Price was right after Thurston’s selfless gesture
IT’S one of the great rugby league stories.
It was 2004 when a selfless Johnathan Thurston handed his premiership ring to injured captain Steve Price after Canterbury won the grand final.
Now 13 years later, Price has opened up on a strange twist in the story.
Price was the Bulldogs skipper when Thurston won his first NRL premiership, a game he wouldn’t have played in if Price was fit.
Thurston came off the bench on that fateful night against the Roosters.
At full-time, the 21-year-old handed his ring to Price.
The act was one of generosity but the freaky nature of how it unfolded sits with the ring itself.
The premiership rings were all engraved with jersey numbers, yet were handed out randomly at the post-match presentation.
While most players had to swap their rings among themselves to get the right one, Thurston, who wore the No.18 that night, was directly presented with Price’s No.10.
“I was embarrassed because he’d worked just as hard as me,” Price told On the Couch with Sterlo of Thurston’s gesture.
“I knew how much it meant to him and I so much appreciated it.
“It was funny, because we had the numbers on our rings. There obviously wasn’t a No.18, there was a No.10 because I was named – and he got given No.10
“Everyone else got different numbers and they were swapping them but the number he got given was No.10. That’s when he came straight up to me and gave it to me. It just added to an amazing night.”
Injuring his leg the week before the grand final, Price played every game except the last one.
While he was captain of the club, Price admits it was a difficult week to be involved in.
A game of ducks and drakes was being played publicly in order to help shield a young Thurston from the media.
Price was never going to play and never got to captain the side to a premiership.
Andrew Ryan took over those duties for the game.
It was a tough pill to swallow but made easier by Ryan including him and Thurston’s incredible act.
“We were trying to protect Thurston because we knew he was going to play,” Price said.
“There was all that stuff going on in the background.
“I sort of fluffed up that I was going to try and play but I was never going to be able to and that sort of took a bit of pressure off Thursty and then we won it.
“It was the second best thing that could happen for me. It was my last game at the club. I had such a good time from a kid to a grown man with kids and a wife.
“The greatest thing would’ve been – I wanted to captain a premiership at Canterbury – so people say I did, some people say I didn’t because I didn’t take the field but Thursto, Bobcat (Ryan), everyone made me feel so much a part of it.”