North Queensland officials are unperturbed by the impending feeding frenzy engulfing five-eighth Johnathan Thurston – with a host of NRL clubs lining up to sign the off-contract Test star.
Thurston, whose contract expires at the end of the 2013 season, was exposed engaging in late-night talks with Canterbury on Wednesday, the revealing photographs signalling the start of the race to sign one of the best players in the world.
A mooted $1 million-a-season hasn’t frightened off too many suitors, with Parramatta, St George Illawarra and Brisbane having all been linked with the 29-year-old.
Thurston’s manager Sam Ayoub failed to return AAP’s calls in terms of the next step in resolving his client’s future, but Cowboys’ football manager Peter Parr said the club were not concerned their co-captain was meeting NRL rivals.
“I’m not going to comment every time Johnathan has a meeting with someone – I’d never get any rest,” Parr told AAP.
“He hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s part of a process that we were well aware of.
“We not upset or surprised. We are well aware of the process.
“As we have said previously, we are not surprised other clubs would be interested in signing the best player in the world.”
The Eels have more pressing issues at hand as they attempt to squeeze Israel Folau under their salary cap for 2013, while Dragons’ boss Peter Doust refused to divulge the level of his club’s interest in Thurston.
“We’re always interested in great players but we don’t speculate on it because I don’t think it does much for the club, the individuals and the market,” Doust said.
The Dragons appear well placed to make a big push for Thurston, with plenty of room in their salary cap and their only established playmaker – Jamie Soward – also coming off contract at the end of 2013.
The Bulldogs – who handed Thurston his first start in the NRL back in 2002 before he left for the Cowboys in 2005 – have long been rumoured as a possible final destination for the two-time Dally M medal winner.
Despite admitting he would have preferred to have kept his meeting with Thurston private, Canterbury chief executive Todd Greenberg didn’t shy away from trying to lure the representative playmaker to Belmore.
“We make no apologies for engaging with off contract marquee players in order to improve our club on & off the field. All part of the job,” Greenberg said on Twitter.
“We always attempt to keep our recruitment & retention behind closed doors but understand that it’s difficult with strong media interest.”