A memorable interview between Sunrise host Nat Barr and Newcastle Knights legend Matthew Johns has resurfaced as the club prepares for its first NRL grand final in over 20 years.
The interview, filmed after the Knights won their first premiership in 1997, has gone viral again following Newcastle’s preliminary final victory over the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.
Johns was the only Knights player willing to face the cameras the morning after the celebrations, with Barr, then a reporter, meeting him in Newcastle.
“I don’t think Newcastle will recover for quite some time, actually. The party is definitely still going on,” Barr said in the clip.
“We’ve got a few players around here, some of them are not quite ready to front the cameras just yet.
“I don’t think it will stop until at least next Saturday, they’re telling me about a week of a party.”
Barr then asked Johns to “tell us a bit about what that feeling was like coming home to Newcastle last night”.
His response has since become one of the more memorable moments from the club’s celebrations.
“It was better than … it was better than Lego. It was better than Lego. It was better than Lego.”
“It was the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Johns said, as he recalled thousands of people lining the streets to welcome the team home from Sydney.
Johns struggled to contain his laughter during the interview, while teammates could be heard behind the camera.
His younger brother Andrew eventually joined him, wearing a red and blue fedora and holding a can.
“It’s good to win,” a shirtless Andrew said.
“I think I’ve got the first privilege in Newcastle, I, I jumped off the bus and, yeah.”
Barr eventually sent the broadcast back to the Sydney studio.
Reflecting on the footage on Sunrise on Monday, Barr said there had been plenty of emotion surrounding the interview.
“There was a lot of emotion, shall we say,” the Sunrise host said.
“I don’t know how they let us in because we were just on the edge of the celebration … and they were very emotional.
“And I don’t know whether he can remember much about it.”
Johns has previously admitted he remembers little of the interview.
“I’ve just got to apologise to Natalie … every time I’ve seen Natalie, she goes, ‘do you remember that interview you did with me?’,” Johns said on Fox League.
“And I say, ‘actually, no I can’t, I do not remember it’.”
Johns remains closely associated with the Knights despite leaving the club after the 2000 season.
Now, 25 years after Newcastle’s second premiership, the club is preparing for another grand final appearance against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
Image: Sunrise
