FIGHTING FOR JT
MISSION TO SEND THURSTON OUT ON A HIGH
THE Cowboys are no longer beating around the bush about what the rest of this season means, declaring they have to finish strongly for Johnathan Thurston.
While North Queensland can no longer hand the retiring playmaker his fairytale farewell, veteran forward Gavin Cooper says the rest of the year is about saying goodbye in the right way.
THE Cowboys are no longer beating around the bush about what the rest of this season means, declaring they have to finish strongly for Johnathan Thurston.
While North Queensland can no longer hand the retiring playmaker his fairytale farewell, veteran forward Gavin Cooper says the rest of the year is about saying goodbye in the right way.
Before their bye round, the Cowboys’ one- point loss to the Rabbitohs saw them fall out of contention for this year’s top eight.
They will return to the field tonight against the Raiders, but Cooper says just because the finals are out of reach, the team has not lost their motivation.
For most of this year the playing group have been reluctant to dedicate their season to Thurston. Cooper says that has now changed.
“It is about him,” Cooper said.
“The script’s not always written in your favour but he’s done a lot for rugby league in Australia, for fans all over Australia and a lot for North Queensland.
“We’ve got to go out on a high note. JT only has eight games to go for the rest of his career. I know he’ll be doing his best and that’s what we’ll be doing at the Cowboys to send him out with a few wins.”
North Queensland’s mission to farewell Thurston in the right way will begin tonight, with Cooper expected to back up after playing in Queensland’s Origin III win on Wednesday.
Coen Hess is also set to play, with the Cowboys expected to be 1 to 17 for the clash.
Coach Paul Green said it was refreshing to have Cooper and Hess back among the playing group, with the pair in a better frame of mind following their Origin victory.
He said the next eight weeks would still be vital for the Cowboys and the focus at this stage was to maintain their spirits so they could notch together a few wins.
When asked what the goal was for the back end of the season, his answer was simple: “Eight wins.”
“The last six weeks our footy has been pretty good,” he said.
“Our footy’s not far off the mark against the better teams. There’s plenty to like about the way we’ve been playing, we just need to stay in games a little bit longer.
“We have to make sure we’re hanging on to that stuff and not lose confidence. We just need to find a little bit more improvement.”