YOU can turn up for Johnathan Thurston’s farewell but don’t forget to rock up to the game.
That’s the warning Queensland legend Wally Lewis has for the Maroons after Thurston was on Friday ruled out of this year’s State of Origin finale and the rest of the NRL season with a shoulder injury.
After forcing a decider with his matchwinning conversion in game two, Thurston will watch from the sidelines at Suncorp Stadium on July 12. And while Lewis admits the North Queensland star’s on-field absence will provide extra motivation for the Maroons, the Immortal is urging the team not to be distracted by the drama.
“It would be a nice way to do it, to be able to say to JT, ‘We did it for you’ but I don’t think it should be the centre of attention in winning game three,” Lewis told AAP.
“In a funny way, even bringing JT’s name into it might be the worst possible thing. They’re going to be concentrating on winning the game for a different reason than wrapping up the series up.”
Lewis, who was farewelled a winner in the 1991 Origin decider at the old Lang Park, admits Thurston’s exit from the representative arena will ensure a capacity crowd in Brisbane.
“It’s always used in the promotion for it, spoken about in the press,” he said. But he insists the primary objective must be staying focused on how the Maroons will overcome a Blues team that will be buoyed by Thurston’s absence. NSW stunned Queensland 28-4 in game one.
“All of the blokes that take part in it, they’re the first ones to put their hands up and say, ‘That’s bullshit, you’re not playing for me. You’re playing to wrap up the series’,” Lewis said.
“To carry on with this garbage that you’re playing to send him out a winner, that’s not part of it.
“The guys are instructed to do one thing — to stick to the game plan, to retain that in their mind all the way through in the build-up and achieve success for the right reason.
“The players, they’ll speak about it once.
“They’ll say we do want to make sure JT can enjoy it as well. But this is all about us sticking to the game plan and making sure we win it because unfortunately he won’t be playing any part in it.”
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