Johnathan Thurston pulled off a six-leg, 500,000/1 rugby league miracle
THE likelihood of Johnathan Thurston pulling off rugby league’s six-leg miracle run are the same as an NRL fan’s chances of dying from an asteroid strike.
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THE likelihood of Johnathan Thurston pulling off rugby league’s six-leg miracle run are the same as the average NRL fan’s chances of dying from an asteroid strike.
Before the start of last season, you could have got odds of 500,000/1 on Thurston achieving this truly remarkable feat.
It’s the price bookmakers would have offered had you asked for the combined odds about North Queensland superstar Johnathan Thurston’s extraordinary achievements.
Thurston did it all this year, overcoming the following odds:
$2: Odds of winning the State of Origin series with Queensland;
$8: Odds of winning a fourth Dally M Medal;
$8: Odds of winning the RLPA award for best player;
$13: Odds of being awarded the Golden Boot for the world’s best player, which will be named in a fortnight;
$15: Odds of winning a premiership with the Cowboys before the start of the season. He kicked the matchwinning golden point field goal; and
$21: Odds of winning the Clive Churchill Medal.
Multiply all those figures and Thurston was rated a 524,160/1 chance to claim all these awards and accolades in one year.
You face the same odds of dying from the collision of an asteroid and Earth within the next 100 years.
First thing next season, Thurston will look to add to his tally at the World Club Challenge — when North Queensland play Leeds in England — and then the Auckland Nines.
The Golden Boot award will be announced in a fortnight, for which Thurston is the raging favourite ahead of two other players on a shortlist — new Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Leeds fullback Zak Hardaker.
But there will no stopping Thurston, who has already won the accolade twice.
Just two other players have won the Golden Boot twice — Andrew Johns (1999 and 2001) and Darren Lockyer (2003 and 2006).
“I think, to be fair, they should just give it Johnathan Thurston,” Tuivasa-Sheck told NRL.com.
“This has been his year and I’d just give it to him.”
Thurston couldn’t possibly have produced a finer or more dominant season.
“If you had asked me at the start of the season, mathematically, you would have got 524,160/1,” TAB spokesman Glenn Munsie said when asked about the chances of Thurston achieving such a magnificent year.
“But there are a lot of factors that would have reduced the price in a true betting market, if it was available.
“For example, you can’t win the Clive Churchill Medal if your side isn’t in the grand final. By winning the Dally M you also know your side will feature heavily in the finals. Some of the odds given individually would be dependent on other factors.”
And Thurston will be back next season to try to emulate his 2015 deeds. He is already $6 favourite to win next year’s Dally M Medal, while North Queensland are at $7 to claim back-to-back NRL premierships.
The Cowboys are $1.55 favourites to win the World Club Challenge and Queensland $1.80 to take out next year’s Origin series.
Thurston returns to Cowboys training on November 30.
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