Andrew Johns has still never seen one of the greatest grand finals of all time, thanks to an infamous airport incident that saw him punted from Nine's coverage.
Johns would have been part of the Cowboys vs Broncos 2015 grand final broadcast had it not been for an untimely conversation and nap at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport two night before.
Joey had been at a grand final lunch in the Queensland town on the Friday and was dropped back at the airport afterwards for a return flight to Sydney; a 7pm flight that was delayed by three hours.
He was accused of being intoxicated and making lewd comments to a woman, before seeking out a pillow and falling asleep on the ground next to a pair of garbage bins.
Johns apologised for his behaviour but still felt the need to skip the country.
"You know, JT, I've never seen that grand final, because the day before was the infamous nigh-nighs at Toowoomba airport," Johns told Cowboys grand final hero Johnathan Thurston on Story Time.
"I didn't know who won it until ... as soon as they (Nine) stood me down, I went straight on the phone, I landed in Hawaii at about 9.30 Australian time that night.
"Got straight on the phone and went, 'Oh, the Cowboys won, how good's that? Beauty'."
Paul Vautin asked: "So you fled the country?"
Johns: "Yeah, wouldn't be the first time either, Fatty. Christopher Skase!"
Johns admitted that he had missed out by being dropped for the broadcast. Michael Morgan laid on a last-gasp try for Kyle Feldt in the corner, tying the game at 16-16 and leaving Thurston with a sideline conversion to win it for North Queensland after the siren.
"You know what, I would have loved to have been commentating to talk through that goal right on full-time," Johns said.
"It would have been so good to talk about that kick and where you were aiming and what you'd be thinking. Unfortunately, someone went nigh-nighs in Toowoomba."
Thurston hit the post with his conversion attempt, letting out a scream of agony. But he still had the last laugh at ANZ Stadium.
Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt dropped the kick-off in golden point extra time, allowing Thurston to slot a field goal in the ensuing Cowboys set for a historic 17-16 win.
It was the Cowboys' first premiership, Brisbane's first grand final defeat, the first grand final decided by golden point and Wayne Bennett's first grand final loss as a solo head coach.
JT claimed the Clive Churchill Medal and there is a statue of his field goal kick outside North Queensland's new stadium in Townsville.
It was Thurston's second premiership, following the 2004 Bulldogs grand final win, bringing him level with the two titles that Johns won with the Newcastle Knights.
Thurston just pipped Johns in a fan vote which named the best player of the NRL era, on Nine's show The Greatest.
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/andrew-johns-2015-grand-final-airport-nap-johnathan-thurston/a4373d35-e9bc-4213-8375-1a9bc2956e76
0 Comments