Johnathan Thurston leads North Queensland to victory over Cronulla in his 300th NRL game

IT wasn’t pretty, but the Cowboys managed to defy a gutsy Sharks outfit to deliver Johnathan Thurston - playing for the first time in 261 days - a milestone NRL game he will not forget in a hurry.

Johnathan Thurston, Co-Captain of the Cowboys enters the field for his 271st game for the Cowboys with his daughters Frankie (left) and Charlie during the Round 1 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at 1300 SMILES Stadium in Townsville, Friday, March 9, 2018. (AAP Image/Michael Chambers) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

JOHNATHAN Thurston, you have done it again.

In his first NRL game in 261 days, the Cowboys maestro found a way to hand his side a victory, even when the opposition were throwing everything they had at the North Queensland outfit.

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The Cowboys have maintained all pre-season that 2018 will not be about JT.

But it is was clear as North Queensland battled it out for 80 minutes to claim a gritty 20-14 victory over Cronulla, that they very much wanted to win for their courageous co-captain.

It was a night of celebration for Thurston.

Johnathan Thurston ran the show.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cowboys managed to defy a gutsy Sharks outfit to deliver Thurston a 300th NRL game he will not forget.

And it was of course Thurston who played a part in sealing the deal, slicing through a grubber for barnstorming forward Gavin Cooper in the dying minutes.

Despite the victory, Thurston and coach Paul Green were disappointed with the error rate (15) and low completion, with the Cowboys finishing just 62 per cent of their sets.

But Thurston said it was heartening to see the way the team responded.

“There’s a lot to work on but it’s good to see some mental toughness from the team to stay in there and defend on the back of our errors,” Thurston said.

Gavin Cooper runs into trouble.

“I’m very proud of the way they hung in there.

“It was pretty fast ... There was a fair bit of rust out there too but I’m kind of glad the week’s over now and we can just move on with the season.

“It’s been a real busy week. I’m just trying to focus on my own role in the team.”

The milestone — which had been delayed nine months after his season-ending shoulder injury last June — is just the start of a year that will be all about the retiring Thurston.

They had to win for him.

In true Thurston fashion, he did all the necessary little things and was always in the right place at the right time.

Taumalolo led from the front once again.

It was obvious at different stages that he was struggling with match fitness but that is to be expected after such a long lay-off from the game.

Aside from setting up the last try for Cooper, Thurston’s most influential moment came midway through the first half, with the Sharks holding a 2-0 lead.

The other JT, Jason Taumalolo, barged over the line but was held up by Jayson Bukuya and Matt Moylan.

Thurston was quick to capitalise on the momentum off the next play-the-ball, getting a short pass out to centre Justin O’Neill who crashed over the line.

From here the tries flowed for the Cowboys, with Coen Hess and Kyle Feldt crossing before halftime.

It just wasn’t the night for Paul Gallen and the Sharks.

Points were hard to find in the second stanza, but the Cowboys showed that never-say-die attitude to hold onto the lead and give Thurston a night to remember.

Thurston’s co-captain and fellow returned Cowboy, Matt Scott, was also impressive in his comeback, running for 95 metres and working relentlessly in defence.

It was the veteran prop’s first game in a year after he did his ACL last March but there were plenty of promising signs for him and the North Queensland pack.

Coen Hess was impressive off the bench, while Jordan McLean performed well in his first game in Cowboys’ colours.

Taumalolo however was the standout, eating up 181m and making 28 tackles.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 20 (G Cooper K Feldt C Hess J O’Neill tries J Thurston 2 goals) bt CRONULLA 14 (J Dugan J Segeyaro tries C Townsend 3 goals) at 1300 SMILES Stadium. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Chris Butler. Crowd: 15,900

Originally published as Johnathan Thurston leads North Queensland to victory over Cronulla in his 300th NRL game