Johns arrested and cautioned in London

[Misanthrope]

He'd be a thirsty mother too...

 

[roopy]

speed is performance enhancing for league players.
I know a dozen guys who played in the newcastle comp in the 80s who played most games on speed - but like i said - it would show up in testing if they used it for games.

 

[keeney]

That it would, Speed is completely different to E as well. Speed is just an amphetamine, and doesn't come with all the wanted or unwanted complications of Ecstasy.

 

[Nikki]

I just hope Andrews admission of using drugs for basically his whole career and not getting caught out by the Leagues drugs testing really puts a rocket up their arse. The NRL really needs to become a lot tougher when it comes to drugs in our game, performance enhancing or recreational. Whilst Im not a Joey fan, I am a Mitchell Sargent fan, and now that I think about it, maybe he should have been dealt with a lil harder. What it would acheive I dont really know. I just hope that this also scares a few other players. I would say that no club in the NRL has been clean and thats probably the scary part.

 

[cram]

Roopy, you have said what I thought about the bi-polar as soon as I read it and his admissions about mental illness put some context into some of the behaviours we have observed over the years.

Yesterday afternoon I had little respect for one A Johns. His media statement did nothing to enhance his credibility, as a human being, with me.

This morning I feel very differently. I would not even say I am disappointed because to genuinely believe that societal issues are not present in the sporting arena would be naive and recent events in AFL highlight that.

Having suffered from depression for most of my life I know how difficult it can be to build yourself up day after day. It is difficult to admit you have a problem but when you do its that start of a great healing process. Hopefully this is the begining of that process for A Johns.

 

[Newie is God's Country]

It shows why the AFL has got it so very wrong with their 'three strikes and your out' drug policy. Joey is a brave lad to admit he is highly flawed and I am not surprised that he has suffered from depression. It was like watching God on his knees, last night on the footy show. What is absolutely astonishing to me though is that our country's greatest AFL player, Benny Cousins, and league player have both admitted in the same season that they have serious recreational drug problems. We put them under too much pressure and scruntiny. All they want to to do is play footy.

 

[Newie is God's Country]

Roopy, you have said what I thought about the bi-polar as soon as I read it and his admissions about mental illness put some context into some of the behaviours we have observed over the years.

Yesterday afternoon I had little respect for one A Johns. His media statement did nothing to enhance his credibility, as a human being, with me.

This morning I feel very differently. I would not even say I am disappointed because to genuinely believe that societal issues are not present in the sporting arena would be naive and recent events in AFL highlight that.

Having suffered from depression for most of my life I know how difficult it can be to build yourself up day after day. It is difficult to admit you have a problem but when you do its that start of a great healing process. Hopefully this is the begining of that process for A Johns.

Have been there myself mate. Depression is hell, and realistically you never completely beat it. It's how you deal with it that determines your character. It doesn't define who you are.

 

[darkness]

speed is performance enhancing for league players.
I know a dozen guys who played in the newcastle comp in the 80s who played most games on speed - but like i said - it would show up in testing if they used it for games.

They must have been tough bastards back in the 80's. I dunno how anyone could play with there heart rate going at an extra 30bpm on top of there elevated heart rate already. That would be a crazy dangerous. I doubt they would play on E. Imagine everytime they played a celebrationary try song, guys stopping and doing the Big Fish Small Fish Cardboard box dance, the Sprinkler, the Wallclimb.You just wouldn't be able to help yourself if you were on E. And the refs whistle would make you think you were in a dance club.

( For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, might be a bit after your time.)

 

[Rich102]

how can a knights fan condemn joey? he was our hero on the football for so many years... brought us so much success.. and because he's had massive issues off the field, we are just to turn our back on him?

well... each to his own... but i'll always remember him for his on field exploits and the glory he did bring us. he's always had these off field problems... and some of us may have been in denial about that... but he showed absolutely huge balls in going public with this and he has my support for the future.

Oh dear! Come on! Went public? He was arrested ffs!

 

[Rich102]

I can totally understand the feelings of shock you Newcastle fans are feeling. He was, and is, a great player.

However the question I feel you should be asking is of your club management. Did they know about his off-field problems, and particularly about drug taking, and choose to ignore them simply because he was too valuable to them on the field? Because to help the man they would have had to acknowledge the problem?

How callus is that?

 

[antonius]

I think the club should be condemned if they (as Johns stated on page 2 of todays Newcastle Herald) were aware of his problem with drugs. They should've done something about it. There's a saying I live by, "You accept the standard you walk past" The Knights walked past his problem, so as far as I'm concerned they are as much to blame for accepting it, as he is for doing it, in fact more so. Paul Harragon said on the footy show that they all knew about his problems, it seems to me that they didn't do to much to help him with them.

 

[perverse]

Oh dear! Come on! Went public? He was arrested ffs!

yes mate, went public. he could have stuck to that terrible story (as many high profile stars do) and he also could have admitted to that one pill and kept the rest under wraps. therefore - he went public.

i agree with you on your thoughts about the club though.. it's pretty disgraceful.

