- Cooper Johns says single mums hit on him when he was in the NRL
- Johns says mums were hoping he could get their sons into the NRL
- Former footy star says the practice happens a lot
Former footy star Cooper Johns has revealed the astonishing reason why he was hit on by single mums when he was playing in the NRL – and it wasn’t just for his good looks.
On Wednesday morning, during a segment on The Kyle & Jackie O Show, a caller rang in to ask if she was a bad mother because she slept with her young son’s soccer coach to get him bumped up from the B-Grade team to A-Grade.
While the cheeky plan was successful and her son was moved to the top team, the mum admitted her boy was later bullied due to his ability in his new side.
Johns then revealed that he wasn’t surprised by the story, admitting that the practice is more common than people think.
‘I just wanted her to know you are not alone,’ Johns said.
‘When I was coming through the ranks as a junior, I witnessed a lot of this stuff firsthand.
‘I was even propositioned once when I was a young fellow, once I made it into the NRL and I would go out to coaching clinics to help development squads and young kids.
‘A lot of the young single mums would proposition me and the other boys, thinking that we could get their kids into the NRL.’
The former NRL player, who is the son of Rugby League legend Matthew ‘Matty’ Johns, joined The Kyle &Jackie O Show in January after retiring from the game last year.
In January, Matty sent Kyle a warning after his son announced his retirement from the NRL to pursue a career in radio.
He was not re-signed by the Manly Sea Eagles at the end of the 2023 season.
As the Kyle & Jackie O Show returned to air in January, Jackie asked Kyle why Cooper had his own desk in their studio.
‘We’re not sure what he does yet but we’ve just secured his services,’ replied Kyle.
‘The reason why we got Coops is because I thought he’s very, very good. We were paranoid and thought, “We’ve got to secure this guy”.’
Kyle then revealed the conversation he had with Cooper’s ex-NRL star father Matty.
‘His father was on the phone, saying, “Don’t let my son get screwed. You really want him to quit footy? It’s got to be worth his while”,’ Kyle said.
