Matthew Johns advising rugby league bad boy and Wests Tigers

[Aladinsane]

Matthew Johns advising rugby league bad boy and Wests Tigers recruit Arana Taumata
By Josh Massoud From: The Daily Telegraph November 27, 2009 12:00AM

MATTY Johns hasn't been lost to rugby league. Not yet. Not while Arana Taumata repents.

Johns is out of the spotlight, the plug pulled on his coaching and media commitments. But a flicker of the larrikin who swallowed a coaching manual persists. And it will glow brighter when Taumata emerges from his own exile next season.

If you've heard of Arana Taumata, then he's the bad egg who's had as many clubs as NRL starts.

Taumata grabbed his latest lifeline from Wests Tigers last month after being tossed overboard at the Broncos, Roosters, Bulldogs and Storm. That makes him the first 20-year-old to own the dreaded journeyman tag. It's arrived this early because Taumata has been bad. So bad he recently completed community service at a Salvation Army op shop.

Equally, he's notoriously good. Damn good. If the Kiwi playmaker weren't a superstar-in-the-making, why have so many clubs been tempted into taming him?

Melbourne were confident this time last year. Coach Craig Bellamy and assistant Stephen Kearney kept him under a close watch. And with a banker in Johns, who worked one-on-one with Taumata as halves coach, the risk-reward ratio looked promising.

It took one night's play to bring their hard work undone. It was a familiar story. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong people. Some were Taumata's new teammates. He obeyed the unwritten code. It wasn't his fight, but he took one for the team nonetheless.

Recognising the circumstances weren't black and white, Melbourne responded with a brick and a bouquet. They sacked him, but also stood by him. He was deregistered by the NRL, but the club arranged professional counselling with a view to bringing Taumata back in 2010. The Tigers eventually snuck under their guard, but the preservation of Taumata's relationship with Johns was perhaps his real saviour.

Little did either know how close they'd become. Johns' public humiliation in May also severed him from rugby league. Like Taumata, he was cut off from his life's true calling. The two castaways rode out their purgatory over the phone and at Johns' dinner table, which Taumata regularly visits for family meals.

"I spoke to Matty a lot," Taumata says.

"And he still kept in contact when he was going through a rough patch.

"Matty was probably more devastated than me - but in a different way. We talk about our situations a lot. For Matty ... it was really hard on his family.

"It wasn't just Matty who helped, it was his family and my agent Sam (Ayoub). I'm not sure our talks helped - I hope they did."

We approached Johns to find out. He doesn't covet publicity these days. But for Taumata, he elects to speak up.

"AJ has had his issues in the past - as have a lot of us," Johns says.

"Regardless of his talents as a footballer, he's got a lot of good in him as a person.

"I love having him around to the house, as does (wife) Trish and the kids. My advice to him has always been: 'Your environment is stronger than your will'."

Translation: surround yourself with good people. People like the Johns family and Tigers skipper Robbie Farah. That's Taumata's mantra these days.

His woes began when clubs housed him with adult players as a 15-year-old. He wanted to impress them, which meant visits to the TAB and pub most afternoons.

" What Matty went through is a great lesson for me," Taumata says.

"He paid for something that happened seven years earlier. If you do the wrong thing, it can always come back and get you."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

This article reminds me of when I take my Blind mate to the footy after I have had a full day on the sauce ,watching the 3 grades.....The Blind leading the Blind

[IronTiger]

A great story, hopefully being at the Tigers will turn his life around. As for the blind leading the blind I for one have always had a great deal of respect for Johns. The way the press ostracised him was disgraceful, I would love to have him at the tiges in a coaching/mentroing capacity.

[Chadman's Ghost]

Agreed IronTiger- Matt Johns took the whole beating on the 'scandal', with very little damage to any other player involved. He lost his current job, and most opportunity for any future work in the field of his choice, due to an incident that while, in some circles, is considered immoral, was never turned into a criminal case.

Matt Johns still has a lot to offer the game.

