Country, New South Wales, Australia
Clubs:
Newcastle Knights, Warrington

Career

Milestones

  • Premierships: 1997, 2001
  • Kangaroo Tour: 2001
  • Australian captain: 2 Tests
  • Dally M Medal: 1998-99, 2002
  • Dally M Halfback of the Year: 1995, 1998-99, 2002
  • Rugby League Week Player of the Year: 1998-99, 2002
  • Clive Churchill Medal: 2001
  • Golden Boot award: 1999, 2001
  • Australian Rugby League Team of the Century: 2008
  • New South Wales Team of the Century: 2008
  • NSW Country Team of the Century: 2008
  • Immortal: 2012

Playing

First Class Games
307
Points
2571
Tries
101

Biography

Upon his retirement in 2007 due to a bulging disc in his neck, a chorus of league greats called for Andrew Johns to be immediately honoured as an immortal of the game. In the preceding 13 years, the Cessnock junior had revolutionised the game like few others before him. His passing and kicking games became the benchmark for which all other halfbacks are judged.

On debut for Newcastle in 1994, Johns scored 23 points against Souths to win man-of-the match honours.

It heralded the start of a long-term partnership at the Knights alongside his brother and five-eighth Matthew.

In 1995, Andrew was picked for NSW and Australia, and the following year he took on Manly in the 1997 grand final despite sustaining fractured ribs and a punctured lung a fortnight earlier, and set up the match-winning try for Darren Albert with six seconds remaining.

Following the retirement of Paul Harragon in 1999, Johns took over the Knights captaincy and led them to a second premiership success in 2001, winning the Clive Churchill Medal in the grand final against Parramatta.

The following year he was given the captaincy of NSW and Australia, producing a player-of-the-series display against Great Britain. Among a host of awards, he also won the Dally M Medal for an unprecedented third time.

Injuries sometimes hindered him from 2001, and the Knights' inability to win without him was a sign of his enormous influence.

In 2005, Johns returned to rescue NSW in Origin II and III. At 32, he ended his career as the highest scorer in Australian first-grade premiership history with 2176 points.

"The greatest rugby league player of his generation; and arguably the greatest of all time.”

Phil Gould State of Origin coach

98. Andrew Johns - Hall of Fame

Career Stats

Club Career

Club
Team Name Competition Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
Newcastle Knights Premiership 1993 2007 249 80 917 22 2,176
Newcastle Knights World Club Challenge 2002 2002 1 2 3 - 14
Newcastle Knights Official Pre-season 1995 1995 1 1 4 - 12
Warrington England First Class Games 2005 2005 3 1 12 1 29

Representative Career

City - Country

City - Country
Team Name Opponent Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
Country Origin City Origin
1995
2003
1996
2003
3 1 7 - 18

State

State
Team Name Competition Opponent Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
New South Wales State of Origin Queensland
1995
2002
2005
2000
2003
2005
23 4 37 4 94

International

International
Team Name Competition Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
Australia Tests and World Cup
1995
2005
2003
2006
26 12 89 - 226
Australia Other matches 2000 2000 1 - 1 - 2

Latest

Hall of Fame Members

Acknowledgement of Country

National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

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