Joey Johns: our biggest dickhead in the game

[imported_midas]

Geez,legend,give us a break.The guy,s off -field incidents have been no worse than dozens(maybe hundreds) of others over the years.
"poor sportsman"-he,s fiercely competitive but I,ve never thought of him as a poor sportsman.
The drinking and gambling thing has been played up by the media to promote the larrikin image which certainly hasn,t hurt his brother ,post football.
I mean ,its not as if the blokes a chronic alky or anything.
Last week was an aberration and he will pay the price for it-end of story.If he has some personal problems as Roopy says,I hope he resolves them.
And ,dubby,as for overrated,he,s the best half-back I,ve seen in 35years of league,an opinion shared by P Sterling.
And ,legend,if you,re thinking of nominating Mal for Sainthood,I can tell you from personal experience-don,t.

 

[imported_Roopy4246]

Don't go there with Meninga.

 

[legend]

Yeah, I know there was certain stuff suggested about Meninga and I'm not going to post it here and yes, he did have a fling while on the 82 Kangaroo tour but the times have changed and in an ever increasing competetive market, high profile players have to be on their guard at all times.

Midas, do you know he is not a chronic alky? From what I have heard, he does have a big drinking problem.

As for the bad sportsman, does anyone remember when Lee Jackson played for the Knights and he would abuse Jackson in front of his whole team when Jackson made a mistake? This was a common occurence. I'm sorry, there is a difference between being fiercely competetive and a bad sportsman, and Johns is definitely the latter.

I went to watch the Knights play the Warriors in Newcastle last year and Johns won some kind of award and when presented with the award, he was stone motherless drunk and he looked disgraceful. He was a slob and he could hardly put a sentence together. Is this how the Australian, NSW and Newcastle captain should be acting in the public eye?

Johns would have known well in advance he was going to receive this award but basically, it looked like he did not give a rats about how he looked and what he said.

 

[imported_Roopy4246]

"As for the bad sportsman, does anyone remember when Lee Jackson played for the Knights and he would abuse Jackson in front of his whole team when Jackson made a mistake?"

I think you might be misinterpreting the Jackson/Johns situation. It wasn't a matter of Jackson making mistakes, but a struggle between the two as to who was running the show. Joey would often work out a play and have everything in place, call for the ball, and Jackson would decide that he would go for a run from dummy half instead. The two guys came to hate each other because they both thought they should be calling the shots on the field. I think it is what you would call 'artistic differences' if the two were actors in hollywood.
As for Joey abusing Jackson in front of the team, neither of them was the captain, and they were both guilty of giving the other heaps, but Jackson did it quietly by ignoring Joey's calls.

 

[imported__cheeky_girl_]

dubby
are you shocked

I actually agree with you

, so there

 

[dubby]

Legend my main man, i knew i could count on you to clarify my true meaning here. Thanks for pulling me out of the deep end mate..

A good eg is John Eales, and Steve Waugh. Not the most talented, but true leaders and role models for all ages.

I can remember reading in RLW about Johns yelling at the bench in one game to get Lee Jackson off the field during a game. Their mutual hate was well known.

Cheekygirl, me truelly is shocked...truce hey?

Hutch, take a long walk mate...

 

[Willow]

dubby, do you deliberately make no sense or is this a natural state of mind?

 

[imported_justme]

Have to agree with Dubby here, IMO Johns is a gifted footballer but is totally lacking as a man let alone aleader, just an immatureself absorbed sook.

 

[Willow]

I think Roopy covered Andrew Johns pretty well and I agree that he is a brilliant footballer that has some serious issues between the ears.

But I think the least of them is gambling and morality shouldn't come into it.

Quite frankly, I get a little tired of people putting these guys up on a pedestal - if you want to do that, fine. But demanding that they show some responsibility as role models is going too far imo. How can we enforce personality changes from a remote location?

Ifsome players are poor role models then the media doesnt have to follow them around. Andrew Johns hasn't got his life in order and really, thats none of my business.
Perhaps the media should do us a favour and show more of the positive aspects of sportspeople - but they're not going to do that because it doesn't sell and at the end of the day, its the gossip dictates what the media reports on. Half the time its rubbish.

There are players that can handle the media spotlight so if the 'as parents' are concerned about how kids will react then simply show parental guidance. If its such a worry, them talk about something else or about a different sportsperson. Afterall, if we're worried about kids being impressed by the actions of others, then there are far more disturbing things happening in the world.

