Johnathan Thurston

Premiership winning Captain

Johnathan Thurston played 323 NRL games scoring an incredible 2,222 points. He Captained the North Queensland Cowboys to their inaugural NRL Premiership in 2015 and was the recipient of the Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground in the Grand Final. He also won an NRL Premiership with the Bulldogs in 2004.

Johnathan was a true super star of the game and will go down as one of the greats. He became the first ever player to win four Dally M Medals for the NRL season’s best player and the first ever three-time winner of the Golden Boot Award for the world’s best player.

In State of Origin, Johnathan was the only player to play all 24 games of Queensland’s eight-year State of Origin winning streak from 2006, having played 36 consecutive Origin games from his debut in 2005. He broke the record for most points in State of Origin history and won eleven State of Origin Series’.

Playing for Australia, Johnathan represented his country on 38 occasions. During this time, he broke the record for most points scored. He was an integral team member in Australia’s 2013 Rugby League World Cup victory.

In retirement, Johnathan has been heavily involved in the Nine Networks NRL coverage and in 2018 he founded and launched the Johnathan Thurston Academy (JTAcademy) of which is he now the Managing Director. The JTAcademy provides a forum, which encourages Australian youth to access the educational and vocational resources needed to secure meaningful employment.

He has also worked with the Indigenous communities of North Queensland and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. In December 2017 he was awarded the Australian Human Rights Commission Award for his work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. In 2017 he also won the Queenslander of the Year award.

Johnathan Thurston