Gold Coast to score from Johnathan Thurston’s last game
THE Gold Coast is bracing for a Johnathan Thurston-led tourism boom as the Glitter Strip prepares to host the rugby league legend’s last game.
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THE Gold Coast is bracing for a Johnathan Thurston-led tourism boom as the Glitter Strip prepares to host the rugby league legend’s last game next Saturday night.
A near-capacity 27,500-strong crowd is expected at Cbus Super Stadium at Robina as league fans from across Queensland and interstate descend on the Coast to see ‘JT’ weave his magic one last time.
Thousands of North Queensland Cowboys fans are travelling down to the Coast to farewell their hero in a match tipped to deliver a multimillion-dollar windfall to the local economy.
“Flights will be full from Townsville and our hotels, restaurants and bars will do extremely well out of it,” Destination Gold Coast chairman Paul Donovan said.
“Thurston is an icon of Australian sport and the Coast will be absolutely pumping.”
Venues such as The Star casino at Broadbeach are preparing for huge post-game parties while the Robina Tavern will host about 400 Cowboys members for a pre-game function. Corporate boxes at Cbus Stadium are sold out.
The Cowboys tried unsuccessfully to have Thurston’s last game, against the Gold Coast Titans, moved to Townsville while Suncorp Stadium was also mooted as a possible venue.
But the Titans refused to give up their last home game and have joined forces with the Cowboys and NRL to give Thurston what they say will be a fitting farewell.
The Cowboys are bringing about 5000 pieces of replica JT headgear to hand out to fans and junior league players will wear the great man’s signature uniform item in a half-time exhibition.
Titans captain Ryan James and Titans legend Preston Campbell are expected to present Thurston with an indigenous-themed memento while a big screen video tribute is also planned.
Titans executive chairman Dennis Watt said the game would be ‘close to a sell-out’, rivalling the 25,109-strong crowd for Jarryd Hayne’s NRL return at Cbus in 2016.
Cowboys CEO Greg Tonner said thousands of fans were travelling down from North Queensland for the game, while many of the club’s 3500 southeast Queensland-based members were also expected.
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Cowboys foundation members Kevin and Paula Gillam are driving down from Townsville to take their Caboolture-based grandsons Sebastian, 10, Hamish, 8, and Joshua,6, to the game.
“When JT becomes a (rugby league) Immortal, we want the boys to look back and say ‘we were there at his last game’,” Mr Gillam said.