Cowboys co-captain Johnathan Thurston has been slammed by fans after getting away with a 'shoulder charge' in the 24-20 loss to the Broncos on Friday night.

The incident happened in the second half after Thurston chased down his own kick that Brisbane winger Corey Oates had retrieved.

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JT appeared to lead with his shoulders as he crashed into the on-rushing Oates but the incident went unpunished by the officials.

Commentators Warren Ryan, Corey Parker and Michael Ennis were all of the opinion that it was an illegal attempted tackle from Thurston.

"Something of a shoulder charge there from Thurston," Ryan said.

"That's exactly what it is, Waz, a shoulder charge," Parker concurred.

"Whether he's bracing or not, he's in the position of what looks to be a shoulder charge," Ennis added.

The NRL Match Review Committee decided Thurston had no case to answer for as the Cowboys star escaped sanction.

Fans were quick to condemn JT over the incident on social media though, suggesting he was lucky not to be charged.







The Cowboys have to regroup quickly ahead of Thursday night's grand final rematch in Melbourne and will be sweating on playmaker Michael Morgan after he missed his second match with an abdominal complaint.

Thurston - blatant shoulder charge on Corey Oates. Nothing to see here #koala — Mario Recuero (@recuerom) March 17, 2018

Thurston avoids sanction because of who he is & his size. NRL should rewrite the rule to say shoulder charges only apply to those over 95kg #Farce — Mr Ives (@real_MrIves) March 17, 2018

Jonathan Thurston absolute protected species regarding shoulder charge. He's put on multiple tonight. If Dylan Napa does anything close to what JT is doing he's off for 10 but not our testimonial-deserving immortal in waiting. 😒 #NRL #NRLBroncosCowboys @FOXNRL — Josh Hatton (@JCHatton) March 16, 2018

Te Maire Martin again filled in for Morgan but unlike his impressive season opening display, the Kiwi five-eighth was quiet against the Broncos, leaving all the pressure on Thurston to inspire the Cowboys.

And Thurston almost pulled it off.

He set up all three of North Queensland's tries before sending Scott Bolton away for what appeared to be the match winning four-pointer in the final 90 seconds, only for the Cowboys prop to run into the goal post and lose the ball.

Thurston admitted he needed some help from Martin and fill-in fullback Ben Hampton if they were to retain their spine against the Storm next week.

Morgan and regular No.1 Lachlan Coote (hamstring) are expected back against the Storm.

"That's part of his (Martin's) development, making the call (for the ball) when he sees something," Thurston said.

Thurston is free to play against the Storm on Thursday night. Pic: Getty More

"Hopefully we will look at the video and see where he can be better, same with Benny.

"I thought our fifth tackle options were a bit better than last week but we still need a lot more improvement in that area."

The early signs were good for co-captain Thurston's Cowboys on Friday night, and coach Paul Green wasn't happy.

North Queensland raced to an 8-0 lead after as many minutes.

Melbourne recruit Jordan McLean's long arm reached out to score an early try as he racked up 80m in the first 15 minutes.

Then Thurston potted over a penalty as the cruising Cowboys at one stage had to make just 16 tackles while the Broncos had amassed 70.

"I think the start of the game didn't do us any favours, it was like 'how easy is this?'" Green said.

"We had all the running and ball early but when we had to defend, we probably let them have cheap points and that hurt us and gave them (Brisbane) energy."

A frustrated Thurston added: "When the tide turned we weren't good enough.

"We'll have to be a lot better (against Melbourne).

"If we defend like that it won't be a good night at the office."

With AAP