Wounds still all too fresh
REMEMBER this feeling.
That was the message Johnathan Thurston delivered to the Cowboys just minutes after last year’s grand final loss to Melbourne.
Thurston sat in the coaches box at ANZ Stadium recovering from a shoulder reconstruction as Melbourne thrashed North Queensland 34- 6 in the NRL premiership decider.
As the Storm celebrated after the final siren, Thurston and fellow co- captain Matt Scott rallied their troops on the field to deliver a stirring speech.
And the Townsville Bulletin can today reveal what was said in that huddle.
“JT said ‘ remember this feeling for next year – we never want to feel like this ever again’,” lock Jason Taumalolo revealed.
“It was more motivational. That’s what the boys have been using going into this year.
“Last year wasn’t the way we wanted to finish.”
The Cowboys and Storm will clash at AAMI Park tonight in an NRL fixture for the first time since last year’s decider. And the pain of that grand final defeat is still fresh in the Cowboys’ memories.
“I felt like I could have done more and that’s disappointing because you don’t make grand finals very often,” playmaker Te Maire Martin said.
“They ( Scott and Thurston) said to take the game and use it as motivation for this year. We had to remember the feeling because it wasn’t the best.”