​A Tale Of Two Halves: Canberra's Blake Austin Is A Hard Man And Nth Qld's Johnathan Thurston Is Still The GOAT

Three weeks after breaking his hand in a training mishap, Canberra half Blake Austin returned for Saturday night's sudden-death final against the Penrith Panthers with two metal plates and 16 screws in his barely-healed left hand.

The set-up was nauseating. Broken hands are a four to six week injury. Rugby league is arguably the most physically demanding game on the planet. There is nowhere to hide and every inch of the body is tested, especially in a sudden-death final against a Penrith Panthers forward pack boasting the likes of Trent Merrin and the 115kg Leilani Latu. Blake Austin knew what he was getting himself into. It would be a night of agony whichever way he cut it.

He would confess after the game he shouldn't have played, also that he was "scared" of what might happen and would have "never forgiven himself" if the plates and screws failed to hold up and he was forced from the field. But it was all or nothing for the Canberra Raiders. A loss here and the locomotive of grand final momentum they'd created would be spectacularly and, in the minds of a number of Raiders' players and officials, fatally derailed. That Austin was willing to put himself through such agony for the good of the team would have no doubt touched the hearts of his teammates. As soon as the game kicked off it was obvious they wanted to honour him.

His plan would be to play the game in a 'dinner suit;' a rugby league term referring to a playmaker who hides in defence, forcing the players either side of him to pick up the slack in tackling, allowing him to say fresh, protect his injury, and get involved only in the most decisive moments of the game.

And so who else but Blake Austin to call for the ball at the 11 minute mark as Canberra mounted an attacking raid on the Panthers line. It came to him and the wiley 25 year-old journeyman shaped right before jamming so hard back to the left two Penrith defenders straight fell over. He raced through the gap they left and scored the first try of the game. It was a massive, massive play.

He would roll his ankle shortly after, an injury he said became more troubling than the broken hand, but he survived. And so did the Canberra Raiders, hanging on for a memorable 22-12 victory, helped in no small part by the 'old school pommy tuff,' Josh Hodgson at hooker, who'd made an early return from an ankle injury, along with the big boppers up front, Junior Paulo, Josh Papalli and Shannon Boyd. They now take on the Melbourne Storm this weekend for a place in the grand final.

North Queensland Cowboys half, Johnathan Thurston must now surely be the greatest rugby league player to ever lace on a boot. The part-First Australian, part-Maori playmaker, who was once told he was too small to play first grade, did it again against the Brisbane Broncos on Friday night at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.

It was an arm-wrestle of epic proportions; physical, relentless, expansive, end-to-end, and a see-saw on the scoreboard. I watched it at the epicl'y seedy Lord Gladstone pub in Chippendale. There was a rock-and-roll band playing upstairs and the mosh-pit was causing the roof to flex so bad a publican was forced to watch the last 15 minutes of the game standing on a stool so he could hold the big screen projector in place (it being attached to the roof). I made sure to position myself under a load-baring concrete pillar but as the minutes count down the publican's shoulders began to waver with fatigue just like the argonauts on screen. His finger slipped and flicked the off switch. The game disappeared. Let us be reminded that crowds and mobs are fickle beasts, with short memories, and they were not kind to this poor sod.

As the game spilled into extra time, I focused my attention on Johnathan Thurston. How would he get his team out of this? Who could forget last year's grand final when the Queensland Origin and Test great ripped the beating from Brisbane's chest in the last minute of normal time, then spent extra-time nibbling at it before collapsing to the ground and devouring it in a grubby mess of blood, sweat and premiership trophies. Could he do it again?

Forget the dinner suit, JT was wearing an invisibility cloak as extra time began. He positioned himself in backplay when they had the ball, breathing deep, oxygenating the brain and muscle fibres, restoring clarity, and washing away the fatigue. He was waiting for the chess pieces to lineup. Once they did he could rush through Brisbane's weakened defence and plunge a spear into the neck of their leader. Which is exactly what he did.

A Cowboys surge upfield on the back of a big run from who else but the serial-egger and 255 meter man himself, Jason 'little-big-JT 'Taumololo and the pieces were in place. Thurston acted decisively. A hoarse yell and the ball came his way on the right side. A sleight-of-hand dummy fooled the defence putting him into backplay. With the fullback and cover defence to beat, he linked telepathically with Cowboys half Michael Morgan who jagged back viciously on Thurston's inside. As he did, Thurston delivered a miracle flick pass. The Cowboys score, the dynasty continues. A preliminary final with the Cronulla Sharks now awaits, and a shot at back to back premierships should they win that.