Fed-up Johns says he doesn't need
a pep talk

An irritated Andrew Johns has virtually dared NSW selectors not to pick him for game one of this year's much-hyped State of Origin rugby league series.

As NSW coach Phil Gould gathered his extended 25-man squad for what amounted to a crisis meeting in Sydney yesterday, Johns says he didn't know what all the fuss is about. Gould says he's concerned at the lack of form of his NSW hopefuls and even publicly criticised Johns' football earlier in the season.

But the Newcastle, NSW and Australian captain says he couldn't care less if Blues selectors don't pick him for game one against Queensland at Suncorp Stadium on June 11. Johns says he and his fellow NSW squad don't need a pep talk three weeks out from the start of the 2003 series.