‘I’m better than him’: Why Johnathan Thurston almost walked away from league

THE legendary man we know as Johnathan Thurston could have been lost to the rugby league world, and it was all because of a Broncos tracksuit.As excerpts of his autobiography are released, so are details about Thurston’s life and career — one that almost never was.The 35-year-old retired at the end of this season after a glittering NRL career, including four Dally M Medals, two NRL premierships, 38 Tests for Australia and 37 games for Queensland.However, in his book he reveals he almost walked away from the game as a teenager because the Broncos overlooked him repeatedly.When he was 13 he first saw
former Knights footballer Dane Campbell in a Broncos tracksuit, and every year more kids would get signed to the club.Thurston wrote: “I’m better than him.”And the snub almost turned him off rugby league altogether.“I didn’t care if I never played rugby league again. And it was all over a tracksuit,” he wrote.“Soon everyone seemed to have a Broncos tracksuit, well, everyone except me. There they all were, walking around in their shiny new gear, chests puffed out and looking a million bucks. And there I was, slumped in a corner wearing a dirty old Rip Curl jumper. The Broncos started handing out scholarships when I was 13. And by the time I was 15 every decent player I knew had a Broncos tracksuit in their wardrobe.”