- Mitchell Woods surprised Andrew Johns
- Young man sprayed water on his pants
- Johns was speechless.
In scenes rarely seen by football fans, Andrew Johns was left speechless on Thursday night after being stunned by a pre-match act by an Origin youngster.
NSW Blues star Mitchell Woods is seen as one of the game’s best young talents, and Johns was singing the halfback’s praises before kick-off at Leichhardt Oval.
“The young New South Wales running back, Mitchell Woods, I’ve seen in youth football, he’s an absolute weapon,” Johns began.
“I saw him on the way to NSW, where Freddy (former NSW coach Brad Fittler) would get different players in his positions. He was an absolute standout. You could see it in training.”
However, when Johns turned his attention to his Queensland counterpart, Coby Black, he was drawn to Woods’ strange behaviour.
Mitchell Woods was seen spraying water on his pants Thursday night.
In a strange turn of events, the Blues’ gun sprayed water down his pants.
“I don’t know what Mitchell Woods is doing there; just cooling off a little bit,” Johns laughed with his Channel 9 co-commentators.
Next, Johns described Woods as an “electric, top-speed, tough-as-they-come runner.”
Football expert and Canterbury head of football Phil Gould said he had earmarked Woods as “a long-term back”.
“Yeah, well, we’ve hired him for four years,” Gould said.
‘We have invested in it. He’s still in school, he’s only 18, at least he has one more year left at this level. And we are going to be very patient with his development.
‘He will tell us when he is ready to advance to higher grades. But he will be playing a bit of Jersey Flegg football later this year, maybe it will get him a NSW Cup. And he will be training full time starting next year, he will be in our top 30 next season.”
The strange move left football legend and immortal Andrew Johns stunned.
Woods has been working with the Bulldogs since last year, after turning down offers from rival codes to commit to rugby league.
He was at the Sydney Swans Academy and was named 2022 Under-16 All-Australian.
Woods helped guide NSW to a third straight Origin victory on Thursday as the Blues defeated Queensland 14-10.
