The Mark of a Champion

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Wally Lewis and Clive Churchill medallist, 3 x Golden Boot winner, 4 x Dally M medallist, 2 Premierships, 38 Tests and 37 Origins, but what is it really that makes the great Johnathan Thurston a ‘Champion' in the truest sense?

There's been countless players throughout the annals of Rugby League history to achieve greatness through their time in the game, some have even been rewarded with the status of Immortality, but it's hard to recall anyone leaving quite the same mark on the game as the retiring Bulldogs, Cowboys, Maroons, Kangaroos and Indigenous All-Stars Champion. 

As the sun sets on his glittering career around 7.15pm on Saturday night, the great JT will be remembered as much as anything for the man and role model he's transformed himself into over his seventeen year career.

A self-confessed scallywag in his younger years to the loving husband, father and role model we see in front of our eyes today.

Somewhere along the line something clicked inside the great man's mind. His ability on the field and anything he may achieve would come second to the responsibility he felt to leave a lasting legacy on the players he lined up with and the future generation of stars he would inspire on a weekly basis.

He was the first to pick up his kicking tee and hand it to an adoring ball-boy after a shot at goal, now they all do it.

The number of times vision has come to light of him walking over to a young fan post-match to hand them a treasured piece of memorabilia whether it be a headgear or a pair of boots is truly inspiring. 

You can just imagine these young kids with a JT headgear sitting on their bedside table going to sleep at night dreaming of one day emulating their hero's feats.

It's been well documented the story of him offering his injured Bulldogs Captain Steve Price his premiership ring after replacing him in the 2004 Grand Final. After making his move to Townsville and appearing in a second straight decider the following year with the Cowboys, he could be forgiven for thinking premiership rings weren't so rare at the time. 

History now shows, it would take ten long years to again taste the success of lifting the NRL trophy, but the indelible mark he imprinted on the North Queensland Club and their far reaching communities in the lead-up to that fateful night and indeed since, will never be forgotten.

When you think back long enough, his transformation as a player is simply remarkable.

It's often talked about these days in assessing players abilities to play in the halves, that they're either a running half or a game-manager. It's commonly referred to as too big an ask for a player to control the tempo of a game when their biggest strength is to just run the football.

Thurston is one of the few exceptions to the rule. Early on in his career he was seen as a classy ball-runner with the best show and go in the business. No doubt through hours of effort and perseverance, he transferred himself into one of the great game-managers the game has ever seen.

He will also go down arguably as King of the clutch moments. 

Whether it be at Club, State or International level, the sight of JT's right boot converting from the sideline or snapping a one-pointer with the game on the line is the stuff of legends. Not to mention his ability to unlock a defensive line with the ball in hand as he would scheme around until he found their weakness to ice a match-winning play.

There's already been thousands of hotly contested discussions comparing him to some of the greats of the past and there's sure to be plenty more post-career. 

Any such debate should be centred only around on-field ability because there's two key areas to his game that can't be matched. 

Durability and the sheer will to compete. 

Hardly blessed with the physical attributes of an athletic specimen, it's amazing the miles he's gotten out of his body considering how he plays the game. If you received a dollar for every time he's been knocked over after taking the ball to the line you'd be a billionaire. 

In all honesty, there's been times this year he's looked like he was about to break, but due to his determination, toughness and inner-drive to keep helping his team-mates, he continuously picked himself up and soldiered on. It's hard to think of a more durable to player to ever play the game.

For years his efforts off the ball were largely overshadowed by his heroics with the ball in hand, but in recent times it's become crystal clear just how much of a competitor he really is.

If he's not orchestrating a play himself, he's marshalling his troops to help them get in position, he's cleaning up kicks or he's covering on the inside in defence. 

Nine times out of ten he doesn't need to be covering for his mates, but he keeps doing it so when that one out of ten occurs, he's ready to pounce. It's the very reason you've seen him so many times come from one side of the field to the other to help out when an opposition player has broken through the line.

After the final curtain closes on JT's stellar career on Saturday night, no one will really remember the result of his final match or the disappointing final season his Cowboys have endured.

He will forever be remembered as a true Champion of our game. In due course, he will undoubtedly join the prodigious club of Rugby League Immortals. 

His legacy will become imbedded in Rugby League folklore.

Johnathan Thurston - the most competitive player to ever lace a boot.