Johnathan Thurston magic laid for Maroons' win in Origin 1 - Courier Mail
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Johnathan Thurston magic laid for Maroons' win in Origin 1
Darren Lockyer
May 29, 2010 12:00AM
Queensland take out Origin I
FOR Johnathan Thurston to have played one of his best State of Origin games in such testing conditions off the back of one of his least complete preparations confirms in my mind his standing as a true Queensland great.
Considering he has not played much footy in the past four weeks or so, it was a big effort to have the impact he did in a draining game in our win on Wednesday night.
The stats men tell us that in the last six games North Queensland have played, he completed 80 minutes in two, missed two entirely with injuries to both shoulders, and managed 31 minutes and 12 minutes in the other two.
Johnathan is a very fit athlete and at 27 if, fingers crossed, he has luck with injuries I can see him playing for Queensland for many years yet.
He makes some difficult things look easy and that's a sign of a really good player.
JT is not afraid to try things and sometimes in an Origin game that adventurous mindset can be the difference between success and defeat.
A lot of people marvelled at the try JT and Billy Slater worked for the Maroons in the first half. I'm pretty sure Billy called for the kick. We had numbers coming down our left side, but Johnathan decided it wasn't the way to go. His crafty little kick was picked up beautifully by Billy at full pace.
Accolades aren't hard to find when your team wins and each Queensland win sees our side more closely compared to the greatest Maroons teams of the past.
But I don't want us to lose focus. For the second Origin game, we need a preparation like the one we had for Game One in Sydney:
THE PLATFORM
Over the eight days we were in camp, it was one of the best preparations I've been associated with.
Despite the injury to Cam Smith and the head clash between Greg Inglis and Willie Tonga, everyone knew their job and did it patiently. We addressed our preparation for Game Three last year and it brought us down to earth.
But the team felt increasingly confident as the days went on. The facilities we had at Coolum made our use of time so efficient.
I'm really pleased for Matt Ballin, that his debut went so well and I expect to build his career on this break. He was playing at the Broncos when the Berrigan brothers were there and didn't get an opportunity. He's won a grand final at that stadium and we just knew he was not going to let us down.
Cam Smith helped Matt get used to our plays. It's not an easy job, but as the week went on JT and I became more and more familiar with his play.
THE GAME
We had maybe the worst opening 10 minutes Queensland have had during our good run. The conditions were fairly heavy, but we knew it was going to be slippery.
We said before the kick-off we were going to make a lot of mistakes, but so would NSW. It was important we reacted positively to those errors.
We scored quickly in response when NSW grabbed the first try and played patiently. When the rain eased about 20 minutes in, the ball became easier to grasp. Our handling was pretty impressive from there, particularly in a couple of our tries. I think everyone in the team had ball-grip spray on their hands and it lasts pretty well through a wet half of football.
JT and I needed to direct the team around the park and keep our composure. We did that well.
In the pack, David Shillington was great and Nate Myles racked up 37 tackles. He could not have done that 12 months ago. Nate finds another gear at Origin level. I could see him out on his feet a number of times, but he kept turning up.
Sam Thaiday's 28 tackles and 17 hit-ups was an outstanding effort and we could ask no more from our starting props Petero Civoniceva and Matt Scott.
Cam Smith's happiness with our win was plain on the television coverage as he sat in the coaches' box. I had a similar experience in 2008. Mal Meninga has built this family atmosphere, where even if you are injured you feel like you want to be there when you are not playing so you can make a contribution.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Talking in the rooms after the win and at the team function later that night, we agreed it was a good performance. The attitude was: "Let's enjoy tonight, but the job is half done."
Queensland players will have a chat during our preparation for Game Two and make sure we aren't getting ahead of ourselves.
I'm told when JT was interviewed after the game, he said it would be good to win at Suncorp Stadium for many reasons, one of them is that it shapes as my last Origin game in Queensland.
I appreciate the goodwill of teammates and fans on this score, but I won't get caught up in it.
I will concentrate on my preparation for the game. It's just part of the process of being a footballer when you get towards the end. I just want to do a good job while I am there for that week. That's where my energies will be directed towards, not the past or the future.
Mal said last week he's not convinced it's my last year. I'm not officially going to shut the door on it, but I'm approaching it like it's my last.
I don't think NSW will make mass changes, maybe a couple of alterations. I had expected Paul Gallen and Greg Bird to be in their team for Game One, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are returned to the side for the Brisbane game.
Gallen and Trent Barrett will be two players NSW selectors will keep an eye on when their Cronulla side plays the Broncos on Saturday night.
Jarryd Hayne to fullback would be another possible NSW switch. I see fullbacks for their club who get selected on the wing in representative teams don't find it easy to adjust. Darius Boyd is one exception.
