When Johnathan Thurston was helped off the field last weekend against the Tigers, the Cowboys were already suffering on the scoreboard; that struggle, however, is nothing like the pain they now face in a very tough month without him. Thurston runs a game like few others in the NRL can, he possesses one of the best tactical kicking games ever seen, and he leaves an enormous hole in the Cowboys' game plan while he recovers from his calf injury.

Cowboys coach Paul Green has thrown Thurston's No.7 jersey to Ben Hampton, who joined the club this year from the Storm where he had shown a lot of promise in the lower grades. The Storm obviously decided to go in a different direction when they brought in Blake Green to take over from the departing Gareth Widdop, and they turned to Cameron Munster once Green went to Manly. To me it suggests the Storm weren't confident about Hampton's ability to develop into a first-grade half; if he couldn't progress at the Storm then I'm not so sure how he'll go in Townsville.

Johnathan Thurston Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Green has been using Hampton more out of dummy-half in his limited appearances this year. He's more of a running, off-the-cuff style half, not the game-management player the Cowboys will be lacking in Thurston's absence.

Thurston's competitive nature in defence will also be missed. He is often seen making a desperate tackle on one side of the field, followed by another shortly after on the other side. He has the ability to bring a calming influence to the side when all seems lost -- the pressure and stress of not having him on the field will be felt by all the players, not just Hampton.

The Cowboys have issues elsewhere on the field, also; in particular up front, where they have lost several players who have been the backbone of their success in recent years. Ben Hannant retired at the end of last year, James Tamou departed for Penrith and young star prop Viliame Kikau followed him. To lose Matthew Scott for the season also was a huge blow for a team trying to rebuild their engine room. Add hooker Jake Granville to the injured list, and the Cowboys also are lacking the spark from dummy half to compensate for the lack of go-forward up front. It was a credit to Thurston's abilities that the Cowboys had lost only one other game before facing the Tigers.

The Cowboys' first game without Thurston couldn't be more testing. They come up against the Dragons who are flying, thanks largely to a forward pack that includes Russell Packer, Paul Vaughan, Jack de Belin and Tyson Frizell. The forwards provide the momentum and the halves, led by Widdop, jump on the back of that and play football. The Dragons lead the competition in run metres and tries scored, and sit on top of the NRL ladder.

The Cowboys, like all teams, have to plan for the future, and I imagine they are putting all their post-Thurston halves hopes in Michael Morgan; they will expect him to be there when they find a young half to play alongside him. He has the experience, he has represented Australia and he will help a young half find his feet in first grade.

Quality young halves are increasingly hard to find, as they are in the system from the age of 15 and they're being over-coached. They are having all their natural instinctive play coached out of them, being taught to stick to a rigid game plan, becoming mechanical robots. That's why there is so much current interest in a number of first-grade halves coming onto the market. The good ones are very hard to find, and a half like Thurston is just about irreplaceable. Good luck , Cowboys.