Now its Thurston to union...

[Mr Saab]

He's never won a Grand FInal.

Not as a starting halfback, but he did win one as a benchie in 2004

 

[maccattack]

I know its easy for me to say. Not being in the position, but I could never ever see myself leaving rugby league for another code.

Knowing full well, that the only reason there is any outside interest is because rugby league had given me so much. Nobody would even know who you were if it wasnt for the game you are considering abandoning and hurting.

Especially not to the code that has done so much damage to your game internationally and has thrived on classism.

I dont know, it makes me sick just thinking about it.

 

[Raidersrawesome]

I cant see him running the ball in union and getting trampled by 15 fat b*st*rds whilst they are scratching his eyes out with their studs. And dont think 1 mil would be enough.
He should go speak to Dell , Rogers and co and ask them for their reasons why they came back.

I dont care if he goes its his choice , the great thing with League is there is always a new superstar coming through the ranks.

 

[Pierced Soul]

I cant see him running the ball in union and getting trampled by 15 fat b*st*rds whilst they are scratching his eyes out with their studs. And dont think 1 mil would be enough.
He should go speak to Dell , Rogers and co and ask them for their reasons why they came back..

well if he wants to extend his career by about a decade he should go to yawnion - he wont get tackled, wont have to make a tackle. only thing is he'll have a sore foot from all the kicking he does

I dont care if he goes its his choice , the great thing with League is there is always a new superstar coming through the ranks.

aint that the truth. whilst i think iot'd be a shame to see him go, already we have prince and cronk in the wings and within a few years we'll ahve another young kid step up

 

[Perth Red]

I know its easy for me to say. Not being in the position, but I could never ever see myself leaving rugby league for another code.

Knowing full well, that the only reason there is any outside interest is because rugby league had given me so much. Nobody would even know who you were if it wasnt for the game you are considering abandoning and hurting.

Especially not to the code that has done so much damage to your game internationally and has thrived on classism.

I dont know, it makes me sick just thinking about it.

as you say, easy for you to say! Imagine you only have 4 or 5 years left in your career. A business offers you $2-3 million more salary over that time than your current employer is able to pay you. Can you honestly say you wouldn't move jobs? Especially when the job they are offering is alot less hard work.

 

[Glenn]

What a shock, off contract end of 2010 and trying to talk up his value.
At least he admits to having no loyalty, will fit in rather well at the Wallabies.

 

[aussies1st]

Halfbacks are harder to come by and the Cowboys will probably struggle to get one as good. But Queensland and Australia still have good halfbacks waiting.

Would be interesting to see how he would go in Union.

 

[Bomber]

Disappointing, but not really surprising.

This would have been this last season in Townsville no matter what...it was always doubtful in my opinion that the Cowboys would have been able to put together a deal that would make him stay.

He's a professional athlete so he's entitled to do whatever he feels is in his best interests. There is no concept of loyalty anymore in professional sports, so why should I be upset at the prospect of him leaving?

In the event that he does leave, it really would be the end of an era at the Cowboys...as mentioned before, Bowen doesn't have much left in the tank...Williams is a shell of the player who broke his leg in 2006...the vast majority of our grand final team have already departed...

I have every confidence that the Cowboys will have great days ahead. It's just that they'll more than likely be without Thurston on board. We're lucky we had him play for six seasons (including 2010) of his career.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

I know its easy for me to say. Not being in the position, but I could never ever see myself leaving rugby league for another code.

Knowing full well, that the only reason there is any outside interest is because rugby league had given me so much. Nobody would even know who you were if it wasnt for the game you are considering abandoning and hurting.

Especially not to the code that has done so much damage to your game internationally and has thrived on classism.

I dont know, it makes me sick just thinking about it.

You've probably never had anyone offer you an extra $600k per year + endorsements + match payments(which are huge in union).

How anyone could turn down that is beyond me.

