NSW GREAT HAILS JT AS ONE OF THE BEST EVER
HE has a bag of tricks which would make David Copperfield jealous, but Danny Buderus says Johnathan Thurston’s sheer competitiveness is what sets him apart from his peers.
The former Newcastle, New South Wales and Australia hooker said only his former Knights teammate Andrew Johns rivals Thurston’s insatiable thirst for success.
Thurston will play his 300th NRL game in round one against Cronulla in Townsville on March 9, a milestone which was delayed by a season- ending shoulder injury he suffered in Origin II last year.
The 34- year- old will also the Cowboys games record
Johns is already an Immortal and it is simply a matter of time before fourtime Dally M medallist Thurston joins him in the game’s most exclusive club.
Buderus said Johns had a knack of lifting those around with his relentless pursuit of greatness and sees similar traits in Thurston.
“It’s just his competitive nature,” Buderus said.
“Most halfbacks have skill but it’s their mindset that sets them apart and Thurston is right there with Andrew Johns in those stakes, in terms of the want and will to win.
“When they’re on the field they look so comfortable, they’re never flustered and they make people around them better.
“As a rugby league fan I just love watching him play.”
Buderus has felt the intense pressure of trying to send a champion out a winner during Johns’ final season for Newcastle in 2007.
His swan song campaign lasted just two games after he was forced to retire with a neck injury suffered against Canberra. But Buderus has no doubt the Cowboys have the arsenal to make eclipse Thurston’s farewell more memorable.
Despite being without Thurston and forward leader Matt Scott for most of the campaign, the Cowboys defied the odds to make the grand final from eighth spot.
Throw in a big- name signing in Australia World Cup prop Jordan McLean, and Buderus feels they deserve to be title favourites.
“I think everyone’s look at the grand final last year, and they basically get three new players on the back of that,” Buderus said.
“They’ve got plenty of depth and it will take a really good performance from a team to beat them.”
League legend Mal Meninga believes the enforced break for Scott, who suffered a serious knee injury in round two last year, could extend his career.
“You don’t like to say it, but the break for Matty I think has been a good thing,” Meninga said.
“He’s been able to get over his little injuries, he had a neck problem and a lower back problem. He’s such a workhorse and great leader for that footy team.”