League: Johns cleared to play for Warrington

The Australian Rugby League has granted Newcastle captain Andrew Johns a clearance to play for English Super League club Warrington next month, but he must still be available to face the Kiwis.

Johns' management has formally withdrawn its request for the No 7 to be exempt from Kangaroos selection for the Tri-Nations test against New Zealand at Sydney on October 16.

It is the same day the English Super League grand final is played at Old Trafford. Warrington are currently equal third on the Super League table.

"We hope that Andrew has a successful stint in England and we recognise that this is something he has always wanted to do from a career viewpoint," ARL chairman Colin Love said.

"Over the past decade he has given great service to league at all levels and he has worn the Kangaroos jersey with great distinction.

"There is no doubt that his appearance in England will assist the promotion of the game there, but we also need to remember the importance the ARL places in the test at Telstra Stadium.

"It may well be that there is no conflict at all and I appreciate Andrew taking his time in considering the matter."

Johns' deal with Warrington will be formally announced during a satellite press conference today.

After the NRL regular season with Newcastle, Johns is expected to make his English debut against Leeds on September 11.

Former Australian captain Gorden Tallis had earlier said that giving Johns a clearance would "cheapen" the Australian jersey.

"It's hard, I'm one of those blokes who loves watching him play, but you can't pick and choose, you can't cheapen an Australian jersey," Tallis, now an NRL director, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"You can't treat the Australian jersey, the Queensland jersey . . . like club jerseys.

"You see the Kiwis do it every year when they play club games [in England] instead of tests.

"[They're] giving up the Kiwis jersey to play Origin . . . we don't want people doing thatto Australian jerseys.

"If you do it for him, you have to do it for everybody."