Don’t drop ball now, boys told

COWBOYS coach Paul Green has challenged his playmakers to learn the lessons of stepping up without Johnathan Thurston and continue to be assertive when their marquee man returns.

Although Thurston was ruled out of tonight’s State of Origin clash in Brisbane with a shoulder injury, the halfback was named on an extended bench for Saturday’s home clash with Gold Coast.

It is highly unlikely the 34year- old will play given the match is just three days after Origin, and Thurston has publicly stated he’s aiming to return against Parramatta in Darwin next week.

But Green didn’t rule out the chance of his co- captain lining up against the Titans.

“I’m not sure ( of his chances) to be honest until he comes back with the team ( from Queensland camp). We’ll check him out once he gets back with us,” Green said.

The Cowboys have won two of five games since Thurston injured his hamstring against Wests Tigers in Round 6, and his return was delayed after he hurt his rotator cuff in the mid- FRESH from a weekend off, North Queensland have insisted they are not sweating on Johnathan Thurston’s return as they look to rectify their dire home NRL form.

Queensland playmaker Thurston is aiming for a June 10 return against Parramatta, after being ruled out of tonight’s State of Origin opener with a shoulder injury.

But Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo said they backed themselves to lift without their prized half against Gold Coast on Saturday night, after relishing last round’s bye.

“Having JT there will add that bit of polish,” Taumalolo said. “When he will be back, I don’t know. Until then the boys will be working hard.” year land.

A loss against the Titans could put the unchanged Cowboys ( 6- 5) out of the top eight, and they will be desperate to arrest a home record which has yielded just three wins in six matches.

They led 14- 0 at Cronulla before last week’s bye but some poor last tackle options allowed the defending premiers to score 18 unanswered second- half points.

Fullback Lachlan Coote and five- eighth Michael Morgan have stepped up well in Thurston’s absence but Green doesn’t want them to take a back seat when he’s back.

“They’re capable and experienced players, there’s no excuse for them not to do that,” Green said.

“Whenever Johnno comes Test against New Zea- back in the team, the challenge for those guys will be to continue doing what they’ve done, because they’ve done it really well in recent weeks.

“That will be their challenge when he gets back but until that point they need to keep doing their job.”

Green has been vocal in calling for State of Origin to be played at the end of the year to avoid huge disruptions for club teams.

Morgan and centre Justin O’Neill are the only Cowboys selected for tonight’s clash, although Thurston and Matt Scott ( knee) are unavailable.

“We’ll see how they play ( before we decide if they back up),” Green said.

“Morgs has been named on the bench so it depends on his involvement and we’ll make a decision after the game.”