Champ born from wake-up call that almost cost career
EXCLUSIVE RUGBY LEAGUE COWBOYS bosses have revealed the explosive boardroom spat that saved Johnathan Thurston from the sack at North Queensland and provided the wake-up call for his NRL career.
Thurston will tonight receive the ultimate coronation in his glittering NRL career when he takes on his good mate Cameron Smith in their testimonial match at Suncorp Stadium.
But Thurston came within a whisker of having his Cowboys been promised he won’t be doing any of the heavy lifting this time around.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur on Tuesday named Hayne in the centres for their NRL trial against Newcastle, where he is expected to partner Josh Hoffman on the right edge.
Arthur accepts there is contract torn up, with chairman Laurence Lancini last night breaking an eight-year silence on the issue to detail how he fought for the playmaker.
The Cowboys board voted to sack Thurston after he was arrested in September 2010 for an alcohol-related incident at Brisbane’s Treasury Casino, just 2km from the scene of tonight’s testimonial clash.
But Lancini (pictured) and plenty of anticipation around Hayne’s return – he was the game’s best player in 2014 – but insists there’s no extra desire to get their former superstar the ball.
“You know what, how we play is how we play,” he said.
“Jarryd’s got a role to play in the centres at the moment. football operations chief Peter Parr sensationally went to war with fellow members of North Queensland’s board, vowing to quit if Thurston was axed.
Thurston’s management spent $4400 hiring a private investigator, whose report, ta- That’s where he’s been doing the majority of his training.”
It could be argued that Hayne has been a shadow of the player that shared the Dally M stage with Johnathan Thurston in his final season with the Eels in 2014.
The fifth-year head coach believes Hayne’s class will again bled to the board, ultimately cleared the Origin star of any wrongdoing.
That dossier, coupled with the support of Lancini and Parr, convinced the Cowboys board to give Thurston the second chance that helped him become a champion of the code.
Lancini said the slidingdoors moment was the catalyst for Thurston’s transformation from young larrikin to indigenous leader.
When he was released by police, Thurston faced Parr and Lancini and uttered two words: “Never again.”
“That was the turning point for Johnathan in his career. shine – but in his new spot.
Arthur named his strongest available line-up to take on the Knights, with Brad Takairangi making a notable start in the second row ahead of 18th man Tepai Moeroa.
New signing Kane Evans will make his first appearance for the club off the bench.
I WASN’T GOING TO STAND THERE AND LET US KICK HIM OUT THE DOOR
That is why he is now a champion of the game,” Lancini said.
“I remember walking into the board meeting and the board told me: ‘We are sacking Johnathan Thurston.’ I left the room briefly with Peter Parr and I said to Parry: ‘No way is this happening. If we sack him, I’m quitting right now.’
“I just disagreed with it because as young people we all make mistakes. I just felt Johnathan needed another chance.
“He never says no to helping people ... I wasn’t going to stand there and let us kick him out the door.”
Since that ill-fated evening, Thurston has gone on to win another two of his four Dally M Medals, three Golden Boot awards and led the Cowboys to their maiden premiership.
Parr, the man who signed Thurston from the Bulldogs in 2004, said tonight’s testimonial match was a tribute to the 34-year-old’s desire to grow up and make a difference.
“The reason I fought for JT was because he had made some huge strides in his personal life that year. I felt that he had turned a corner,” he said.
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