Time for JT to take control: Locky

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TONIGHT, a new chapter begins for Johnathan Thurston.

It is the stage where Thurston must make the crucial, almost imperceptible, leap from naturally gifted, instinctive matchwinner to calculated veteran who wins football games with cool-headed control.

His ability to make that transition will largely determine whether the Cowboys finally clinch the maiden premiership that has eluded them for 19 seasons.

North Queensland will be a fascinating case study this season.

I worked alongside their former coach Neil Henry during State of Origin campaigns and Neil's contribution to the club should not be undersold.

But under new coach Paul Green, who cut his teeth as an assistant to Wayne Bennett while I was at the Broncos, the Cowboys have the bedrock to do something special in this competition.

Now it is up to Thurston, my old Test and Origin partner in crime, to bring a potential masterpiece together.

Like many great players before him, JT has reached the age where he must confront his NRL mortality.

Johnathan Thurston. Picture: Fiona Harding Source: News Limited

In April, he will turn 31. By no means is he on his last legs, but he must now be consistently dominant in a different way.

We know JT can win games almost single-handedly. But this season, the challenge for Thurston is to take charge of games and shape outcomes with his experience and ability to direct play more so than just solo brilliance.

He has now played enough club and representative football to know how to move a football team around the paddock, like an NRL chessmaster putting the pieces in place, thinking two and three plays ahead. He has the class. Now it is about precision control.

Deep down JT will know time is running out for him to deliver a title to North Queensland.

I began to feel that at the Broncos and it was only in my twilight years that I began to truly appreciate how sweet it is to win a premiership.

Before I had reached my mid-20s, I had won three premierships in five years at the Broncos.

I was reared in an environment where success was a given, and it was easy to be guilty of taking that culture for granted.

JT will understand my point on that. He won a premiership at the Bulldogs as a rookie in 2004, but he hasn't been back to the big dance since 2005.

That decade-long hiatus will have stoked his competitive fire.

He can get the Cowboys to a grand final this season by realising he has acquired the knowledge and experience to take the club where it yearns to go.

I am definitely noticing a greater maturity in Thurston's play.

TAKE PART IN OUR SUPERCOACH CHALLENGE!

Having played alongside JT in some huge games, I want him to know just how dominant he can, and should, be.

People might be surprised to hear this, but in the heat of battle, Johnno is such a nice guy he doesn't like to be a dictatorial type of playmaker.

At heart, he doesn't like to impose himself.

When I played with him, out of respect he was mindful of overcalling me and because he is such a fantastic team man he would rather work with his teammates than boss them for a result.

But this year, I would urge Thurston to take full control. It is time for him to be really authoritative. His teammates won't see him as a dictator.

They will respect his confidence in being able to close a game out by making decisions not solely because he is talented, but because he has earned the right.

He now has undisputed credibility and status in the game. If JT wants to take control, I know his Cowboys teammates will buy into what he wants to do.

A key will be Thurston's relationship with his new coach.

It's important for the Cowboys that JT and Green get on well and respect one another, because if they forge a strong player-coach relationship, they won't want to let each other down.

I enjoyed that with Wayne Bennett at the Broncos, and it becomes a powerful dynamic.

Knowing Green, he will do a good job in Townsville. He is very strategic, but importantly he possesses a good work ethic.

There will be periods where it's challenging, and Paul will scale a natural learning curve, but they have the roster to be a top-four side.

There are still some question marks. Can the Cowboys replace Matt Bowen at fullback? Is Ray Thompson the answer at hooker? Lachlan Coote's injury will hurt them, but there's not many reasons they can't win it.

North Queensland have the choir. They just need their conductor, Thurston, to call the right tunes.

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