Matthew Johns

Matthew Johns

Personal information
Nickname	Matty
Born	(1971-07-27) 27 July 1971 (age 45) Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Position	Five-eighth
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1992–00 Newcastle Knights 176 22 0 9 97 2001 Wigan Warriors 24 3 0 1 13 2002 Cronulla Sharks 21 8 0 0 32 Total 221 33 0 10 142 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1996 Country NSW 1 0 0 0 0 1995–98 New South Wales 4 0 0 0 0 1995–99 Australia 9 2 0 0 8
Source:

Matthew Johns (born 27 July 1971 in Cessnock, New South Wales) is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative five-eighth, Johns played his club football primarily with the Newcastle Knights, alongside his younger brother, Andrew Johns. Since March 2011, Johns has been a co-host on the Triple M Sydney breakfast show called The Grill Team with Mark Geyer. Since 2012, Johns has been a part of the Fox Sports NRL coverage. He also had his own show for one season, The Matty Johns Show.

Johns is the eldest son of coal miner and country rugby league player Gary Johns and his wife Gayle. After playing junior rugby league in Cessnock, he joined the Newcastle Knights in 1991.

He played as five-eighth for the Knights, playing outside his younger brother Andrew Johns at halfback for nine seasons. Johns was part of the Australian squad that won the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, and went on to play eight matches for his country. He also played four State of Origin series matches for New South Wales. Another highlight of his career with the Knights was the 1997 Australian Rugby League grand final victory over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Johns was selected for the Australian team to compete in the end of season 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against New Zealand he played at five-eighth and scored a try in the Kangaroos' 22-20 victory.