JOHN WON'T SAY SORRY
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20103665-23214,00.html
By Newcastle captain Andrew Johns
August 13, 2006 I WILL not be apologising to touch judge Matt Cecchin for what I said in the final minute of our loss to Manly on Friday night.
If anyone should be apologising, it is him.
Let me say here and now that what I said wasn't directed at him and the language I used was heat of the moment stuff.
People will criticise me for swearing even though we are all guilty of it and that's fine. I'll just have to wear that.
But emotion is something I can't turn on and off like a tap.
It was a huge game for both sides with so much at stake - and it was a crucial call at the death that went against us.
Every man and his dog at the game knew Steve Matai played at that ball.
Matt was two metres away from it.
We should have been given the scrum feed and we might have had time for another two or three shots at their line.
Okay, so it may not have been enough.
Manly was outstanding, particularly in defence, and I have nothing but admiration for the way that they turned up to play.
We still might not have won the game, but we shouldn't have been denied the opportunity, either.
People will argue I'm the captain and I should be setting an example. Well, as captain, I'm responsible for all my players and we were all blowing up.
It's an emotional sport.
People say it is just a game. Tell that to all the players who train their backsides off for three months before the season starts and put their bodies on the line, week after week through the season.
We are well paid but a lot of the fans don't get to see the sacrifices players make.
It's funny. Mid-season when I was in a bit of a slump mentally, I was being criticised for not showing enough emotion and for seeming uninterested. I was criticised for not yelling instructions and barking out orders and for not being my normal exuberant self.
Now I am under the pump for letting my emotions take over on Friday night. If the game's administration want to make an example of me, I guess there is not a lot I can do about it. They will probably argue that no matter what the circumstance, I should have controlled myself better.
All I can say to that is that I am not a robot.
I don't have iced water running through my veins - and if I am guilty of anything, it is that I wear my heart on my sleeve.
It wasn't frustration on Friday night.
It was a passionate captain who desperately wanted to win a crucial game of football.
And I'm not going to apologise for that.