The whole thing reeks of pop-bitch culture and isnt far behind the crap that surfaces about whacko Jacko or Beckham.

The tell tale sign is in the title of this thread: Joey Johns: OUR biggest dickhead in the game... I didn't know we owned him.

 

[legend]

Willow, I don't think it's as black and white as you make it sound. If Johns has all these troubles, then take away all his roles of responsibility, including the captaincy of NSW and Australia but I don't think he would take kindly to that, do you?

As for OUR, I think you are nitpicking to be honest. He doesn't play soccer or Union, so I think it's fine for league supporters to refer to the number one player in the game as ours. It's more a representation of which sport he plays, not who owns him.

There are players that can handle the media spotlight so if the 'as parents' are concerned about how kids will react then simply show parental guidance. If its such a worry, them talk about something else or about a different sportsperson. Afterall, if we're worried about kids being impressed by the actions of others, then there are far more disturbing things happening in the world.

Again, you are drawing a long bow. People use sportsmen as their idols as that's who they see themselves as being twenty years down the track and young kids are very impressionable. I'd rather my son idolise a sportsman than a politician.You are trying to take this thread somewhere it doesn't need to go by referring to more disturbing things in the world. That is totally irrelevant to this thread and has no bearing on Johns behaviour.

It's also hard to talk about different sportsmen when people like Johns are always in your face through the various forms ofmedia. I'm sure people would love to talk about another player, but we don't see anyone on the TV bar Johns and Fittler. That's something the people have little or no control over.

I also think it's ok for people to put sportsmen on a pedestal. Half the time they enter sport for that very reason and they know the hazards that come with earning millions of dollars fordoing what they love. People like Johns love the limelight so why shouldn't they be prepared to accept the criticism when they freely accept the praise?

 

[imported_justme]

The tell tale sign is in the title of this thread: Joey Johns: OUR biggest dickhead in the game... I didn't know we owned him.
Well there ya go Willow, the title says it all. Don't see where it has anything to do with "owning" him or the morality question, it's just an opinion that the guy is a dickead, anopinion I happen to concur with, he is a dickhead.

 

[imported_Roopy4246]

Andrew Johns has many flaws to his character. He would be the first person to admit it. In fact, he usually is the first person to say it. When he did his 'elbow to the head' of Dykes a few years ago he immediately wrote articles about how stupid he was to do it and how it came from frustration with his own play, andhe said he would try not to do anything like that again, (as far as I know he has lived up to that promise)and he was the first guy to admit fault in this latest saga.
Whenever Saint Gordon Tallis is accused of doing the wrong thing, which is approximately 5 times as often as Johns, he immediately claims it is a plot by everyone from the KGB to the salvation army to blacken his name, and he will go to the grave swearing he is as innocent as the driven snow. "That Penrith player was bashing my fists with his head sir".

Johns spends huge amounts of time doing private coaching with any player who he feels will be a great playmaker some day. Players like Braith Anasta, Brett Firman, Kurt Gidley, Brett Finch and many others will tell you how unselfish he is with his time and how he gives them tips which help them develop, and he does this just for the good of the game.

The guy has his good points and his bad points, much like anyone else.
I'm starting to think the worst thing he does is always put his hand up and admit when he is wrong, because it only ever seems to spur on his critics.

 

[imported_midas]

I,m with you,roopy.Those major blues he has made,he,s come out and apologised for ,not like Gordy who,s never been wrong in his life.
I don,t see him as the drunken,irresponsible bum that some of the posters here seem to ,but maybe they know more than I do.
"Our biggest dickhead in the game"? -not in the top 50.

 

[Willow]

Legend: "Willow, I don't think it's as black and white as you make it sound. If Johns has all these troubles, then take away all his roles of responsibility, including the captaincy of NSW and Australia "

lol... you mean as opposed to the black and white view that he should have the captaincy taken off him? I understand the point you're making but who do we make captain? I think Gordy is ahead of Lockyer from the Qld side. When talking about dickheads, it becomes a matter of opinion.

And I seem to recall a similar thread back in the days of Freddy Fittler and his drunken night on steps ofan inner-city lockup. You could go a long way back and find plenty of examples of captains and high profile platers being pissheads and gamblers... Joey is no island in that respect.

