North Queensland hammer Parramatta 44-6 in Johnathan Thurston’s final home game
IT was the finish fit for a champion. North Queensland’s season of devastation briefly gave way to a special moment of celebration as Johnathan Thurston enjoyed a dream Townsville send-off.
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IT was the finish fit for a champion.
North Queensland’s season of devastation briefly gave way to a special moment of celebration as Johnathan Thurston enjoyed a dream Townsville send-off in the Cowboys’ 44-6 drubbing of the Eels.
Playing his penultimate NRL game and final home match, the retiring Thurston farewelled his adoring Cowboys fans in style, engineering a seven-try cakewalk headlined by a Kyle Feldt hat-trick.
Before a full house of 25,095, the match was billed as a battle for last place but it wasn’t long before Thurston was in party mode and express-posting the wooden spoon to Sydney.
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On an emotion-charged night also featuring Cowboys co-captain Matt Scott’s 250th game and Jake Granville’s NRL century, Thurston and his pumped-up colleagues were never going to be beaten.
Parramatta were reduced to punching bags as the Cowboys went berserk, charging to a 32-0 half-time lead before going for the jugular after the break to give Thurston his 100th win in Townsville.
Playing his 293rd game for the Cowboys, Thurston finished with a 16-point haul on a night where Feldt, Ben Hampton and Gideon Gela-Mosby torched the woeful Eels.
Of course, this is not the perfect script for Thurston. He won’t finish with a premiership. He won’t play finals. But at least he can now relax. The champion playmaker will run out for his final game against the Titans next Saturday night safe in the knowledge the Cowboys cannot finish with the dreaded spoon.
The sight of Thurston walking out with his two young daughters to rousing applause was evidence the Cowboys could not let their co-captains down.
Beautifully, and brutally, they followed the script.
“It’s been an incredible journey and I’ve loved every moment of it,” Thurston said.
“To lead the boys out for the last 10 or 11 years has been pretty special.
“I tried to prepare like it was any other game.
“It was pretty emotional scenes. To represent this region and pull on this Cowboys jersey is very special.”
Buoyed by the magical theatre surrounding Thurston’s farewell, North Queensland charged out of the blocks like Usain Bolt.
Jordan McLean’s comeback from a foot injury has transformed the Cowboys. He amassed 171 metres last night and his massive frame has given the Cowboys the midfield authority they craved.
North Queensland’s first 40 was among their most ruthless halves of the season. Their five-try, 32-point avalanche was not only a tribute to Thurston’s game management, but the pace and athleticism of Hampton, Feldt and Gela-Mosby.
Hampton was electric at the back, scoring two tries inside nine minutes, and Feldt was equally superb.
Feldt’s first two tries were the stuff of Cirque de Soleil. In the 19th minute, he soared high for a bomb, then four minutes later Feldt resembled a contortionist, somehow touching down - despite both feet in the air over the touchline - to leave the Eels in tatters at 26-0.
The blowout allowed Thurston to slip into cruise control ... and soak up the joy of his final stint in the Townsville trenches.
NORTH QUEENSLAND 44 (K Feldt 3 B Hampton 2 G Cooper G Gela-Mosby tries J Thurston 8 goals) bt PARRAMATTA 6 (M Jennings try M Moses goal) at 1300 SMILES Stadium. Referee: Phil Henderson, Grant Atkins. Crowd: 25,095
Originally published as North Queensland hammer Parramatta 44-6 in Johnathan Thurston’s final home game