JT WATCH STAYS
THE Cowboys will not rush Johnathan Thurston back from a calf injury just so he can prove his fitness for the Kangaroos.
That was the message from North Queensland coach Paul Green as the Cowboys tread carefully with their marquee man.
Thurston celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday by being named in the No.18 jersey for North Queensland’s Friday night clash against Parramatta at 1300SMILES Stadium. The four-time Dally M Medal winner will today be named in the Kangaroos squad for next Friday’s Anzac Test against New Zealand.
But Green said if Thurston did not face the Eels, he would not be cleared to pull on the green and gold a week later in Canberra.
“We’re not going to rush him back just so he can play a Test match,” Green said.
“We’ve got a lot of games yet to play this season.
“We’re not going to take any unnecessary risks but if he’s fit we’d like to have him in the team. We’ve said all along if he wasn’t fit to play for us this week then he probably wouldn’t be playing in that Test match.”
Cronulla five-eighth James Maloney will also be named in the Kangaroos squad as cover for Thurston.
North Queensland’s physiotherapist, Steve Sartori, and doctor, Chris Ball, are also on the Kangaroos’ medical staff and have been overseeing Thurston’s recovery.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said he was confident Thurston would be available for his 38th Test.
“We’re waiting to see how John comes through his fitness test,” Meninga said. “He’s a chance of playing Friday. “So if he’s a chance of that he should be an even greater chance of playing for Australia the week after. “We’ll see how that all pans out. “We’ve been working closely with their medical staff and the club.
“They’re pretty happy with his progress.”
Thurston returned to running over the weekend, but reported some pain in his calf and is yet to train with his teammates.
The Cowboys will finalise their preparations for the Eels game tomorrow and Green said Thurston must finish that session to play.
“He hasn’t trained with the team yet,” he said.
“We’ve only got one more session. He’s got to train and get through that.
“He might be right but we’re not going to take any unnecessary risks with him.
“He needs to convince us he’s fully fit before we’ll consider him.
“JT is a determined bloke but it’s not about how determined he is. “It’s about how fit he is. “That’s the only thing to consider.”
A MITCHELL Pearce field goal has fired the Sydney Roosters to a 13-12 NRL golden point win over St George Illawarra in an Anzac Day classic.
Played in front of a record crowd of 40,864 at Allianz Stadium, the Roosters No.7 was the hero for the home side against the Dragons, who were gallant after losing five-eighth Gareth Widdop just before halftime. After Pearce scored a try to give his side the lead for the first time in the 66th minute, the Roosters looked headed for victory.
But Nene Macdonald spectacularly scored with two minutes on the clock and Josh Dugan – filling in for Widdop – kicked the conversion five metres from the sideline to send the game to golden point.
Cameron McInnes looked like he had botched the attacking raid when he kicked it on the second tackle, however, Macdonald caught the ricochet and shrugged off five defenders to score.
Pearce booted the winning one-pointer from 30m out in the 84th minute of play to give his side a famous win.
The turning point in the
game came just 90 seconds before the break when Widdop was taken from the field with a left knee injury.
The Dragons No.6 ended the game in the sheds in a knee brace after suffering a suspected medial ligament strain.
Widdop – playing in his 150th NRL game – was arguably the Dragons’ best player in the first half, standing tall under a weight of pressure as he was repeatedly hit by Roosters defenders as he passed the ball.
His absence had a noticeable effect on the Dragons who looked rudderless at times in attack and coincided with the Roosters taking control of the game. Roosters winger Blake Ferguson looked to be in real trouble limping around the back field with a knee injury but shook off his troubles to race through and dive on a Jake Friend grubber to reduce the Dragons’ lead to 6-4 after 50 minutes.
The Dragons’ task was made harder when Dugan was temporarily taken from the field for a concussion test j after having his legs taken out by Pearce while fielding a kick.