League: Johns thrilled to play for Kiwis

Australian star Andrew Johns will swap his Newcastle Knights jersey for a Kiwi one in 2007. File Picture

Newcastle Knights captain Andrew Johns will play for the Kiwis on the 2007 tour of England.

Johns has accepted the New Zealand Rugby League's offer to be the updated version of "Dally M" on the 12-game trip that will recreate the first professional tour by the New Zealand All Golds in 1907-08 organised by Albert Baskiville.

After failing to reach agreement with the rugby union management over player payment from gate-takings, Baskiville raided rugby's ranks to form a team to play the new professional game that had taken off in the north of England.

Included was perhaps New Zealand's greatest athlete, George Smith, who was a champion jockey and winner of the New Zealand Cup on Impulse, as well as being a long-term national sprint and hurdles champion and an All Black.

On their way to England the All Golds played three games against New South Wales, under rugby union rules, primarily to raise more money for the trip.

The NSW side lost all three but the Kiwis were so impressed with halfback Dally Messenger they asked him to join the tour.

He scored 146 points on the 37 games in England - 101 more than the next best - then returned to Sydney and took Easts to three consecutive premiership titles.

He later captained Australia and by the time he finished playing, was nicknamed "The Master".

Johns was overwhelmed when the offer was put to him. NZRL president Selwyn Pearson had suggested the Kiwi tour party, who would play clubs the All Golds played and take one top-notch Australian with them in the role of Dally Messenger.

Former Kiwi player and selector Daryl Halligan was working with the Knights on kicking and mentioned this to Johns, who told Halligan he was interested.

Pearson made the offer official and Johns accepted yesterday.

"Isn't that wonderful," Pearson said.

"I threw his name out as a bit of a tickler - the crowds are going to love it. They'll get a taste of what he's like this year with Warrington and then it will be wonderful to have him back as a New Zealand selection in 2007."

The All Golds played clubs including Leeds, St Helens, Wigan, Huddersfield, Wakefield Trinity, Widnes, Salford, Hull and Bradford, and so will the Kiwis, though the itinerary is yet to be settled.

The Johns arrangement became a possibility once he re-signed with the Newcastle Knights through to 2007, when he will be 33.

He had announced that he would retire from representative football at the end of next year's State of Origin series, but will now go on to the end-of-2007 Kiwis' tour.

"To think that 100 years after rugby league's first international tour, they would pick me to fill such a historic role is absolutely incredible," he said yesterday.

Messenger's real name was Herbert Henry Messenger. He got the nickname "Dally" because as a child he looked like the then-Premier of NSW, William Bede Dalley. The "e" was subsequently dropped but the name stuck.

* Meanwhile, the NZRL will continue to seek an independent assessment of player injuries during the Tri-Nations selection process and NRL boss David Gallop has agreed to take a proposal to clubs at the next chief executives' meeting.

The suggestion is that a decision to rule a player out of the series will be vetted by a second doctor to confirm the diagnosis, the need for surgery and its timing and the length of the rehabilitation process.

The NZRL has asked the Cronulla Sharks' long-serving doctor, Peter Malouf, to fulfil such a role should it become a reality. He is experienced with footballers and the league feels the code of ethics between doctors will overcome any "games".

Gallop told Pearson he could see no problem with the idea provided the independent doctor could not overrule the club doctor.

"It would dispel any suggestion of games being played," Pearson said.

There are suggestions from the Bulldogs that Sonny Bill Williams, Matt Utai, Jamaal Lolesi and Roy Asotasi may all require end-of-season surgery or rehab for long-term injuries and will not be available for the Kiwis.

Wests Tigers have suggested Benji Marshall will need further repair of a bad shoulder.

* Newcastle Knights centre George Carmont will not make the trip back to his hometown of South Auckland for tomorrow's match against the Warriors, after suffering a groin strain.

Jarrod Mullen has been added to the Knights' squad for the game, with the centre replacement to be confirmed.