JT comeback rumour sparks plunge
Glenn Jackson and Greg Prichard | March 13, 2008
NORTH Queensland conceded that star halfback Johnathan Thurston might play against Gold Coast tomorrow night, following a betting plunge on the Cowboys yesterday.
More than $75,000 was placed on the Cowboys, sparking speculation that the Test and Origin star might play - more than a month ahead of schedule.
After having off-season reconstructions of both shoulders, the 24-year-old was not expected to return until at least round four. However, he began full contact training on Tuesday after being cleared by his surgeon, John Maguire, and is poised for a shock comeback in the round-one clash at the new Skilled Park.
Cowboys coach Graham Murray chose his words carefully. "He's done what we've asked him to do," he said. "We haven't made any decisions. He had Monday off and he did some pad work on Tuesday. He was back into full contact and he's done everything that's been asked of him."
Cowboys chief executive Peter Parr was even more cautious, saying: "It's news to me."
Titans coach John Cartwright was aware of the talk that Thurston might play but said the addition of arguably the game's best player to the opposition line-up would not alter his plans.
"I heard this morning he was a chance of playing," Cartwright said. "But we're not going to focus on it at all. It takes us away from what we're trying to do. There's nothing we can do."
Titans chief executive Michael Searle questioned whether the Cowboys would be doing the right thing allowing Thurston to play. "It's a big call to come back from a shoulder reconstruction only having one contact training run," he said. "It's fair to say that 'Carty' will be running more traffic through him than the Pacific Highway. It'll be interesting."
Betting plunges often mean something significant has occurred, and the addition of Thurston would be significant for the Cowboys. He is the team's captain and the Queensland and Australian halfback. His combination with Matt Bowen is the best in the game.
Even though he was hampered by the shoulder problems which led to his surgery, Thurston guided the Cowboys to within one game of the grand final last year. His return would be a boost for the Cowboys.
In recent seasons, similar plunges had sparked speculation about whether Andrew Johns was or was not going to play for the Knights. Most often the punters were correct.
The Cowboys' price was cut from $2.20 to $2.05 in a few hours yesterday, with TAB Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie saying $52,000 had been placed on them yesterday to beat the Titans despite little interest in them earlier.
"The market's been sitting there while everything's been written that Thurston's not going to be there," Munsie said. "Then, all of a sudden, everyone gets out of bed and says they want to back them. Something has made them want to be on them."
Centrebet also reported a $25,000 plunge on the Cowboys yesterday.
At Canberra, the biggest recruitment target in the game, halfback Todd Carney, said he hoped the Raiders and the two other clubs chasing him for next season - Penrith and Manly - would understand if he needed until next week to decide his future.
"If I needed to wait until next week I hope everyone would realise why," Carney said. "I think they would. It's a pretty big decision and I always wanted to give Canberra the chance to keep me. I've spoken to them again this week. I'm really not sure what I'm going to do and we've got our first game coming up on Saturday [against Newcastle at EnergyAustralia Stadium]. I've got to start concentrating on that."
Officials from the three clubs are unsure of how they will fare in the race for Carney's signature.
Penrith general manager Mick Leary said his experience was that the longer a player took to decide, the more likely he was to stay with his existing club, and that he was hoping to be wrong.
Manly chief executive Grant Mayer said he was confused by the delay but the Sea Eagles were prepared to wait.
Canberra chief executive Don Furner said he had a gut feeling Carney would make a decision before this weekend.
The Herald understands the chances of Canberra keeping Carney have improved significantly in recent days.
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