Changed Cowboys’ fortunes forever
Incredibly, Thurston offered to stay for 30 per cent less than the Cowboys had offered. He said he’d sign for $160,000 in 2005 and $170,000 in 2006.
The Bulldogs were under salary cap pressure. As crazy as it seems now, they had spent all their money signing half-back Brent Sherwin for five years and Braith Anasta for three.
“I told them I didn’t expect them to match the Cowboys’ money, we’ll stay for 30 per cent less,” Ayoub said.
“I can still remember Folkesy sitting at the end of the table. He said ‘no mate – take it and go’. Malcolm Noad didn’t say much and we left.”
Ayoub can remember it all as though it was yesterday.
They walked to his car, got inside and Thurston broke down and cried.
“Yes, he teared up,” Ayoub recalled. “I said to him ‘they made the decision for you’. It was tough because you don’t want a player going somen’t somewhere he doesn’t want to go but it was a decision n they made for or him.”
Two days laterer they flew to Townsville and nd signed the contract. nke
It didn’t take long for Thurston sn. to settle in. He steered the he Cowboys into to the 2005 grand nd final and won n the first of his is four Dally Ms. YOU have to wonder what was going through Ben Hunt’s mind when he watched rival No.7 Johnathan Thurston being crowned Dally M winner for a fourth time.
Hunt was sitting on table 17 at The Star on Monday night when Thurston was beamed on to the big screen and broke into tears as he collected the game’s top gong.
It seems everyone is willing the halfback with the infectious laugh to finally deliver North Queensland their first title. The neutral fans will all be cheering Thurston and the Cowboys.
But Hunt has other ideas, and is excited rather than daunted about trying to ruin the future Immortal’s premiership hopes.
“’JT’ is a freak, and he’ll go down as one of the best ever to play our game, if not the best,’’ Hunt said.
“Coming up against him in the biggest game of the year, it’s a dream come true. You want to play against the best, and he is the best. I’ve watched him play football for a long time now, so I’m really excited.
“All I know is if we come down and play our style of football, we’ll be in with a chance. And that’s what we want to do.’’
While Thurston has been brilliant, Hunt hasn’t been too far behind.
At 25, Hunt has been around a while and won’t be overawed by the big occasion.
The significance of the Grand Final only hit home for him on Monday morning.
Hunt’s on-field combination with Anthony Milford has been
“Muzz had plenty of appeal as his coach,” Ayoub said. “He let him play his natural game.
“Unlike Folkesy, Brian Smith and all th them who played veryve structured, tu one on th the left, one on the right, h he gave Johnathan n a licence ce just to pl play football.
“He allowed lo a half to be a half an and didn’t h harness him.
“That freedom do and his n natural instincts st helped h him become th the champion h he is today.” nothing short of brilliant in just their first season together in the Broncos’ halves.
“I knew he (Milford) was an exceptional talent and a freakish player, but the speed he’s picked up on what we want to do at Brisbane, and the attitude he came with was second to none,’’ Hunt said.
“At the start of the year we were a bit scrappy, we weren’t kicking really well and sometimes dropping the ball. But we’ve worked hard on finishing off our sets well and trying to build pressure.’’
Hunt grew up in central Queensland and attended school in Yeppoon. He found himself supporting the Cronulla Sharks, and was a huge fan of Mat Rogers.
NSW fans will know Hunt as the little Broncos’ playmaker with the facial hair who forever flings the ball behind his back and into the crowd whenever he scores. It’s almost annoying when he scores against a side you support.
“I’m not too sure where it comes from. A few times I’ve tried to kick the ball as far as I can, or throw it. It’s just a ball of energy and I get really excited and try to launch the ball somewhere,’’ Hunt said.
Hunt has worked extensively with Allan Langer and Kevin Walters, and also spoke highly of Darren Lockyer, who he played alongside in his early years.
Lockyer said Hunt would not be feeling any pressure, and legendary coach Wayne Bennett would make sure he and his Broncos teammates remained relaxed all week.
Two years ago, Thurston all but quit the Cowboys. As much as he loved North Queensland, it was time to think of afterfootball career opportunities.
Being in Sydney where the big media corporates are based had plenty of appeal. He could work for Channel Nine or Fox Sports. James Packer, through Phil Gould, was offering opportunities if he signed at Penrith.
My colleague Dean Ritchie splashed the story over the back page the night Des Hasler secretly tried to lure him back to Belmore.
“That photo turned him off the Dogs a bit,” Ayoub said. “He was disappointed it had been leaked.”
Ayoub reveals that Thurston had actually decided to quit the Cowboys to join the Panthers.
“He rang me on a Wednesday night,” Ayoub said. “He’d been tossing it around for weeks. We’d had lots of meetings. Gus made a really big play and galvanised a lot of support (including Packer).
“I was stressing about it because he was so settled in Townsville and was thinking about starting a family. He was very happy.
“Anyway the call was about 9.30pm. And he said, ‘mate I’m going to leave’. It was great money and a great opportunity at Penrith but I said ‘do you really want to?’. He told me that’s what he wanted and asked me to move forward with it.
“I then said he should think about it for a couple of days and go and see a couple of peo- ple up there he is very close to. There was no rush. Gus didn’t have a deadline.
“I held back from ringing Gus to tell him Johnathan was coming. I don’t know why but I just didn’t ring. I’ve seen players make decisions then change their minds. I just wanted to give him another 48 hours just in case.
“Jono kept putting it off. He didn’t want to tell the Cowboys he was going. Anyway, they eventually caught up, they had a good chat and he changed his mind. The rest his history.”
Eventually Thurston signed for three more years at the Cowboys: 2015, 2016 and 2017.
He is now in talks to extend his contract until the end of the 2018 season.
He is there for good.