Channel 9 has expanded its game three coverage to pay tribute to Maroons great Johnathan Thurston

THE huge amount of tributes for Johnathan Thurston has convinced Channel 9 to expand its pre-game Origin III coverage by an extra half an hour.

Johnathan Thurston after helping the Maroons steal victory against the Blues in game two.

THE huge amount of tributes for Johnathan Thurston has convinced Channel 9 to expand its pre-game Origin III coverage by an extra half an hour.

Nine director of sport Tom Malone confirmed the decision to start its coverage from 7pm and not 7.30pm for the first time was made last Friday after news filtered through Thurston’s season was over because of a shoulder injury.

Malone said it was important to dedicate plenty of coverage to Thurston, who will also be part of the live coverage, as the game’s 4.423 million Origin ratings record looks set to tumble.

Knowing the Suncorp Stadium showdown could also double as the final game for Queensland halfback Cooper Cronk, made it easy for Nine to go all out.

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It is further proof the July 12 clash is shaping as one of the biggest Origin games in its 37-year history.

“We’ll be starting at the special time of 7pm because there are so many stories to tell,’’ Malone told The Daily Telegraph.

“We’ll still struggle to fit it into an hour let alone the (original) half-hour.

“There is so much build-up. We haven’t had an Origin like this for some time, if ever.

“Gus (Gould) picked it straight away at the end of Origin II when he said ‘this will be the biggest game of rugby league ever’.

“We knew this was something we had to do with JT’s farewell. You also don’t know if this will be Cronk’s last game for Queensland, or if it will be Slater’s last game.

“Will this be NSW’s last chance to beat the Queensland dynasty.’’

A tribute for Thurston will be beamed into households around the country as well as the giant TV screens inside a packed Suncorp before kick-off.

A jubilant Johnathan Thurston after the Maroons beat the Blues in game two.

As he approaches the final years of his professional career, Thurston was quickly identified as an on-air talent and signed to a five-year deal with Nine last year.

His interview with Erin Molan on Thursday night’s The Footy Show attracted more than 500,000 viewers.

The Blues smashed Queensland in game one, only for Thurston to kick the matchwinning conversion two minutes out from full-time in Sydney to force the series into a decider.