By Daniel Pace
May 26, 2007 NORTH Queensland captain Johnathan Thurston led his teammates to victory over the Bulldogs - and then ripped into them for allowing the opposition back into the match.
Thurston apologised to his teammates at the post-match press conference while a contrite and frustrated Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes also said sorry - for becoming involved in a heated verbal exchange with an obnoxious Cowboys fan at Suncorp Stadium.
"I lost my cool with one of the North Queensland supporters up in the box,'' said Folkes after the fan allegedly made obscene gestures to him every time the Cowboys scored a try.
"I apologise to him. I'm not going to go into it. There was no punch-up or anything.''
North Queensland held a 24-0 lead in the 46th minute when New Zealand international Sione Faumuina scored a try that virtually sealed the result.
But the never-say-die Bulldogs grabbed the next three tries to bridge the gap to 10 points with 10 minutes remaining to provide a glimmer of hope for their disillusioned fans.
Kangaroos and Queensland halfback Thurston, who earned another man-of-the-match performance just 48 hours after backing up from Origin I at the same venue, dished out a spray to his players as the Bulldogs threatened an unlikely comeback.
"I just spoke to a couple of them about it,'' said Thurston, who made his first grade debut with the Bulldogs in June, 2002.
"I thought I lost my way there a bit but it's all a learning curve for me. I'll learn from that. It was probably the wrong time to lose my head.''
North Queensland coach Graham Murray felt there was no need for Thurston to apologise to his teammates.
"He's turning into a great captain,'' said NSW mentor Murray, who watched helplessly as Thurston helped destroy the Blues in their 25-18 loss on Wednesday night.
"I probably disagree with him. I didn't hear what he said behind the line but sometimes captains do that and they lose it for a minute.
"Players don't worry about that. They reflect on what he's saying and what he's doing on the football field.
"Sometimes he loses it but he held them together great.''
Cowboys hooker Aaron Payne was instrumental in setting up first half tries to speed machine Matt Bowen and prop Shane Tronc before Thurston took over in attack.
He set up a try for Bowen with a clever chip-kick which he regathered and three minutes later he threw a lovely ball to put Faumuina into a hole.
Thurston was no slouch in defence either as he came close to stopping a try to inspirational Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan, who grounded the ball in the 70th minute just before he was bundled into touch.
"It hasn't been the best couple of days at Suncorp,'' said NSW back rower Ryan, who made a game-high 32 tackles.
Folkes lambasted his players for their high error rate but praised the efforts of Ryan and fullback Luke Patten in a side that has lost three straight matches.
"If the other 15 guys could take into the game the same attitude and execution ... they (Ryan and Patten) play near their best every week,'' he said.
The only downside for the Cowboys was a neck injury to veteran centre Paul Bowman.
AAP
May 26, 2007 NORTH Queensland captain Johnathan Thurston led his teammates to victory over the Bulldogs - and then ripped into them for allowing the opposition back into the match.
Thurston apologised to his teammates at the post-match press conference while a contrite and frustrated Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes also said sorry - for becoming involved in a heated verbal exchange with an obnoxious Cowboys fan at Suncorp Stadium.
"I lost my cool with one of the North Queensland supporters up in the box,'' said Folkes after the fan allegedly made obscene gestures to him every time the Cowboys scored a try.
"I apologise to him. I'm not going to go into it. There was no punch-up or anything.''
North Queensland held a 24-0 lead in the 46th minute when New Zealand international Sione Faumuina scored a try that virtually sealed the result.
But the never-say-die Bulldogs grabbed the next three tries to bridge the gap to 10 points with 10 minutes remaining to provide a glimmer of hope for their disillusioned fans.
Kangaroos and Queensland halfback Thurston, who earned another man-of-the-match performance just 48 hours after backing up from Origin I at the same venue, dished out a spray to his players as the Bulldogs threatened an unlikely comeback.
"I just spoke to a couple of them about it,'' said Thurston, who made his first grade debut with the Bulldogs in June, 2002.
"I thought I lost my way there a bit but it's all a learning curve for me. I'll learn from that. It was probably the wrong time to lose my head.''
North Queensland coach Graham Murray felt there was no need for Thurston to apologise to his teammates.
"He's turning into a great captain,'' said NSW mentor Murray, who watched helplessly as Thurston helped destroy the Blues in their 25-18 loss on Wednesday night.
"I probably disagree with him. I didn't hear what he said behind the line but sometimes captains do that and they lose it for a minute.
"Players don't worry about that. They reflect on what he's saying and what he's doing on the football field.
"Sometimes he loses it but he held them together great.''
Cowboys hooker Aaron Payne was instrumental in setting up first half tries to speed machine Matt Bowen and prop Shane Tronc before Thurston took over in attack.
He set up a try for Bowen with a clever chip-kick which he regathered and three minutes later he threw a lovely ball to put Faumuina into a hole.
Thurston was no slouch in defence either as he came close to stopping a try to inspirational Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan, who grounded the ball in the 70th minute just before he was bundled into touch.
"It hasn't been the best couple of days at Suncorp,'' said NSW back rower Ryan, who made a game-high 32 tackles.
Folkes lambasted his players for their high error rate but praised the efforts of Ryan and fullback Luke Patten in a side that has lost three straight matches.
"If the other 15 guys could take into the game the same attitude and execution ... they (Ryan and Patten) play near their best every week,'' he said.
The only downside for the Cowboys was a neck injury to veteran centre Paul Bowman.
AAP
and his fcuken hair!