It’s time for the Cowboys to put Johnathan Thurston out to pasture and place their future in the hands of Queensland’s next great player: Daly Cherry-Evans.
After a tough finals loss to the Roosters, the door slammed shut on yet another North Queensland Cowboys grand final run.
The window for winning is closing fast and it’s time the club started considering the future, cut their losses and severed ties with one of the greatest football players of his generation.
Thurston just finished playing one of his best seasons ever. He led the league in points scoring, try assists and line break assists. He scored 10 tries and was one of the most dominant players in the league. He should be a lock for the Dally M and be officially recognised as best football player in the competition.
Despite all of this, it’s time North Queensland looked forward.
Thurston turns 32 next year and has had two shoulder reconstructions. He’s played almost 250 club games and made 70 representative appearances. He’s undoubtedly a tough bloke, who holds the record for consecutive State of Origin games, but there’s no question that all this footy is going to start catching up with an ageing JT.
Cherry-Evans is a future superstar and he should be the future of the Cowboys. While he had an up and down year this season, he’s already won a premiership with Manly, has established himself as one of the best halves in league, and it’s only a matter of time until he forces his way into the Queensland starting side.
JT himself has already dubbed Cherry-Evans as a future Origin captain.
Cherry-Evans is over half a decade younger than Thurston, and is entering the prime of his football career, he’s also talented enough to play in seven or six. His contract with Manly expires at the end of next season and from November this year he is free to receive future contract offers from other teams. The first one he receives should be from the Cowboys.
The situation at Manly is toxic, with a team that has been competing for premierships in recent seasons imploding due to internal player squabbling. Star players have already left for other teams. With Kieran Foran’s future at the club also uncertain, it’s unclear who will be left at the Silvertails beyond 2015.
On the flip side the Cowboys have a young, dynamic team set up to win for years to come. They have one of the most productive and fertile youth systems in the country that consistently produces a bevy of talented young players ready-made for first grade football. They need a new leader to take them forward into a golden era and an inaugural premiership.
Thurston is on a big money contract that runs until the end of 2017 and while the potential of both DCE and Thurston running around the same paddock in the tropical north is exciting, salary cap restrictions make this a moot point. The Cowboys need to make the tough decision to move Thurston on and free up the cap space required to sign the next superstar of the game.
This won’t be an easy decision for the Cowboys. JT is practically a god up in the north, and many will resist the move to push him out of the club before his contract is up. But the banana benders need to face reality, it’s time to move on.
Thurston should be given one more crack at winning the comp with the Cowboys next year and then the club needs to look to the future and hand the reigns to DCE in 2016.
The Cowboys have an opportunity to future-proof the success of the club for the next half decade if they make the move for the Cherry Bomb. If they don’t, they risk having one or two more seasons of competitive footy before entering the NRL wilderness for the foreseeable future.
Great players win football games. Great management wins premierships.
Jackson Henry
Guest
Agree.
Jack
Guest
I'm a fairly casual Cowboys fan - I just made this team up to show how good their squad is. I'm a Broncos member and Granville is a gun! I reckon they promised him a starting position, otherwise he'd be in the same position he would be at the Broncos. Morgan is also a gun, I'd be asking him where he wants to play and if it's fullback, well Coote can play centre or something like I named him. If it's 5/8, then Lui and Thompson just don't get spots. Morgan and Granville are 2 of the best young players coming through, at least through QLD systems, so to have them at the same club with Thurston, Scott and even other young talents like Taumololo, it'd be a good time to be a Cowboys fan I reckon.
Johnno
Guest
would have helped if Josh Reynolds wasn't 8 metres offside and Sutton had listened to the touch judge telling him that fact.
The Barry
Guest
Even if I've learned nothing else it's that league fans have short memories. Earlier this year DCE was the best player in the comp I never read a view then that he was over rated or a dud. So either people have changed their mind based on two months of footy or they were sitting on their hands and too scared to give a dissenting opinion. Players don't become garbage just because they go through a form slump. DCE will bounce back.
Matthew Edwards
Roar Pro
Pearce has been in awesome form, Cronk is Cronk… But those other 3 guys you mentioned aren't even in the same post code as DCE.
Matthew Edwards
Roar Pro
DCE is a superstar… Too say otherwise is just dumb… He is no JT but the guy can flat out play.
Matthew Edwards
Roar Pro
I tend to agree with this, I just think it was more the team structure was built for cronk to excel in. DCE is the best young player in the game IMO, but he can't go out there and play Cronks game. In saying that it also seems like many at Manly don't like DCE, it seems that DCE mostly loves himself and the $$$
Matthew Edwards
Roar Pro
Nightingale is nowhere near as good as brett morris. Foran is a gun though.
Kevin dustby
Guest
They have come 5th, 8th and 5th in the table and no one wins outside the top 4.
NQ Cowboy
Guest
There is a problem with Lui being a hooker. He can't tackle.
Rellum
Roar Guru
:), because Wally's club career started in 88.
The Barry
Guest
I've always found that excuse strange. Why would Mal pick a halfback on the bench for two years and not run him in the halves at all as an injury contingency?
The Barry
Guest
I'm not suggesting for a second that they move JT on but they need to think of life after him. A serious injury now could be the end.
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
If Foran had chosen NSW over NZ I have no doubt in my mind that 8 in a row would have stopped at 6 or 7. I've always found it funny how the Kiwi boys often don't get the raps they deserve (Jason Nightingale is another example - I rate him almost as highly as his teammate Brett Morris, but strike rate at test level is significantly lower than BMoz because he hasn't had the likes of Thurston, Lockyer, Cronk and Slater throwing him the final pass his entire rep career).
Joel
Guest
move along Rookie Brin Paulsen, time for a new Rookie me thinks .... ouch!
Joel
Guest
move over Rookie Brin Paulsen, time for a new Rookie me thinks .... ouch!
Don
Roar Rookie
If Coote comes back fit then he is the obvious fullback. I'd be considering playing Morgan at 5/8 and trial Robert Lui at Hooker. A full preseason without knee operations for Moga will hopefully see him reach his full potential next year. He will be an absolute ripper. As to any talk of bringing in a DCE for Thurston - well thats just nuts.
The eye
Guest
How many Clive Churchills has Foran got ?
cedric
Guest
yeah, rest JT during the four nations,! he needs a rest ( he's getting on you know ) and then we might see 2 more years out of him ! Don't waste him on those Poms and Kiwis.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Agree with this Rellum. He'll bounce back from his poor past few months. And those that say he goes missing in big games? Well a Clive Churchill medal might disagree with that. With Johns guiding him he will be a star of the future. But he isn't close to JT right now.