Rugby gives Thurston a miss
THE Australian Rugby Union has officially ended its obsession with rugby league superstars by sending a clear message to Cowboys champion Johnathan Thurston: "You're just not worth $2 million."
Off-contract Thurston is seeking a three year deal – worth $700,000 a season – but the ARU yesterday claimed the Queensland Origin star has "priced himself out of the market."
Pictures: North Queensland Cowboys v New Zealand Warriors
Thurston will not be signed by any of the five Australian Super provinces, including Melbourne, while NRL clubs Canterbury and Parramatta say they cannot afford his asking price under the NRL’s salary cap.
The ARU has simply rejected having to top-up Thurston’s contract by the necessary $550,000 a season ($1.65 million over three years) to lure the NRL player to rugby union.
Union sources also claim to be tired of league players wanting to switch codes purely for money.
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An ARU spokesman said: "There is no interest at this stage in Thurston because he has simply priced himself out of the market."
The Melbourne Rebels and Queensland Reds had been touted as possible clubs for Thurston
before the ARU went public yesterday saying the top-up money would not be outlayed.
"Any interest in Jonathan Thurston would mean a top-up from the ARU and from my understanding, the ARU has no interest in Johnathan at all," Rebels CEO Brian Waldron said.
Thurston, who turns 27 in April, has been offered huge money to remain at North Queensland – but may not make a final decision in the immediate future.
It is however known that the Cowboys’ patience is being tested by Thurston’s delay in signing.
One well-placed source said: "For Thurston to go to rugby, the ARU would have to top-up his contract. They won’t be doing that. They aren’t fans of Thurston."
Canterbury chief executive Todd Greenberg said Thurston would cost his club too much money.
"Johnathan has a history here and is very highly regarded at the club," Greenberg said. "But the dollars are beyond us.
"No doubt he is a great player and you would struggle to find a club out there that didn’t want him. But it won’t be us.
"You have to work within the salary cap and know what you can afford."
Parramatta chairman Roy Spagnolo said his club wanted to retain halves Daniel Mortimer and Feleti Mateo
long-term.
"That is our first preference," Spagnolo said. "We are confident of doing that and that wouldn’t give us any room under the cap."
Asked if his club would chase Thurston, Spagnolo said: "Only in the rare circumstance that we miss out on those two."
Cowboys chief executive Peter Parr added: "We just didn’t wake up one day and decide to make Johnathan an offer. This has been planned for a while.
"He is important to us and we want him to stay. The ball is now in JT’s court. There’s not much more we can do."
Thurston’s manager, Sam Ayoub, said Thurston is considering "offers from rugby union clubs overseas".
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