True Blue Andrew Johns has said he has “full confidence” in the doctors treating him but it might take another couple of weeks until he knows the reason behind his recent health scare which is reportedly a form of epilepsy.
Johns was amongst the 200 guests who attended the opening of the NSWRL’s Centre of Excellence at Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday and was humbled by the move to have a meeting room named after him inside the state-of-the-art building.
“I’ve got full confidence in the doctors,” Johns said.
“I’m having more scans in Melbourne in a couple of weeks so hopefully I’ll get some answers.”
The former champion halfback and Rugby League Immortal first revealed in December that he had been battling seizures after he collapsed in a coffee shop during a family holiday at Yamba on the NSW north coast.
He told Channel Nine on Tuesday he had suffered another seizure while on holidays in New Zealand with his partner where he blacked out for 45 seconds.
“I wouldn’t say (I’m) scared, it just carries a bit of anxiety over the unknown,” Johns said.
“I’m trying to do everything right so once I know more from the specialist then we can move forward and understand what’s triggering these episodes and how I can manage it.”
Johns, a two-time premiership winner, played 23 games for his state and famously returned from injury when the Blues were 1-0 down in the 2005 State of Origin series to mastermind an unlikely victory. It was the last time NSW won a series before a long run of outs.
Brydens Lawyers NSW coach Brad Fittler included Johns on his support staff during the 2018 series which saw the Blues wrap things up after only two games to end a four-year drought.
He admitted he would love to be involved again for this year’s series and thought the newly-opened Centre of Excellence could give every NSW representative team an edge over Queensland.
“I think so, I haven’t spoken to Freddy about that too much, but hopefully,” Johns said.
“I really enjoyed it last year and they’re a really good bunch of young guys so moving forward hopefully it’s a golden era for NSW.
“We’ve got those 17 that played but I think there’s another 10 or 20 guys on the edge who are going to push those guys.
“With this facility and the development with what they’re doing, and the juniors for NSW we can only be stronger.
“It gives us an edge in preparation and also recovery. There’s no excuses, it can make every player male or female the best they can be if they’re fair dinkum.”