 

[borat]

I think the club should be condemned if they (as Johns stated on page 2 of todays Newcastle Herald) were aware of his problem with drugs. They should've done something about it. There's a saying I live by, "You accept the standard you walk past" The Knights walked past his problem, so as far as I'm concerned they are as much to blame for accepting it, as he is for doing it, in fact more so. Paul Harragon said on the footy show that they all knew about his problems, it seems to me that they didn't do to much to help him with them.

Paul Harrogan surely has to stand down. As an ex team mate abnd now board member, to sit back and just ride on John's coat tails while drugs was potentially ruining his life is unforgiveable.

I heard Burraston on BSB this morning and he indicated the club would have a full investigation into who knew and did nothing. Harrogan can't survive this surely.

 

[sneaky_is_here]

Once my hero, still my hero, always my hero.

I can see a reason for what he did though im not impressed. He wasn't sober for a period of time and that relived him of his "pressure" I deal with "these" people everyday I can't hate Joey for been human.

on the other side of the coin there was no reyno in the paper today. He will have to come up with a better plan

 

[Bring it home Knights]

i am a bit pissed off that he is destroying his 'legacy' by basically not acting his age.
The guy is 33 and seems determined to act like an 18 year old these days.
Thank god we have Chief as a role model for young players because Joey is never going to be a 'statesman'.

Very well said. Thank god we still have chief to keep newcastle proud.

 

[roopy]

I think the club should be condemned if they (as Johns stated on page 2 of todays Newcastle Herald) were aware of his problem with drugs. They should've done something about it. There's a saying I live by, "You accept the standard you walk past" The Knights walked past his problem, so as far as I'm concerned they are as much to blame for accepting it, as he is for doing it, in fact more so. Paul Harragon said on the footy show that they all knew about his problems, it seems to me that they didn't do to much to help him with them.

Johns said in his interview that he was diagnosed as having an illness that needed medication by the club doctor and sent to see 'a professor' in Sydney.
That is hardly doing nothing.
This wasn't in the papers - but it is clear they knew he had a mental illness, sent him for treatment, supported him throughout, and probably gave him counselling and over many years.
The alternative would be to out him in the press and abandon him to his fate.

As someone who works with the mentally ill - i can tell you that keeping him doing his life's work and mostly off the drugs and alcohol is a brilliant outcome. Not many people with a mental illness get the level of support which would have been needed to maintain a 'normal' life.
The club should be very proud.
My only reservation is that i doubt they would do this for a player who wasn't the best in the world.

 

[perverse]

except for the fact that chief has been sweeping all of this under the carpet for the past 12 years. in a lot of ways he's very responsible for the situation we are now in, and he will take a big fall... i certainly can't see him being involved with the knights in any capacity other than a fan come 2008. heads will roll.

 

[borat]

Johns said in his interview that he was diagnosed as having an illness that needed medication by the club doctor and sent to see 'a professor' in Sydney.
That is hardly doing nothing.
This wasn't in the papers - but it is clear they knew he had a mental illness, sent him for treatment, supported him throughout, and probably gave him counselling and over many years.
The alternative would be to out him in the press and abandon him to his fate.

As someone who works with the mentally ill - i can tell you that keeping him doing his life's work and mostly off the drugs and alcohol is a brilliant outcome. Not many people with a mental illness get the level of support which would have been needed to maintain a 'normal' life.
The club should be very proud.
My only reservation is that i doubt they would do this for a player who wasn't the best in the world.

The club knew of his mental illness yet turned a blind eye to his drug taking? That is unforgiveable. How could you possibly say they should be proud.

 

[borat]

except for the fact that chief has been sweeping all of this under the carpet for the past 12 years. in a lot of ways he's very responsible for the situation we are now in, and he will take a big fall... i certainly can't see him being involved with the knights in any capacity other than a fan come 2008. heads will roll.

There are the ramifications of what has happended to Johns himself by turning a blind eye. Johns is 33 and a fathernow. Whose to say that if the club did something about this 10 years ago that Johns could be past this long ago. But of course then he would have lost out on playing time which is far more important then the rest of his life.

What about the remifications to the club if Johns had tested positive during his career. 2 yr ban, no halfback, loss of sponsors. If this had happened 4 years ago financially it could have crippled the Knights.

Yet Harrogan does nothing

 

[roopy]

except for the fact that chief has been sweeping all of this under the carpet for the past 12 years. in a lot of ways he's very responsible for the situation we are now in, and he will take a big fall... i certainly can't see him being involved with the knights in any capacity other than a fan come 2008. heads will roll.

the alternative to 'sweeping it under the carpet' is to make it public, which is basically to drop him in the sh*t and end his career and destroy his life.
Not going public is not 'doing nothing' - it is obvious they did far more than they would have for most people.
I'm a bit worried about what will happen to him now - but the club has done an outstanding job.