Johns resigns following racial slur

New South Wales will go into tomorrow's State of Origin clash without the legendary Andrew Johns in their corner, following his resignation from their coaching staff over a racial slur on Queensland's Greg Inglis.

NSW's Timana Tahu walked out of the squad's camp last week, saying that he could not tolerate Johns' reference to Inglis.

Tahu, part-Aboriginal himself, is a former team-mate of Johns at Newcastle and said that this was not an isolated incident. "It was not just one racial comment directed at one individual that offended me," he said. "The remarks were directed at various races and the situation I encountered was totally unacceptable.

"I believe that I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids that this sort of behaviour is wrong."

Johns has since apologised unreservedly for what he described as "banter".

Wakefield's 34-year-old captain, Jason Demetriou, is looking for a new club after being told that he will not be offered a new contract.

The Wigan captain, Sean O'Loughlin, has denied that his thigh injury at Wakefield was related to playing twice in 24 hours, having appeared for England on Saturday.

The Warrington hooker, Michael Monaghan, has agreed a contract extension to keep him at the club until the end of the 2013 season.