i don't know if any of u saw the article in the daily telegraph if not here it is? is this what is going to be like until joey signs some sort of a contract?
We're keeping Joey
By JASON AVEDISSIAN and JAMES HOOPER
January 12, 2004
NEWCASTLE Knights officials will cocoon themselves around Andrew Johns in coming weeks in a bid to stop the champion halfback from joining rugby union.
As first revealed in The Sunday Telegraph on January 4, Johns is keen to try his luck at the 15-man game after witnessing first-hand the thrilling World Cup final between Australia and England in November.
The belief in rugby circles is that Johns, off contract at the end of 2004, would make a smooth transition, provided he stays fit. He will attempt a return to the paddock in two weeks for the World Sevens tournament in Sydney after sitting out the tail-end of 2003 with a neck injury.
Rugby officials want to get the 29-year-old on board and in tune with the game ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
But the Knights will have first option on the star, meeting with Johns' manager John Fordham on January 24 to secure his future.
"We'll certainly be doing everything within our power to retain him," Newcastle chief executive Ken Conway told The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "We think he's the best footballer in the world and a great bloke.
"He certainly hasn't expressed the desire to me to go to rugby union."
Fordham said that at this stage he had no plans to meet with the ARU. "That's not to say I won't be," he said.
Fordham said playing rugby or joining another NRL club were options available to Johns.
"I haven't got around to whether he could play with the Sydney Swans or be a movie star," Fordham said.
"But I won't be hawking him around the clubs.
"Rugby is just one of the options. We are only in the middle of January and there's still plenty of time before we make a decision on Andrew."
NRL boss David Gallop said he would be "very surprised" if Johns followed the likes of Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri as former Kangaroos to join rugby.
"I saw Andrew Johns last week and he didn't indicate to me that he was interested in going to play rugby union," Gallop said. "All he could talk about was how excited he is about playing with the Knights.
"I'm sure he'd be a great rugby union player, but I'd be very surprised if he went and played. We would miss Andrew Johns but there are plenty of people ready to step up and be the new stars of our game."
Rugby World Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer said Johns was one of the all-time great footballers who would succeed in rugby.
"It's hard to believe that a player of his talent wouldn't go well in rugby," Dwyer said. "But there's some very good players at NSW and they might just turn it around this year.
"And I don't think NSW alone could afford him."
NSW coach Ewen McKenzie said: "It's nice to see someone like Andrew Johns is interested in the game.
"Our only concern now is preparing for our first trial match against the Chiefs on January 30."