I guess when the old playersembarrassed themselves there was no real publicity about it. I suppose there was a time when people just wanted to watch them play footy and didnt really care too much beyond that. I guess I hold the view that they are players first and ambassadors last.

No offence to the few braniac players that are out there but since when did we think footballers were the highest card in the deck?

"People like Johns love the limelight so why shouldn't they be prepared to accept the criticism when they freely accept the praise?"
Well you see, that assumes that we can control his character or personality so it all fits neatly into what we want to see in the ideal footballer - the old black and white argument again. History shows that plenty of players muck up... the higher the profile, the more we hear about it.

justme: "Don't see where it has anything to do with "owning" him or the morality question"
Fair enough... just dropping a line into the bay on that one. It was dubby, the authorthat reckons morality should play a part in RL.
---------------------

Every now and then, we see a clean cut kid getting praise... on that subject, whatever happen to 'face of Rugby League'? It was a promotion that lasted about two years I think... is it still going? Trent Barrett was the first 'face of Rugby League' - can't remember who was the 'face' after that. It seems that the NRL were struggling to maintain the momentum of that particular promotion. Wonder why... was it lack of personnel or lack of interest?

 

[dubby]

Willow, i was addressing several issues at once. Perhaps that is why it made no sense to you, you were too busy nitpicking to pick up on that. You really detest me i can tell, well so what. My opinion is my opinion, like it or not agree or not, but nitpicking makes you look like a real goose. Legend, at least us Raiders-men know what the essenence of a real thread is..

 

[legend]

Sorry Willow, I see no assumptions in that quote.I think you are clutching at straws to be honest. I was aksing a question, not making an assumption.

Essentially Willow, you are living in the past. You keep making references to the good ol days. Maybe there is something you would like to share with us but I hate to inform you that the times, they are a changin'. The game has become professional and any reference to the past or pre professional days is irrelevant. Players never got paid back then like they do today and they were not professionals first and foremost. Most, if not all had to hold down a full time job until about 15 years ago.

Just as a matter of curiosity, what did you think of the $10,000 fine for Steve Mortimer? Did you find his abuse of a referee acceptable or out of line?

 

[legend]

I also think Dubby makes an excellent point about Eales and Waugh. Both know how to carry themselves much better than Fittler or Johns and public perception is a vital ingredient to the overall success of the game. People will never take League seriously if our captains look like two bit lairs.

People want to see the captains of our country's sporting teams act in a certain way and look a certain way. A good example was Fittler and co for the 2000 world cup. They turned up in the UK unshaven with shirts hanging out and it was embarassing to watch as a league fan. Compare Fittler to the way Eales and Waugh look when they get off the plane and there is no comparison. We are miles behind.

Willow, you may not care about these things but a lot of people do, including me. Rugby League is a professional sport and as such the senior players should be acting as ambassadors for our game. It makes me cringe to see players acting like yobbos without class and while ever this trend continues, rugby league will be forever stuck on the bottom rung.

 

[Willow]

dubby: "You really detest me i can tell, well so what. "
...so extreme. that hurts. LOL.
Apart from the obvious paranoia, you also have an axe to grind on just about anything - so its hard to take you seriously... No dub, I don't detest you... in fact, I forgot all about you.
I'm happy to leave youand your Raiders-men together.

 

[Willow]

Legend: "You keep making references to the good ol days."
Rubbish. I only said that players have always mucked up but they get reported on more often now. I never refer to ol days as being 'good'.
Thanks for reminding about the professional game and how times have changed... doh!

I'm very much up with the times thankyou... excuse me while I show some other bonehead how to light the pilot in the gas copper.

"...what did you think of the $10,000 fine for Steve Mortimer? Did you find his abuse of a referee acceptable or out of line?"
I didnt have time to look right into it... damn ringer got stuck in the washer again.
But if recent history is anything to go on, Turvey has been shooting his mouth of a lot lately and maybe this will help to make him pull his head in. I read briefly that he apologised or something. Is this relevant?

Anyway, you didnt answer my questions. Is Gordy a better captain thanJoey? Is Joey alone when it come to dickheadness? And what happened to the face of League?

 

[Willow]

"I also think Dubby makes an excellent point about Eales and Waugh. "
Dubbyalso said that Waugh was not the most talented... I decided to leave that alone as shooting fish in a bucket simply isnt fair game.