Mitchell Pearces New Role.

[milanja]

I feel it's only proper after last night to remind people that our former coach, Ricky Stuart, passed on Jonathan Thurston back in 2003.

"I've seen him play, he's too small. He'll never make it in first grade."

His exact words.

Same was said about Tom Brady, 5 bowls later....

[Kelby]

Pearce is great. A lot of pressure off him now. Let him get his kicking game nailed.
Keary and Pearce = NSW?

[One Eyed Willy]

Pearce is great. A lot of pressure off him now. Let him get his kicking game nailed.
Keary and Pearce = NSW?

Really???
Maloney was great for nsw last year, he is back for sure

[Kelby]

Really???
Maloney was great for nsw last year, he is back for sure

Tongue in cheek!

[Tennessee Tornado]

I feel it's only proper after last night to remind people that our former coach, Ricky Stuart, passed on Jonathan Thurston back in 2003.

"I've seen him play, he's too small. He'll never make it in first grade."

His exact words.

Cool Story Bro, but just like you it's a total myth



JOHNATHAN Thurston might be the greatest gift NSW has ever delivered for Queensland.

Thurston was a skinny 18-year-old playing in Toowoomba and struggling to make an impact among rugby league scouts when it was former NSW coach Ricky Stuart who discovered him and took a punt by offering him his first and only teenage contract.

That’s right, it was the Blues mentor worshipped south of the border but derided in Queensland who found Thurston and gave him a football career that has many talking about him becoming a future Immortal.
Stuart spotted Thurston playing an Origin curtain raiser before the final game at Lang Park in 2001, before he sent his recruitment chief Mark Hughes to Toowoomba the following weekend for confirmation they were on a winner and to secure his signature.

“I remember I made Queensland under-19s and Sticky saw me play and he sent Mark (Hughes) up the following weekend to watch me play local A-grade in Toowoomba,” Thurston said.
“Then I went down and had a look at the facilities and everything then went back home and packed my bags and went to Sydney.”

Hughes remembered he was one of only two scouts in rugby league interested in Thurston as a teenager, the other one being Arthur Beetson.

It was the insistence of Stuart who desperately wanted Thurston to come and join his Jersey Flegg team that he was signed by Canterbury.

“Only Arthur Beetson and I were in on Johnathan when he was 17 years of age,” Hughes said.

“Everyone else thought he was too small, too slow, too this. I don’t know what they missed about his footy ability.’’

Thurston joined an elite crew including Sonny Bill Williams and Nate Myles coming through the juniors at Belmore before graduating into the remarkable career that currently includes three Dally M medals and two Golden Boot awards.

“I didn’t think I would get an opportunity anywhere else,” Thurston said.

“I was halfway through the year and so yeah I didn’t think an opportunity would come up again. So I moved down there into the house with Nate and Sonny and a few other boys.

“It took me a while but to get on the team, about six or eight weeks just of constant training for the opportunity just to play in the Flegg team. We ended up winning the comp that year.”
Proving just how big an influence Stuart has been in Thurston’s career, he was also Test coach when the was handed his Kangaroos Test debut in 2006.

“Yeah back in 2006. I’ve have got a lot of time for Ricky and you know he gave me the opportunity back then so I’ve got a lot to thank for Ricky,” Thurston said.

[stringaz]

So how come he ended up at the dogs? Was this prior to 2002 and was sticky coaching lower grades there?