 

[Thomas]

well if he wants to extend his career by about a decade he should go to yawnion - he wont get tackled, wont have to make a tackle. only thing is he'll have a sore foot from all the kicking he does

He does more kicking in a game of league than he ever would in union. The stats don't lie. In saying that, he'd go bloody well playing rugby union although he tends to go missing sometimes during a game. He'd slot into 5/8 nicely.

It won't happen though. This is just the rattling of a few cages to see what offers are out there.

Expect this to drag on for a good 6 or so months a la Andrew Johns.

 

[BIKER_DRAGON]

boring

 

[Vossy]

bluff..he will be back if he goes, he would get bored sh!tless and ask no beg to come back

cowboys would be f*cked though

 

[Rhino_NQ]

Be sad to see him go but if he does it would mean we would have around 600k to spend upgrading our squad. If we bought a 300k halfback and got rid of some the likes of gash graham and antonio cowpussy and put 50-100k ontop of their price and got somone much better for say 3-4 first graders and also invested into the toyota cup and could end up with us being better off. Could also mean we could get a decent 6 as well.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Can't see it happening, looks like he's just talking up his value.

He'd be a massive loss for the Cowboys obviously but QLD/Aus will be fine.

 

[Simo]

I thought our players threatened to go to afl these days for a contract bump? Come on Thurston, get with the times, the wallabies went out before the french and jap union fad came in, your at least 2-3 negotiating ploys behind.

 

[Paullyboy]

He isn't going to union, as has been pointed out, it's just another shameless attempt by a player to drive up their price.

 

[Gaba]

As a punishment the nrl should make thurston play rugby now

 

[Engine]

Lol..people fell for this trick again??

He will bleed the Cowboys dry and resign with them.

 

[Talanexor]

How many NRL converts have actually stayed with Rugby? The only ones I can think of are the fringe first graders who weren't guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup, or guys who were never NRL regulars. The Ryan Crosses, Berrick Barneses, Michael Witts of this world. Maybe Craig Gower? He's really dropped off the radar.

Wendell and Rogers came back. Tuqiri is coming back. Tahu is coming back. Gasnier is reportedly coming back, and Sonny Bill probably would if he wasn't hated by every league fan and club in the country.

The fact of the matter is Rugby is a slower, more structured game than league. There's no such thing as playing 'off the cuff'. Thurston won't get the starting 5/8 spot for the Wallabies as long as Giteau is around, and he won't get his hands dirty enough playing halfback or inside centre.

And even more than that, Thurston would have to be the least kick-happy halfback in the NRL. When just about every other halfback would have played it safe and booted it downfield on the last, Thurston will throw a dummy, put it through the hands, try a bit of footwork or maybe a chip over the top. NONE of that works in Rugby.

If I had a pretty sweet job that paid me more money than I could realistically spend, and I got to do it however I wanted, would I really trade that away to go and live in Japan or France and do a job that is slower, boring, too structured and really limits what I can and can't do? No thanks.

Cowboys are the only team in the NRL that can afford him. EXCEPT maybe the Bulldogs, if 2010 is the last year for Patten, Ryan and Kimmorley and they lets another couple of players go. Parra certainly couldn't keep Hayne and Thurston in the same team without busting the salary cap several times over. And the Warriors aren't any closer to winning a premiership than the Cowboys.

If the Cowboys management say all this to Thurston and tell him he's captain of the strongest Cowboys side ever, and has a realistic chance of captaining them to their first ever premiership and making history....would you really turn that down for an extra couple of hundred thousand?

 

[CouldaBeenAnything]

Talenaxor is pretty mcu spot on. If he swapped over, it won't be to play domestically IMO, it would be in Japan where the cash would be the only lure. He won't go past Giteau, and for that matter Berrick Barnes would be rated ahead of him also. He could only play 5/8 in Union really and the wobbolies have a bit of depth there at present.

But as mentioned, contract up end of 2010, smart move to try and bump up your price...as long as the NRL and clubs don't call his bluff