I don't know where you pulled that little assessment of Joey from. True counter attack in league would be lucky to happen 3 or 4 times a match. Where Johns is dangerous is when he has the ball in his hand.....full stop. However he is particularly good at directing sustained attacks inside the opposition 20. Rush up on him and he'll go himself or put someone into a hole behind the staggered line. Basically we need a solid line in defence and need to work at getting off our line as one and put pressure on his ball runners. He loves hitting Simpson close to the line. His kicking game is so varied that it is difficult to shut down, but Stewy and the wingers need to work hard when they are pressing our line. Good communication is the key. He loves the run right kick back left across the goal posts play. They are bound to score a try or two from his kicks, that's just life. Problem is you also need to keep an eye on Buderus at dummy half.
I'v watched Newcastles last three games and Johns has been good in patches, but they have tended to switch off once they have got to a good lead against Souths and Easts. They fought tough against Cronulla depsite copping some dubious penalties and also spilling a lot of pill inside their own half.
Every coach knows that the secret to shutting down Newcastle is to control Johns, many have tried many have failed. Let's face it he'll have a big influence on the outcome, we just need to concentrate on not giving them more opportunities than they deserve through poor ball control and stupid penalties. If it is a tight game he becomes their only go to man and sometimes he does feel an inkling of pressure, and he can get frustrated that his minions aren't up to his skill level or don't share his vision on some plays.
If we can win this one I'll be more bouyant about our semi final aspirations, if we lose I won't be slitting my wrists unless of course we cop a flogging.
