I have rarely found the words and thoughts of Andrew Johns to be lucid.

Frankly, the man known as the un-made bed by comedic duo Rampaging Roy Slaven and HG Nelson, appears to have always just arisen from one and battling to organise his words and ideas.

There is no doubt as to the natural talent and gifts he possessed as a player and that is of interest to many who listen to Johns talk about the modern game, both its nuances and weaknesses. However, thinking clearly, planning intently and articulating ideas was not what made the former Newcastle halfback the freak he was on the field.

As probably one of the best three players I’ve seen, Johns’ greatest asset as a player appeared to be the ability to not think.

While many first-graders lived lives of ultra-discipline and an unwavering work ethic just to keep up with the elite players, anecdotal stories of Johns lifestyle and his excesses in life and airports that got him into hot water on plenty of occasions prove that he was a rugby league genius.

His passionate spray around the crackdowns that has seen the sin bin become the most popular place in the rugby league world, were driven by his apparent concern that the game was becoming a “farce”.

He also referenced the fans on numerous occasions, how they own the game in his view and should demand and receive better from the powers at be.

I would argue Johns is somewhat deluded around the issue of ownership.

Many fans are perplexed as to multiple decisions being made on a week to week basis and others lament what are almost certainly the glory days of the competition back in the 1980s and ’90s.

Knights Immortal Andrew Johns. (Getty Images)

Yet if the way rugby league is played in Australia has shifted so dramatically to a point where some people are simply exasperated by it, one could ask why these fans who supposedly own and shape the game because of their passionate for it, allowed those changes to occur in the place.

Put simply, it is a complete fallacy to think that the voice of the people has had any say at all.

While there would be shock waves through the clubs and NRL headquarters if not one fan turned on the television this weekend or attended matches, both also know that it will not occur.

That reality effectively gives those running the game and making the decisions that shape it in the medium to long term, ultimate power to decide exactly what it will look like.

In contrast, there seems to be something of a bizarre myth believed by sports fans around the world. English Premier League fans desperately claim to have a competition based on history, community and passion, when the realities of where the money comes from to back the most powerful of clubs is actually quite cynical and sickly.

AFL fans are deceived consistently by coaches, bamboozled by hypocrisy and inconsistency from head office, golf has proven itself to care not one iota about the people keen to pay money and support, with the LIV sell-out designed to suit one group of people and line their pockets accordingly.

Recent ticket prices for the Lions tour of Australia make it quite clear that as long as people are prepared to pay it, Rugby Australia will charge it and don’t even get me started on the major team sports in the United States, with billionaires now emerging from them and fans forced to see leagues, like the NBA, change dramatically for the worse when rules are tweaked without their opinion even being sought.

The money thrown at NBA stars like Luka Doncic comes at the expense of anything the fans might think.  (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

We are simply living in a fantasy world of dinosaurs and Andrew Johns, to believe that the modern machine that is professional sport, with all the necessities of satisfying sponsors, agendas, causes, bottom lines and political correctness is even in the slightest way concerned about what the average fan thinks.

As long as any game is maintained at an acceptable level for entertainment purposes, the fans will continue to attend, sometimes even at exorbitant prices. If the decisions and directions of the suits brings chaos, uncertainty and controversy, they may have actually achieved precisely what they want.

Home matches can be taken away in an instant, Vegas instantly became a priority and the cost of attendance for families battling financially is stretching the purse strings to the hilt. Yet as long as the bums hit the seats, the fans may as well shout their disapproval from the rooftops.

If many NRL fans still have sweet dreams of Tina Turner singing Simply the Best and seeing Wayne Pearce running along a beach in his budgie smugglers, they must be wondering who allowed the game to change so much since what was a period that played a key role in defining its future.

If shoulder charges, a bit of biff, wild scrums and traditional softening up periods were the game at its best, one must ask why it was all taken away? If every man, woman and their dogs detests the bunker and the consistent problems it causes, it might be fair to wonder why it is even there in the first place.

The answer to all of the above is that the fans have little or no say in the way sports move with the times, for good and for bad and Andrew Johns’ passion for the past does little more than fire up a few people who might need to accept that reality.