Andrew Johns deserves his statue

Best player i've seen and i've seen players from the 50's through to now deserves every accolade just wish the Dragon's had him in his day.

You win buddy. Well played. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I've been busy getting interest in building a statue that has no traction, and it is pretty time consuming.

Johns wan't even considered better than Langer or Stuart until he played a couple good games in 2005 and news limited have been talking him up ever since. Great player but he should not be an immortal ahead of guys like Sterling, Irvine, Messenger or Langer but he is. If Newcastle want to spend money on a statue then good for them.

Neither. It's a non event. Good luck to him of he does get a statue but it's hardly the number one story this off season. Kumuls upset GB. Mitchell off to who knows where? Player signings, international games. All getting much more attention than this. Move on

Newspapers and radio in Brisbane. Do you need a rugby league lesson, or a geography lesson?

Comparing Jimi Hendrix to Andrew Johns. Congratulations you win the award for dumbest comment of 2019. We will not be accepting any more nominations. Seriously wtf??

Sorry but you're deluded. It's not making news outside of Newcastle.

To be fair I'm in Qld and keep up to date with most issues and I can't say it's been any major talking point. However, I rarely read the CM so any DT cross-story up this way I would have missed. I think I heard it once in passing so it may not be getting the traction it is in Newy

Coverage in local newspapers, tv, and radio in Newcastle and Brisbane. Talked about by Nathan Hindmarsh, Wendell Sailor, Danny Buderus, Mark Hughes, and Andrew Johns himself. Very surprised you haven't heard about it yet. Must be cramped in that rock you're hiding under.

Daily Telegraph lol you need to seek out more respectable media outlets and Willie Mason talks about anything that gets attention. Like I said it's hardly the talking points of the off season. Latrell Mitchell is getting more attention as was the Trobojevic contract thing

Don’t worry about the number of people that have signed petitions or joined Facebook groups. Just take a walk around the place you live and have a look at all the public art (I’m assuming there is some, Newcastle is rather blessed in this regard) and ask yourself how many people would have signed a petition to get it built. For those in the Hunter, head down to Warner’s Bay and check out the pile of rocks someone just paid $300k for. Considering the rich artistic and sporting heritage of the city and the modest $50k price tag being bandied about, it’s only a matter of time before this statue is commissioned.

All well and good but on the fair dinkum list of Knights fans immediate wants you'd think the recruitment of a quality 5/8 and center would make them far more fuzzy and warm inside than something for Joey. Get the fans what they really deserve,top 8,let Joey be the cherry.

Daily Telegraph, Willie Mason, Nathan Hindmarsh, and Wendell Sailor are talking about it. It's getting a little bit of traction.

There are currently ex players that are doing way more for the club. Don’t forget Joey left Newcastle to chase a media role.

At the end of the day, this is surely an issue for the Knights, the Newcastle council and any people interested enough to support the cost of a statue, assuming the various permissions are granted. I for one will probably never see it, assuming it's erected, not living within cooee of Newcastle, but equally, I don't need this to remember many of his great moments either. I've also never seen Wally's statue either, but can remember a lot of times he put a hurting on my Blues!

Number one topic? I literally only knew about it when I jumped on here and judging by the low numbers the campaign is getting, I doubt it's generating much traction elsewhere. A great player, probably second only to Cameron Smith. Not sure why he hasn't already got one there?

I’m not sure this is the number one topic of the off season . I think the Latrell Mitchell saga out clicks it considerably, but I digress . I can’t see the issue here , Johns is an immortal, and he liked a party. No one ever says “The Beatles were great , but hang on they were on the gear “, and I think that could be said about the majority of entertainers over the years. It’s up to the people of Newcastle if they want another place for birds to rest , have a quiet moment and poop.

Adrian, While I appreciate your passion, from all your Knights stories I've read, I doubt very much this has been the number one topic this off season. In fact, I don't think too many people in the area would even be aware of the idea of a statue of Joey Johns at "Marathon ". I noticed in Joe's story that the Facebook page raised to gain supporters, has only 1100 members, or is it likes, and a petition (change.org ?) has 1500 signatures. From memory, I think the Knights have a membership base of about 24,000 and the population of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, combined, is around 655,000, so why aren't all these people lending support? That's not including the population of the lower and upper Hunter. Are they unaware, unsupportive or just don't care. Having lived in the area for more years than I care to mention, I'd say most people are simply not in favour and couldn't give a toss about a statue. It speaks volumes that 24,000 Knights members wouldn't be more supportive. Perhaps Novacastrians just aren't into the statue idea or by some slim chance, they're not enamoured with honouring someone with a tainted reputation around town. There's no doubt he was a brilliant player , but his off field antics are still very fresh in the minds of people around here. Perhaps further down the track, but I'll be honest and say, while I think he was a brilliant player, personally, I've never recognised him as a true champion because of his lack of character. No stature, no statue - that's how I look at it. If there was ever to be a statue, it could only be The Chief. He WAS the Newcastle Knights. I'm not a Knights fan anymore, haven't been for years, but I hope you have better luck with them next season. Cheers.

Marathon still make chiko rolls ? Ahhhhhhhh Chiko mmmmmmmmmm