Johnathan Thurston to miss two games for Cowboys with hamstring strain

NORTH Queensland will go into their crunch clash with Melbourne on Saturday without Johnathan Thurston, who has been ruled out for two games.

SUCH is the incredible durability of Cowboys superstar Johnathan Thurston that North Queensland fans rarely have to go without their fearless leader.

That streak will end this week as a hamstring strain will keep the fierce competitor on the sidelines for at least two weeks, starting with Saturday’s blockbuster against the Melbourne Storm.

Thurston’s absences are generally limited because of his annual State of Origin commitments and his incredible record of just 12 missed games in the past four years speaks volumes for the hard work he does on the training track to stay in peak condition.

Thurston’s injury is a rare event for Cowboys fans.

The superstar halfback played in 25 of the Cowboys 28 fixtures during their run to the 2015 premiership, losing two games because of Queensland duty and a third when he was rested in a Round 22 loss to Cronulla.

On that day the Cowboys appeared to be faring fine without their co-captain when they raced to an 18-0 lead but his absence was sorely missed from that point as the Sharks ran down North Queensland in a stunning 24-18 victory.

The Cowboys coaching staff will be desperate to avoid a repeat of that effort and even though the club’s depth this year has them in a far better position to cover his loss, questions still remain over the team’s ability to score points without their headgeared magician directing traffic.

“We have certainly gone past that (point) where when JT is out the team loses all sort of hope of being able to win — we are long past that now,” head coach Paul Green said.

“(Last week) we certainly didn’t stop playing, we kept attacking.

“It was good for guys like Morgs (Michael Morgan). He had to step up and take control of the team and I thought he did a pretty good job.

“Everyone needs to contribute.”

Since 2011 the Cowboys have averaged an impressive 25 points a game while Thurston is in the side, a figure that drops dramatically to 16.8 for games when the mercurial playmaker is unavailable.

At least the Cowboys have had Origin practice without their leader.

Thurston’s absence is also felt on the defensive end, with his on-field leadership and ability to communicate with teammates helping his team to hold teams to just 16.5 points a game, compared with 25.8 when he is not in the middle to marshal his troops.

JT has missed two games this season while away in Camp Maroon, with his unavailability and the Cowboys record representation at Origin level leading to a Round 12 loss to the Dragons and a 26-12 defeat in a Round 18 trip to Canberra.

With the likes of Michael Morgan, Matthew Scott and James Tamou also missing in those encounters the Cowboys were always going to struggle, but it will be that same senior group who Green must call on to help cover the loss of the most influential player in the NRL today.