Johnathan Thurston AM
Published Wed 01 Jan 2020
He could laugh for Australia and is everyone's best mate, but most of all Johnathan Thurston is a rugby league champion.
Born in Brisbane and a product of Souths Sunnybank, he was said to be too small and was only signed by Canterbury in the NRL in 2001 because he didn't want any money. He just wanted a chance.
It was a remarkable beginning for an even more remarkable player, and one of the very best through 37 State of Origin games for Queensland and 38 games for Australia.
A proud member of the Australian Indigenous Team of the Century, he was a four-time winner of the Dally M Award as the NRL's best player and a three-time winner of the Golden Boot as the world's best.
He has scored most points in Origin history, was the only player to appear in all 24 games for the Maroons' eight-year Origin winning streak from 2006, and played 36 straight from debut. And in 2015 he highlighted a stupendous 323-game NRL career when he led the North Queensland Cowboys to the premiership, kicking an extra time field goal to clinch the title and the Churchill Medal as best afield.
He's done it all and more. And now he's a member of the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame...Johnathan Thurston AM.