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Opinion
In the grand scheme of things, Andrew Johns not showing up for a radio spot with his brother is not the most newsworthy of events.
The fact that he and Matty are feuding again is grist for the mill of the 24/7 NRL news cycle and hopefully not too far down the track, he’s able to look back at it and laugh about how melodramatic he’s been.
The eighth Immortal has been open about his battles with mental health in the past so none of us should jump to conclusions about his current stand-off with his brother.
As he often does, Matty has tried to downplay the drama with humour by saying “it’s official – my brother is completely off me” and that it’s happened several times before dating back to when they shared a bedroom as boys in Cessnock.
And with Joey refusing to return to SEN anytime soon, the issue will probably linger in the background until the inevitable smoking of the peace pipe between the Knights legends.
Matthew and Andrew Johns with Blues selector Greg Alexander at a training session in 2018. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
What sparked the rift was Matty talking up the intricacies of Billy Slater’s Origin coaching efforts and Joey, a member of the Blues staff, getting shirty about it.
“I’m sick of you rapping Queensland, that’s what I’m sick of. You’re blowing smoke up their backsides, I couldn’t care less about Queensland. They’re the enemy. We grew up hating them, we grew up watching ‘The King’ (Wally Lewis) absolutely kill us.”
And that’s the kind of passion that appears to be missing from this current crop of NSW players.
The Johns brothers grew up in the 1980s glued to their TVs on a Wednesday night as the star-studded Blues were frequently taken down by Lewis and his gang of great mates, who were also teammates, who had a win-at-all-costs attitude the moment they got a glimpse of a sky-blue jersey.
For Andrew in particular, he translated that childhood fervour into not only great deeds on the Origin arena but he brought passion into each of his 23 games for the Blues, particularly at the end of his career.
In his final series before a neck injury prematurely ended his career, Johns answered the call after playing just one game in six weeks due to a broken jaw with NSW 1-0 down in the series and delivered one of the greatest individual performances in Origin history to inspire a 32-22 victory and the Blues went on to win the decider 32-10.
Andrew Johns celebrates a try with teammates during Origin II in 2005. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Brad Fittler, there’s no Joey Johns coming in to help his team overturn their current deficit after the 26-18 loss in Adelaide.
NSW in recent years, even when successful, have given off the air of a junior representative team assembled for a carnival gala day – a collection of talent who are doing their best but are separate parts making up a team rather than the Maroons who come across as a team trying to separate the parts of the opposition.
Like the Johns boys, these Blues players when they were kids should have been left bemused and perhaps shed a few juvenile tears when they were allowed to stay up to watch Origin a school night only to see Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Darren Lockyer, Slater and co peel off eight straight series victories, drop one, and then win another three on the trot.
Those memories should be a motivating factor for this generation.
The Blues used to be hampered by a disconnect between the Indigenous players and NSW but that is no longer the case, and the whispers suggesting Latrell Mitchell is not committed to the cause is hogwash.
He’s torn a calf muscle at an inopportune time and can’t play. Simple as that.
There were many reasons why the selection of Tevita Pangai jnr for Origin I in Adelaide was blatantly wrong or, at the very least, risky but one of the biggest red flags was the fact that he had declared he grew up supporting Queensland.
This wasn’t a throwaway line as a young player that came back to haunt him. In multiple interviews he had spoken about Sam Thaiday, Justin Hodges and Greg Inglis being his favourite players, how he’d asked his parents if they could move north from Newcastle so he could qualify for the Maroons and that Queensland coach Kevin Walters should contact him in 2019 if he needed someone to help out at training.
Tevita Pangai jnr. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
First of all, a young Queensland player would never say such things about NSW and secondly, their selectors would put a permanent thick maroon line through their name if they dared utter such Sunshine State sacrilege.
It’s interesting to note that from last year’s Origin squads, eight of the 11 NSW squad members with dual eligibility went on to represent other nations at the World Cup – Brian To’o, Kotoni Staggs, Daniel Tupou, Api Koroisau, Junior Paulo, Siosifa Talakai, Stephen Crichton and Joseph Suaalii. Payne Haas, Tariq Sims and Jacob Saifiti withdrew from World Cup selection.
On the Maroons side of the ledger, Valentine Holmes, Murray Taulagi, Jeremiah Nanai and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui pledged their allegiance to the Kangaroos with Felise Kaufusi and Josh Papalii electing to represent their Pacific heritage nations.
Some were probably not going to make the Kangaroos team anyway but most of the players made the call before Australia finalised their squad.
It may be a coincidence but this seems to indicate the Queenslanders with dual eligibility have a greater connection with Australia through their state.
Whether they win or lose in Origin II on Wednesday at Suncorp Stadium, the Blues need to show how much the result means to them.
It might even get Joey talking to his brother again.