Bulldogs rookie seeks Reynolds’ JT tips

Johnathan Thurston may be his idol but that won’t stop Canterbury rookie Moses Mbye aiming to emulate teammate Josh Reynolds’ niggle against the North Queensland star.

Reynolds got under Thurston’s skin during this year’s State of Origin campaign, the Queensland half’s frustrations boiling over in an ugly run-in late in game two as NSW sealed the series in Sydney.

Thurston returns to ANZ Stadium this weekend when the Cowboys take on the Bulldogs in an NRL clash on Saturday, though a rematch against Reynolds has been avoided with the Canterbury playmaker suspended.

In his place, 20-year-old Queenslander Moses Mbye will don the No.6 jersey and match up against a player he freely admits to idolising.

Mbye says he’s always seeking help from Reynolds, even on the darker arts of the NSW five-eighth’s game.

“(The niggle is) definitely part of Josh’s game and that’s one of his strong points,” he said.

“It’s the best club to do your halves apprenticeship at and watch blokes like that at training.

“I’ll obviously get a few tips off him this week and see how we go.”

One of the hottest prospects in the game, Mbye says he’s happy biding his time as understudy to NSW pair Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson.

Having witnessed coach Des Hasler transform first Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans at Manly into representative stars and then Hodkinson and Reynolds at the Bulldogs, Mbye feels there’s no better place for him to be learning his craft.

“I’m just feeding off him and he’s always giving me good advice,” Mbye said of Hasler.

“He’s helping me to become a better player week-in, week-out.”

Thurston himself heads to Sydney knowing his club need to overcome an appalling recent record against the Bulldogs to back up last weekend’s win at Cronulla – the Cowboys’ first on the road this year.

He said the lack of Reynolds will clearly be a blow to a Bulldogs outfit still reeling from a 46-18 thrashing by Wests Tigers last week.

“It’s obviously a big blow for them,” Thurston said.

“He’s a massive part of their team and he’s playing with a lot of confidence from the Origin series.”

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