NORTH Queensland skipper Johnathan Thurston insists the ‘Cowboy Conspiracy’ is over — confident a refereeing blunder will not rob his grand final hopes for a third consecutive year.

Despite having twice been knocked out of the playoffs due to whistleblower error — including a seventh-tackle try to Cronulla last year and the controversial ‘Hand of Foz’ against Manly before that — Thurston insists he is not dreading a repeat this September.

The Kangaroo playmaker’s comments represent a dramatic shift in mindset to those of last September — when he insisted the Townsville club had been robbed by an NRL hierarchy desperate for two Sydney teams to play the decider.

Asked if, sitting seventh and approaching yet another finals series, he had confidence in the referees, Thurston replied: “Yeah, I do.

“I’m confident this will be one of the best finals campaigns and, hopefully, we will be talking about the footy and not the refereeing decisions.”

So he’s forgiven the men in pink then?

“Oh, it still hurts,’’ Thurston said of the blunders.

“But as much as it hurts, we were in situations there where we could’ve won those games. We just weren’t good enough.

“In both instances we had opportunities to win, to put them to the sword. So while the referee decisions cruelled us, I can’t sit here now and blame them.”

Last year, Sharks winger Beau Ryan scored a try on the seventh tackle of a semi-final they would eventually win 20-18 against the Cowboys. Referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara were both dropped.

A year earlier, Sea Eagles five-eighth Kieran Foran was also awarded a try against the Cowboys despite replays showing him knock the ball forward while contesting a Daly Cherry-Evans bomb with Thurston.

North Queensland were also the victim of a video refereeing howler, again involving Foran, in April this year — when the Sea Eagles playmaker crossed for a crucial try using a blatant obstruction play.

“But that’s another instance where we could’ve won the game ourselves,’’ Thurston said.

“It’s frustrating, but sometimes the referees are going to make mistakes ... I make errors out there too, you know.

“Rugby league has got so much better over the past couple of years and I just hope the refereeing does as well. I know they’re doing their best.

“I can see why fans, players and coaching staff get frustrated. But then again, do we praise the referees when they’re doing a great job? When they make a mistake, they make a mistake. Let’s just move on.”

The Cowboys, who were beaten by Penrith 23-22 on Monday night, are staying in Cronulla this week as they prepare for a Saturday blockbuster with new NRL favourites South Sydney.

“I think the boys got a taste of what it’s like to play in the finals,’’ Thurston said of the Panthers clash.

“Especially in that second half when it was going back and forth, so hopefully we learn from that.

“Playing the Bunnies Saturday, they’re the form team of the competition. No disrespect to the teams we’ve played over the last couple of weeks, but Gold Coast and Wests Tigers have been having their problems on and off the field.

“We’ve only got a short preparation so that’s the big test for us now. Our season is on the line in the next three games. The competition is that tight and, with a few clubs on the same amount of points, another couple of losses and you can slip out of the eight.

“So Penrith was a really good test for us and we just need to learn from a few mistakes we made. We can’t do that again against a side like Souths because they’ll put us to the sword.”