Johnathan Thurston stars as Cowboys beat Broncos 12-0

JOHNATHAN Thurston sounded an ominous warning to NSW  with the Maroons maestro orchestrating the Cowboys' epic 12-0 defeat of the Broncos.

Cowboys celebrate

JOHNATHAN Thurston sounded an ominous warning to NSW ahead of the Origin decider after the Maroons maestro recaptured his attacking mojo in the Cowboys' epic 12-0 defeat of the Broncos.

Thurston was his most scathing critic following Queensland's 16-12 loss in Origin II, but it was his one-two combination with fullback Matt Bowen that delivered the knockout punch in an Origin-style affair at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

With the scores locked at 0-0 after a pulsating hour, Thurston's class shone. He produced the inside ball for Bowen to release Gavin Cooper in the 61st minute and generally ran the Broncos ragged in a blood-and-thunder contest Cowboys prop Matt Scott rated the quickest club game he had played.

Thurston's numbers alone told the story. He made six tackle busts, two linebreaks, one linebreak assist and ran for 126m from 11 runs.

"I thought JT was sensational," Maroons enforcer Scott said later.

"For him to get through the amount of work he did, two days after Origin, is something special.

GALLERY: COWBOYS V BRONCOS

"We needed that tonight. It was probably the quickest NRL game I've played in and we needed all 17 to contribute.

"Mentally, JT prepared himself really well for this game. The amount of ground he covers, I don't know how he does that and we needed him to turn up.

"It was up there with Origin, it's not the type of game you want two days after Origin."

Cowboys celebrate

If Thurston was rampant, his partner-in-crime Bowen was a joy to watch. He almost watched his NRL career slip away two years ago following a series of knee problems but the veteran fullback is at the peak of his powers.

The 30-year-old destroyed the Broncos, making a staggering 13 tackle busts and posting 204 metres from 16 runs.

He threw the final pass for both North Queensland tries and could be the answer at fullback if Maroons custodian Billy Slater fails to recover in time for the decider.

Bowen played the last of his 10 Origin games in 2007, but Cowboys coach and former Maroons assistant Neil Henry is adamant the livewire would relish a recall.

"I think he'd like to represent, that desire is there with him," he said.

"It was a great performance. Queensland have a few options with Greg Inglis and Billy might bounce back and be right for Origin III ... but Matty wouldn't let anyone down."

The Broncos were equally gutsy but lacked the class of Thurston in clutch moments. Still, coach Anthony Griffin rated the effort superior to last week's 40-22 thumping of the Roosters.

"I was very proud of them tonight, we got our defensive game back which we didn't have a month ago, we've worked very hard, we've set a standard again for ourselves," he said.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 12 (G Cooper K Linnett tries J Thurston 2 goals) BRISBANE 0 at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: Gavin Morris, Jason Robinson. Crowd: 20,36