Can't be that good of an analyst if you think farah is better then JT
rubbish. qualify your answer. there arn't many more influential people at club level in the game than robbie farah, and i'd have him in my team over thurston in a second. goes for 80 minutes and does some tackling while he's at it, too.
Thurston is a two time Dally M winner and comfortably the best halfback in the game and better than Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall. Those guys are yet to prove anything other than they are immensely talented, they haven't guided their side to a premiership although they were involved in one, and they have for the last 4 seasons failed to even make the semi finals. Greg Inglis and Billy Slater might be on their day as good but there are plently of quality centres and fullbacks in the game, not plenty of halfbacks of JTs class, in fact there aren't any.
I know many many "football analysts" that would highly disagree with you. You are entitled to your opinion but please save us the I am a better poster than you BS.
farah and benji were both extremely influential in their '05 premiership, moreso than any of thurstons involvement in the premiership he has won, and to say otherwise is foolish. the only thing left for your "arguement" is that he's won 2 media popularity awards. good on ya JT!
yes, i am entitled to my opinion and i'm also entitled to retort when someone calls me a "goose" and suggests i never post again. piss off and mind your own business on that one.
uhh..... nobody mentioned Steve Price, except you. And we weren't talking about Cam Smith, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Robbie Farah or Benji Marshall either.
somebody mentioned the best player for QLD the past 4 years. that player is steve price, not johnathon thurston. you may have to read my posts a bit slower in the future, but please try and keep up. i then chose to qualify my answer and where JT rates on my radar as far as "best in the game" goes. whether you agree with me or not is of little consequence. continue with your hissy fit.
Thurston is a machine. You don't have to think he's the best player, but to say Thurston goes MIA is one of the most absurd things I've read on this forum.
how often do you watch JT play? honestly? im not saying it happens every game, and he's had a good start to this season, but the bloke is a ghost out there sometimes. people seem to love it that he touches the ball in a backline movement... and the commentators certainly go ballistic, i'll admit it's quite the spectacle! as far as actual influence in those 30 minutes goes, he does sweet bugger f**k all, quite often too. sadly i don't have access to the level of statistics and replays i require to prove or disprove my hypothesis.
since i generally enjoy your contributions to the forums i'm going to leave it at that. lets just say that i disagree that it could even be in the top 1000 absurd things you've read on these forums considering the content often on display around here and your evergreen presence. slightly disappointed you chose to hyperbolise to this extent in this instance, particularly when i think you'll find theres more merit to what i am saying than may first be apparent, especially if you choose to look beyond thurstons form at the start of this season and the massive and constant wankathon from every commentary team. JT only needs to sneeze in close proximity to the ball and rabs has a heart attack.
The Cowboys have been but Thurston hasn't. The Cowboys rely on their big 4 Bowen, Thurston, Payne and O'Donnell and getting them all on the park at once seems too hard for the Cowboys. I think laying the blame on Thurston for the Cowboys inconsistency is wrong and would have him in a heartbeat over any other halfback unless I wanted to play Thurston as a 5/8 which I wouldnt mind doing but I definitely would never pick Pearce over him.
Cronk is a very good halfback but it is easy having the best fullback, centre and hooker in the game all in your side isn't it? I think it is.
can't argue with any of this, totally agree. QFT.
Of course Cooper Cronk is a fantastic halfback, let's see how he goes with a team like the Sharks or perhaps Canberra.
And of course you'd have Benji Marshall or Robbie Farah, but how good do they look without each other? Hell even in Origin Farah struggles bigtime.
Apparently Thurston's expected to do it on his own, when if some of you actually paid attention you'd realise when the Cowboys win games or do well, he actually doesn't do it on his own.
also agree with this regarding thurston, absolutely spot on. QFTx2. the part that doesn't sit right with me is that judging NSW players based on their performance at origin level the past 4 years is a completely flawed concept. QLD as a unit have been far superior to NSW across the board the last 4 years in talent and, most importantly, passion and desire to win. regardless of any of that, i have been (and still am) under the impression that we are talking about club football, and the prospective value of the players in question to their team.
it would be interesting to rate the likes of hodges based on the same criteria (i.e his debut at origin level against a vastly favoured team). i hope you can understand where i'm going with this one.
i definitely do agree with you, though... there is a lot more to the cowboys in spite of their inability to succeed without thurston on board. don't worry, as a knights fan i had to deal with similar criticism of our team for years with Johns in it... despite him being surrounded by state and international represetatives at the time. i completely relate to and understand where you're coming from.
FTR, canberra with Cooper Cronk, or any top class halfback, would be a fair dinkum contender. Its the only missing link but the most important by far.
even less relevant than things i brought up earlier, but i agree 100%.
Whilst i think you shade him, i dont think your that far ahead. Lets get real here, you're pretty hopeless
uncalled for, untrue and unqualified. the funniest thing i find about this post is that 99% of the time i agree with you, and always post thusly. not sure what this says about your own analysis of the game. perhaps you only remember the times when we've disagreed. i'm certainly going to lose a lot of sleep tonight knowing that i havent earned your approval, but thanks for the input on the subject, lol. i generally respect and enjoy reading over your opinions, because most of the time i do agree with them. interesting that you feel the opposite way, but ill keep it in mind in the future.
I reckon Thurston is overrated to a degree. That doesn't mean I think he's crap or anything, it just puts my general opinion on him in the same category as Hayne last year. He was in fantastic form, but I wasn't cracking a boner like some. Thurston is a good player, however I can't agree with some of the accolades he gets.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still have him over Pearce and over any half in the competition - for a right and realistic price. Well, maybe not actually, I'd probably take Cronk over him because I think he'd suit the Knights better.
It's funny how people on these boards complain and whine that particular players are protected species in the media yet they're guilty of having their own protected species on the forums here. Can't say a word bad about them, lol. It's also amazing how many opinions become based on reputation rather than actually watching the players play.
... and this, ladies and gentlemen, is the crux of it. the forum as a whole bitches and moans about media darlings... and yet i list a handful of players i'd prefer at my club - whilst even conceding in the VERY SAME POST that yes, thurston is the best halfback in the league at the moment... and suddenly there's a heap of fanboys and detractors ready to tell me how wrong i am about the best player on the planet right now (lol).
take it all for what you will, i don't really care... i think we can all agree (well, all bar 14 - at present - truly deluded souls) that we would prefer JT in our team over Pearce in a heartbeat. i implore everyone in this thread to hit the mute button the next time they watch a cowboys match and make up their own minds about thurston. i certainly intend on continuing to do the same, as i literally cannot bare listening to commentary when the bloke is playing... and the same can be said for jarryd hayne at the moment. i do try and give credit when it is due as best as possible, but these blokes get credit whether it is due or not, constantly, for the entirety of every match they play in.
disclaimer - i use hayne as a relatable example of a media darling as far as commentary goes, not for any basis of comparison playing-wise with the grand and unquestionable johnathon thurston. please don't post a muppet reply asking why i brought him into the bloody argument, as that is not my intention... just as it was not my intention with other names i have mentioned as a mere basis of my own comparison. yes, i rate a HANDFUL of players over johnathon thurston... what a crime!
disclaimer for the disclaimer - no, i do not rate jarryd hayne over johnathon thurston.
good afternoon, good evening and good night everyone.
