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North Queensland coach Neil Henry revealed his plans to rest Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen for Sunday’s clash with Cronulla were thwarted by his star players’ desire to maintain the Cowboys’ momentum ahead of the NRL finals.
Henry’s side produced a professional performance to see off the Sharks 36-22 in a game that had little significance for the visitors at Toyota Stadium.
Having already secured fifth spot and a home final against Brisbane, Henry admitted he had discussed the prospect of resting some of his big names, but only insisted on resting representative Matt Scott for the game.
“We discussed it but Jono didn’t want to miss a game and I even asked Brent Tate and some of the older guys and he was adamant he wanted to play,” Henry said.
“It’s only Matt Scott who’s got a bit of a niggling injury and that was my decision to say ‘you’re not playing mate’.
“To the boys’ credit they wanted to build on what we’ve been doing, we’re still working on a few things and we didn’t want to come here and rest three or four players and lose a game of footy, so it was important to come here and win.”
Henry admitted his heart was in his mouth when Thurston was floored late in the game by a shoulder charge from Ben Pomeroy which could result in a referral to the NRL judiciary later this week under the new ARLC guidelines imposed last Thursday.
Thurston was helped off following the incident, and Henry was thinking the worst when his playmaker was on the ground.
“It didn’t look too good did it, so that’s one of those that’s going to test that new directive … but thankfully Jono’s OK,” Henry said.
“I was a bit concerned but he wears the headgear, he’s alright.”
Thurston said he experienced some tingling along his arm following the incident, but was adamant there is no serious damage.
“I just got the ball off (Aaron) Payney and looked inside and next thing I know I was on my back,” Thurston said.
“I could have stayed out there and played if I wanted too but it was the coach’s decision to come off.”
The Cowboys go into Saturday’s clash at Dairy Farmers Stadium on the back of four successive wins and Henry is looking forward to locking horns with the Broncos.
“There’s a bit of support up north for the Broncos so hopefully Dairy Farmers will host 30,000 people, it should be great,” he said.
“The boys are looking forward to it, we’ve got a shorter turnaround than them but we’ll get back and freshen up.”
Henry also defended his players’ decision to not attend the Dally M Awards on Tuesday after the club’s request for a home game in round 26 was again knocked back by the NRL.
“Last year we did the right thing and came and brought the whole team down early which is not preferred and we didn’t get a result,” Henry said.
“We’ve asked the NRL for a home game to finish the season for the last two years to make it easier for us to attend, but that has not happened.
“I feel sorry for the players, but they agreed it would disrupt our preparations making three long flights in a short period of time.”
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