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Is Johnathan Thurston elite? Is he the great halfback we all think he is?
We know his achievements at representative level, and we are aware that individually he is one of the best we have ever seen, his multiple Dally M medals vouch for that.
However, with all the talk of the Cowboys finally getting it all together and living up to the hype, I still have my doubts about the origin star and whether his name belongs next to the other great No. 7’s in history like Andrew Johns, Peter Sterling, Ricky Stuart or Alan Langer.
I think back to 2004 when a young Johnathan Thurston won a premiership with the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Thurston came off the bench that day, and only just made the team due to an injury to Bulldogs captain Steve Price; he was passenger that season and had little or no influence on the game, but we knew we were going to see a lot more of him in the future.
Fast forward 12 months and Thurston is playing in his second grand final in two years, this time around Thurston carried a no-name North Queensland Cowboys side all the way to the big dance, only to be out-classed by a young, energetic and highly-skilled Wests Tigers side.
Thurston was exposed that day as he made some horrible reads in defence, and it felt like he was struggling for motivation.
For the first time in Thurston’s short career, things were not going his way. We have become accustomed to Johnathan Thurston’s blow-up, where he will yell, scream and whinge as soon as it looks like fortune was not on his side.
Now for all the superlatives that describe how good Thurston is, one thing is clear, he has failed in every finals series since 2005 and until he wins a Premiership as a leading halfback, he will never reach the level of greats like Johns, Stuart, Sterling or Langer.
These players were able to carry a team season after season consistently; all four players managed to win multiple premierships and in regards to Langer and Johns, they never lost a grand final.
In regards to Andrew Johns, arguably the greatest halfback of all time, he was not your typical athletic style halfback. Johns was known for his toughness and his ability to read the game; he was cut from a different cloth than today’s halfbacks.
Thurston and Johns share similar qualities, but it’s the differences that have them worlds apart.
Defensively, Joey was the best we have seen in the No. 7. He would pick players up double his size and drive them back 15 metres. You could never question his heart, and you knew you could rely on him in the big moments.
People seem to forget how bad of a defender Thurston is due to his ability with the ball. Historically Thurston is a huge liability defending his line and even this season he has missed a total of 52 tackles.
The season average for missed tackles is 20.2. For an elite halfback and star of the game, that effort is quite poor and could be a telling statistic of his career if the Cowboys fail once again.
Now I know we don’t measure the success and failure of a player by the amount of premierships they have won, but for Thurston it’s different, because his success at rep level and through stages of the regular season have built this great expectation upon his shoulders.
My question is, can he live up to this expectation? Can he finally break through all the finger pointing, blaming and controversy and call himself an all-time great halfback?
I think it’s fair we judge Thurston on his ability to deliver a premiership for the Cowboys, because I’m confident that’s how he would judge himself. Anything short of a premiership is a failure for the Cowboys in every season Thurston is wearing the No. 7 Jersey.
When Johns, Langer, Stuart and Sterling were plying their trade, a finals appearance was a guarantee, not a possibility. They led from the front and took responsibility.
Lets look at this season.
The Cowboys started off the with their usual inconsistency, then shocked us all by winning three home games in row against Queensland rivals Brisbane, 2013 Premiers the Roosters and the resurgent Parramatta Eels.
Then, in classic Cowboys form, lost 42-10 the Canberra Raiders. Once again we were all left baffled about the Cowboys’ chances of breaking the Premiership drought.
In the following month they lost two games to bottom-eight teams and won two big games against the Rabbitohs and the Storm. Thurston was instrumental in the Cowboys’ 22-point win over the Storm; his dominant performance came just three days after State of Origin Game Three. This is the type of game we expect from Thurston, but he often fails to deliver.
Recently the Cowboys have been in winning form, putting together four wins in a row and forcing themselves into the top four. Although this is admittedly an amazing achievement this late in the season, we can’t forget the fact these four wins came against bottom-eight teams.
On paper the Cowboys boast a very strong side, and with Thurston at halfback it’s with real no surprise that they’re sitting in fourth place. However, without a grand final appearance I would consider this season another fail by Johnathan Thurston and his Cowboys.
The Cowboys best result since the 2005 grand final appearance was 28-6 loss to Manly in a preliminary final in 2007. Since then, they have made the finals only three times and have missed out on three as well, including almost wining the wooden spoon in 2010, an honour later claimed by the Storm for salary cap breaches.
Thurston has only showed us what the Cowboys are missing out on when he performs for Queensland in origin or Australia at the World Cup. He has no problem showing up for big games or scoring a match winner at rep level, but when he goes missing, everyone gives him a pass and lets him get away with the fact he has failed again.
I love Johnathan Thurston, but it’s time for him to step up and show us what he is made of, to put all of the garbage aside and show us that he is an elite half back, and deserves to be referred to as the greatest half back of all time; right now, he doesn’t even belong in the discussion.
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