Warrington

IT may not have worked out in quite the fashion Wolves had wanted but the eyes of the world have certainly been on Warrington during Andrew Johns' period at the club.

Such is Johns' star quality that wherever he goes he attracts attention, and his spell in England has been no different.

Media requests have rained in left, right and centre for the man known to many simply as 'Joey', with appearances on such shows as A Question of Sport and Soccer AM's All Sports Show rare occurrences for players plying their trade with Warrington.

It has done wonders for the profile of the club, but the ultimate status boost eluded them as their play-off campaign ended almost before it had begun.

Grand Final glory seemed to be written in the stars for Wolves as they brought in the world's best player, who by a bizarre coincidence happened to have been born just eight days after Warrington lifted their last major trophy - the Challenge Cup win against Featherstone in May 1974.

And his debut against Leeds did nothing but heighten belief that anything was possible.

Indeed, his first touch of the ball - a high, looping kick-off - forced Rob Burrow into the mistake that allowed Henry Fa'afili to score from a scrum within 67 seconds in a flowing move that again involved Johns.

"I'm not an emotional man, but it was beautiful," remarked head coach Paul Cullen when asked about the try that produced the loudest roar ever heard at The Halliwell Jones.

Johns continued to prompt and lift Wolves on an opening night that showed the Australian legend was at the peak of powers and determined to take Wolves to another level.

Johns' second performance at Hull never reached the same heights, but he was still an important player in a team display that delivered a victory that confirmed fourth place and a home play-off tie. But with Wolves pitted against Hull again, Airlie Birds skipper Richard Swain felt the nervousness of facing Johns was out of the way and there was no longer a fear factor for John Kear's men.

Unfortunately that proved to be the case as Hull put in a much-improved performance at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Johns still had an impact for Wolves and rarely missed the chance to probe a weakness in the Hull defence.

But there were few of those on the night and his pass to Paul Noone led to Nathan Blacklock's interception that made it 18-0 and left Wolves staring over the precipice.

The Hull supporters cruelly chanted 'Joey's going home', but Johns wasn't done.

With 17 minutes left, he collected Jon Clarke's pass from a scrum, stepped inside Motu Tony and powered through challenges from Shayne McMenemy and Garreth Carvell for one of those magical Johns moments.

Joey's first try for the club looked like a lifeline, but it turned out to be a parting gift as Hull scored four more tries to consign Wolves to defeat.

Johns' hopes of adding a Super League Grand Final appearance to his two Premiership Finals were dashed, and he was left to say farewell to his teammates as he prepares to return to Australia next week ahead of the Tri-Nations series.

Saturday's result sparked genuine disbelief Down Under that Johns had not been successful in his quest with Wolves.

"The messiah couldn't get Warrington through, eh?" mused commentator Ray Warren during an advert break in Australia's NRL play-off coverage.

Even the messiah can't win every game.