By Chris Lord
September 11 2005

Andrew Johns wants to help Warrington secure a home tie in the engage Super League play-offs to sample more of the fevered atmosphere that greeted his dream debut.

The Kangaroo legend enjoyed a fairytale start to his cameo English career by steering the Wolves to a precious 33-16 win over reigning champions Leeds in front of a passionate capacity crowd at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Victory over Hull in the last match of the regular season at the KC Stadium next Friday would give the Wolves home advantage in the first round of the play-offs and ensure another rapturous welcome for the 31-year-old Johns.

Johns said: "14,000 here sounds like 60,000 at home. I had to go over to Lee Briers in the warm-up to ask what they were yelling out.

“I got a great kick out of the crowd chanting my name. It's the first time I've had that stuff.

“It's a different crowd to what we get at home. Back home, they just sit and watch but here there's constant noise and singing. It's just a great atmosphere and a pleasure playing here.

“I just hope we get a home semi and we can do it all again in a fortnight."

Johns, thought to be on £10,000 a match for his short-term stint in Super League, played the full 80 minutes just four days after stepping off a plane from Sydney.

He single-handedly created a try for second rower Logan Swann and had a hand in two of his side's four others, in addition to kicking six goals from seven attempts and landing a 35-metre drop goal.

It was as if Johns had been with the Wolves all season and that was down to the meticulous preparation he undertook via email and long-distance telephone calls to coach Paul Cullen.
"A lot of hard work has gone in behind the scenes," he said. "Paul sent a lot of tapes over with information about the moves.

"It hasn't sunk in, it's been that quick a week. It is hard to adjust to the time frame but everyone has welcomed us with open arms. I can't believe how well we've been treated. It was a nice way to finish the week off."

Johns, who has 18 caps and was a member of the Kangaroos' 1995 and 2000 World Cup-winning teams, rated Saturday night's clash with the Rhinos alongside the bulk of the 225 appearances he has made for Newcastle Knights in Australia's National Rugby League.

"It's faster at times than the NRL," he said. "It's so open and something is on at every play-the-ball, you're never comfortable. That was a harder than a lot of NRL games I've played this year."

Meanwhile, Johns paid tribute to Warrington's fellow Australian Nathan Wood, who lost his scrum-half spot to the newcomer.

The veteran Wood, man of the match in the Wolves' win over Salford a week earlier, was switched to hooker and appointed captain for his last home engage Super League match and, fittingly, scored the final try.

"He was playing my position but he's been great," said Johns. "We spoke every week on the phone. There was a bit of a backlash back home but he reassured me there was no bitterness on his part, which was great to hear.

"From the first week, he seems like the glue that holds the club together. He's a great leader and scoring the last try was a great way to go. I'm really happy for him."