BEST MATES VIE FOR VICTORY
THE 285 day wait is finally over.
After 16 matches apart, North Queensland’s superstar halves combination of Michael Morgan and Johnathan Thurston will be reunited tonight after Morgan declared himself fit for the grand final rematch against Melbourne at AAMI Park.
The Cowboys five- eighth has recovered from a stomach injury which sidelined him for the first two rounds in time to take on Cameron Munster in a mouthwatering five- eighth battle.
Morgan’s return will take a huge amount of pressure off Thurston against the Storm, who are stinging after losing Billy Slater’s 300th game at home last week.
THE 285- day wait is finally over.
After 16 matches apart, North Queensland’s superstar halves combination of Michael Morgan and Johnathan Thurston will be reunited tonight after Morgan declared himself fit for the grand final rematch against Melbourne at AAMI Park.
The Cowboys five- eighth has recovered from a stomach injury which sidelined him for the first two rounds in time to take on Cameron Munster in a mouth- watering five- eighth battle.
North Queensland badly missed Morgan’s x- factor and speed in last week’s 24- 20 loss in Brisbane, where Thurston fell just short of almost single- handedly engineering a second half comeback.
Morgan’s return will take a huge amount of pressure off Thurston against the Storm, who are also stinging after losing Billy Slater’s 300th game at home against Wests Tigers last week.
“I’ve been trying to play the last two weeks, but this week going into the main session it did feel better than it had the previous two weeks,” Morgan said yesterday.
“It came good and it feels good today.”
Cowboys players have openly admitted this week they were guilty of relying too heavily on co- captains Thurston and Matt Scott against Brisbane after they missed most of last season through injury.
Morgan was superb deputising for Thurston in the No. 7 jersey, and was named Dally M halfback of the year.
“That’s the only big difference from last year is those two guys com- ing back and whether the other night we relied on them too much for certain things,” Morgan said.
“It’s a combination of the guys haven’t played with them for a while so it makes it a bit more difficult, but it shouldn’t take too long to click at all.”
The five- eighth battle could go a long way to deciding who bounces back with a win.
Munster was brilliant, albeit at fullback, in round one against Canterbury.
“He’s shown how skilful and naturally gifted he is,” Morgan said.
“He’s always a challenge to come up against because he’s very unorthodox in how he runs, the way he carries the ball and bounces around.
“He’s not a small guy and moves very well for how big and strong he is. He’s hard to contain, that’s for sure.”