NRL great Andrew Johns says there is nothing wrong at Souths – despite coaching turmoil, video session argument between players and Cody Walker reportedly walking out on training: ‘That happens all the time’
NRL great Andrew Johns says nothing is going on at Souths – despite coaching turmoil, video session spat between players and Cody Walker reportedly leaving training: ‘That happens all the time’
- Andrew Johns believes Rabbitohs are on the same wavelength
- It seems they are in full turmoil with the NRL finals approaching
- Johns said disagreements between players are common in the NRL
- Comes after club great Sam Burgess was sacked this week
NRL Immortal Andrew Johns has dismissed claims that the Rabbitohs are a club in crisis – despite a coach being sacked in club legend Sam Burgess, player tension during video sessions and five-eighth Cody Walker reportedly storming out of a training session.
Speaking about the wide world of sports’ immortal behavior, Johns instead felt it was a case of competitive instincts.
“It gets heated all the time (in that professional environment),” Johns said.
‘In training there is pushing and shoving, in video sessions there are tense words.
“There is talk of Cam Murray and Latrell (Mitchell) having words — and then? They have words in team meetings… and what happens in team meetings should never leave the room.”
NRL Immortal Andrew Johns has rejected claims that the Rabbitohs are currently an NRL club in crisis
Latrell Mitchell’s attitude has been an ongoing topic of conversation this season as South Sydney look to play football in the final
Johns also failed to understand Walker becoming frustrated in practice – revealing that during his playing days he would often storm away from fielding sessions with the Knights when he felt standards had dropped.
“For ballplayers who are emotional like Cody, it’s normal,” he said.
“There were times when I would walk off the field if I was worried about something, or if something wasn’t working, I would storm off the field.
“Of course I’m a diva…but Cody’s the same kind of player, he likes things done a certain way.
“There were times (at Newcastle) when I didn’t agree with what we were doing, or there wasn’t any play, or players weren’t doing what I wanted them to do, and I just stormed out.
Five-eighth Cody Walker is under the microscope after reportedly storming out of a training session
Rabbitohs legend Sam Burgess was relieved of his role as assistant coach this week
“They were all used to it. They were like ‘here he goes, there goes the diva’.
‘Danny Buderus or Mark Hughes would come and put an arm around me and say ‘come on mate’.
‘The (South) players are competitive, they want to win constantly. “I’d be worried if they were the other way.”
NRL ladder leaders after round 11, the form of Jason Demetriou’s side has dropped alarmingly lately.
They need to beat arch-rivals Sydney Roosters next week to finish in the NRL top eight – and will have to do without star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who was cited for a late hit on Knights backrower Tyson Frizell.