knight-no-7
Moderator
NEWCASTLE has been his life-long passion - but Andrew Johns is leaving the Steel City to move to Sydney.
Johns' house overlooking Merewether Beach is on the market with an asking price of about $4.5 million.
It is understood the rugby league legend will move in with fiancee Cathrine Mahoney near Potts Point until the pair find a home to buy.
While he will be based in Sydney, it is understood Johns is also looking to buy a new Newcastle unit so he has somewhere to stay when visiting son Sam.
The move comes after Johns' admission he is a long-time drug user - following his arrest in London for possessing an ecstasy pill.
After his arrest in August, Johns spoke about the pressure he felt living in fishbowl Newcastle and carrying the weight of the city's expectations.
"I was about 19, 20, 21 when I've first taken it and to be honest I sort of used it to escape all the pressure and stuff," Johns said at the time.
The game's next immortal grew up in Cessnock in the Hunter Valley and played his entire league career at Newcastle.
He has spent the past few years commuting between Sydney and Newcastle but with a lucrative contract as a presenter and commentator for Channel 9 - where Mahoney works as a publicist - Johns has decided to base himself in Sydney.
While agents Robinson Property were tight-lipped about the sale of Johns' home yesterday, it is understood a number of potential buyers have inspected the house.
Johns bought the Berner St property in 1997 for $480,000 before completely demolishing the old home and building a new tri-level mansion on the block for $750,000.
Designed by Killen & Doran Architects, it has a pool, gymnasium and rear pergola.