It's amazing the double standards for the Johns brothers though- Andrew gets busted for drugs, and Channel 9 has him on the football coverage team. Matt gets sprung having a 'group bonding' session, and gets punted.

[alex]

Gives you lots of hope for 2010 and seems like Taumata wants to do his best to get his footy on track.

The article was horribly written though hahah.

[IronTiger]

Gives you lots of hope for 2010 and seems like Taumata wants to do his best to get his footy on track.

The article was horribly written though hahah.

Well that’s Massoud for you though. Actually the majority of the Telegraph's sport's, I won't call it journalism as that implies research and fact finding, so lets say putting together of words to form the semblance of a coherent sentence, is woeful.

[smeghead]

I think writing in jingoisms is the preffered method of writing from Rothfool and co.

[crouching_tiger]

This article reminds me of when I take my Blind mate to the footy after I have had a full day on the sauce ,watching the 3 grades.....The Blind leading the Blind

Your mate has exceptional perception even without his sight. Although he can not see the game, he always knows what is exactly happening on the field, off the field, the score, the commentary and absolutely everything going on around him. It's amazing!!
I think he will enjoy NOT watching Taumata run around next season!!

[AmericanHistoryX]

talking about tuamata is like walking on egg shells.

[Tiger_Al]

It may be blind leading the blind... But 1 does have a great deal of hindsight

[Buckets of blood]

Just hope he can stay out of trouble, he will be great for us if he can.

[Kul]

Agreed IronTiger- Matt Johns took the whole beating on the 'scandal', with very little damage to any other player involved. He lost his current job, and most opportunity for any future work in the field of his choice, due to an incident that while, in some circles, is considered immoral, was never turned into a criminal case.

Matt Johns still has a lot to offer the game.

It's amazing the double standards for the Johns brothers though- Andrew gets busted for drugs, and Channel 9 has him on the football coverage team. Matt gets sprung having a 'group bonding' session, and gets punted.

c'mon, 1 ecstasy pill is a little different to "pack rape"

I seem to remember Sailor getting on the bags, yet the media doesn't even mention that these days. Instead they are running polls on "should sailor stay one more year?"

[AmericanHistoryX]

yeh, but Kul, people change. Lets hope taumata can. hang in there brother. we aint dead yet.

[Geo.]

Recognising the circumstances weren't black and white, Melbourne responded with a brick and a bouquet. They sacked him, but also stood by him. He was deregistered by the NRL, but the club arranged professional counselling with a view to bringing Taumata back in 2010. The Tigers eventually snuck under their guard, but the preservation of Taumata's relationship with Johns was perhaps his real saviour.

What's this Wests Tigers getting a player another club wanted........

Matty Johns on board...parhaps he can have a little chat in Benji and Moltzen's ear while he's about....

[westTAHger]

this will no doubt be his last chance at playing in NRL.
be suprised if he does muck it up.
hopefully Matty Johns visits him alot during season 2010 and coaching staff invite him to stay.

[willow]

I hope Taumata does turn it around. He's got plenty of talent but that only takes you so far. Staying out of trouble isn't hard, it just requires a bit of commonsense and maturity so hopefully he has learned from his past mistakes and puts his best foot forward from now on.

[magpiecol]

Agreed IronTiger- Matt Johns took the whole beating on the 'scandal', with very little damage to any other player involved. He lost his current job, and most opportunity for any future work in the field of his choice, due to an incident that while, in some circles, is considered immoral, was never turned into a criminal case.

Matt Johns still has a lot to offer the game.

It's amazing the double standards for the Johns brothers though- Andrew gets busted for drugs, and Channel 9 has him on the football coverage team. Matt gets sprung having a 'group bonding' session, and gets punted.

c'mon, 1 ecstasy pill is a little different to "pack rape"

I seem to remember Sailor getting on the bags, yet the media doesn't even mention that these days. Instead they are running polls on "should sailor stay one more year?"

"Pack rape"? Ease up sport. No charges were laid and no criminal actions were discovered. As for the moral angle, you know what they say about throwing the first stone.