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There are not many safe bets in this topsy-turvy NRL comp, but I’ve come up with one that could be a given – Cowboys star Johnathan Thurston will not get bashed at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
One of the year’s hottest debates was spawned in the second round duel between North Queensland and Newcastle at Townsville, when Thurston was heavily spotted in a series of off-the-ball hits that left the halfback battered, bruised and nursing a nasty black eye.
After the Cowboys’ 16-14 loss, Test prop Matt Scott vowed that the next time the clubs met, he would not hold back if there were any late hits on Thurston or any of his teammates.
Knights pair Beau Scott and Jeremy Smith were the villains of the piece, with Chris Houston also involved in an ugly upending tackle that saw Thurston land on his head.
No suspensions were forthcoming in the game’s aftermath but there was a huge outcry that playmakers needed more protection from the on and off-field officials.
Thurston rarely complains about rough-house treatment but after that game he coldly suggested the Knights had failed to learn any lessons from the serious injury suffered by their teammate Alex McKinnon.
We have now reached Round 8, and it looks as though the wounds from that fiery game are still festering.
“They (Newcastle) gave it to Johnno when they came up here, so we owe them one,” livewire hooker Jake Granville told The Townsville Bulletin.
“That game created a fire for us, it got us to where we are today.”
The Cowboys machine is finally moving after a spluttering start to the 2015 campaign. Thurston is grabbing the headlines, but much of his genius is coming off the back of a forward pack providing muscle and momentum. Paul Green’s men realise they have a long way to go if they are to fulfil predictions of a maiden title win this year. They weren’t too flash against the Warriors last Saturday, getting up with a try to hooker Granville in the final minute.
This Anzac Day match-up should be engrossing, as Newcastle try to halt their alarming slide from prominence after a stirring start to the year.
Beau Scott has been sidelined with injury and the Knights’ pack has lacked its trademark aggression. They will need to find it soon or those opening four wins will fade to distant memory and the rot will set in.
Newcastle need energy and momentum up front if halves Tyrone Roberts and Jarrod Mullen are to be effective again. Both have struggled, along with skipper Kurt Gidley over the past few weeks. Potential match-winners Dane Gagai and Joey Leilua have been ineffective in recent games, with some rather ordinary stuff handed in by the play-makers.
Some feel we could be heading for an old-fashioned grudge match after the events in Townsville, but those wild and woolly days look to be dead and buried by the introduction of the punch-and-you’re-binned edict.
I’m looking forward to this game. We are going to learn a lot more about both teams and their chances in 2015.
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