Critics fire up Thurston
COWBOYS coach Paul Green expects champion playmaker Johnathan Thurston to put egg on the faces of his critics as the club faces a crucial home stretch which could make or break their season.
Before the Cowboys suffered a fourth straight loss against the Warriors, Fox Sports commentator and league legend Greg Alexander said Thurston “may have played a season too long” after a slow start to the year.
Green understands Thurston will be critiqued more closely given his stature in the game, but believes the halfback will use the remarks as fuel.
North Queensland host fellow strugglers Canterbury this Saturday at 1300SMILES Stadium, the first of three straight home matches in Townsville.
“Generally, he ( Thurston) responds pretty well to that type of stuff. We all know how good a player he is so a bit of extra motivation … people love to prove others wrong,” Green said.
“Normally, if ever JT has been a bit off it’s never lasted too long. That sort of criticism he will take pretty personally, I think, and normally we get a good response out of it.”
The Cowboys look down on confidence and are battling to test teams in attack, and halves Thurston and Michael Morgan have copped the brunt of the criticism.
But the playmaking combination is far from the only aspect which is yet to fully hit its straps, and Green said they can’t weave their magic if the foundation isn’t set first.
“It’s a team game and everyone needs to do their job; we all need to be a bit better,” Green said.
“If JT didn’t hit the ground running right from Round 1, at some point that question was going to be asked.
“People are going to look at JT a lot closer because of the player that he is. I don’t think it’s fair to be saying that ( Alexander’s comments), certainly not at this stage.
“He’d be the first to admit that he could play better, but he’s not the only one in that boat.
“I think it’s unfair to blame him solely.”
The Warriors’ massive back rowers and outside backs tar- geted Thurston in defence on the Cowboys left edge, and Green said they needed to work better as a collective unit.
“On two of those tries down that side there was some decision making that’s not normal for us,” he said.
“It’s not about tweaking things, it’s about trusting what we do and doing it more consistently.”
Being singled out in defence isn’t foreign to Thurston, but NSW coach Brad Fittler said even more traffic may come his way in his farewell season.
“They charged at poor JT. They just had set after set coming at him. This is a real big moment in JT’s career,” Fittler said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“I don’t know how his shoulder is and how he is mentally, but the last three or four games teams have really targeted him.
“This is the moment right now because it’s quite obvious because every team now is going to run at JT, without a doubt.
“Either the people around him have to do a better job or he’s got to bite the bullet and say is his shoulder 100 per cent.
“He’s got to deal with it, he’s got to come up with an answer.”