Andrew Gary Johns[3] (born 19 May 1974), also known by the nickname Joey, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s.

Johns also represented his country at two World Cups, and on one Kangaroo tour, playing in total 21 Test matches for the national side.

The following year in the last pre-season trial for the 1994 season, Matthew Rodwell, Newcastle's then-regular halfback sustained a knee injury handing Johns his opportunity.

He played as a hooker and was named man of the match in the decider against England at Wembley Stadium as Australia once again retained the World Cup.

The following year Johns was moved to hooker for the State of Origin, with New South Wales selectors favouring Geoff Toovey in the halfback role.

[citation needed] Since then, Johns was regularly chosen for state and national representative sides when fit, only missing out on a Blues or Australian cap due to injury.

During the 1997 ARL season Johns played a pivotal role in guiding the Knights to their first grand final appearance—against defending champions and '97 minor premiers the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

There were grave concerns leading up to the match that Johns would be unable to play the game, as he had suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung only a fortnight earlier.

He went out of position unexpectedly and into dummy half where he ran down a narrow blind side before slipping a pass to Newcastle wing Darren Albert for the match-winning try.

Despite initial concerns regarding the leadership of the Knights after the retirement of Paul Harragon, and even more when Andrew's brother Matthew joined English Super League club the Wigan Warriors, Johns was given the responsibility of captaining the Newcastle squad.

He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match in a Grand Final and at the end of the 2001 NRL season, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour.

He was the top points scorer in Australia's successful Ashes series campaign and was named man of the match for the second Test.

[12] Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against Super League champions the Bradford Bulls.

At a club level Andrew Johns and the Newcastle Knights performed well, narrowly missing out on the minor premiership on points difference.

[15] As Game 2 of the 2005 State of Origin series approached, the Blues were down 0–1 and Johns was selected to replace Brett Kimmorley in the New South Wales squad.

On the Thursday after the Canberra match, a tackle with Newcastle teammate Adam Woolnough in a training session resulted in his referral to a specialist to examine a neck injury.

Despite this, Johns made his professional cricket debut for NSW on 7 January 2007 against South Australia in front of a record crowd at Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground.

He had a missed opportunity to take a wicket: a short-pitched delivery was pulled to the boundary but much to the dismay of the large Newcastle crowd, the catch was put down.

On 22 April in Round 6 of 2007, Newcastle held special farewell celebrations for Andrew Johns in the Knights' home game against Brisbane.

In the same time frame Johns worked with his old club the Newcastle Knights in a similar skills specific coaching role.

[27][28] In early November 2012, Johns signed on as assistant coach of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles for the 2013 Rugby League season, mentoring and ambassadorial roles.

Johns initially claimed that an unknown person had pushed the tablet into his pocket which he later forgot to remove before leaving the crowded venue.

He claimed he had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and the drugs helped him in dealing with the high level of psychological 'pressure' associated with his career as an elite sportsman.

Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision.

[14] In June 2010, during the lead-up to Origin II, New South Wales centre Timana Tahu withdrew mid-week from the NSW squad following reports Johns referred to Queensland player Greg Inglis as a "black c*nt" during a training session.

Johns passed information from Tom Waterhouse that horse More Joyous was "off" on to brothel owner Eddie Hayson and former jockey Allan Robinson.

[37] On 28 September 2023, it was announced that Johns would be stepping down from his role within the New South Wales coaching staff after the NSWRL board informed him his contract would not be renewed after another series loss.

[39] Johns lost his driver licence after suffering an epileptic seizure at a cafe in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast in December 2018.