The NRL have sanctioned Johnathan Thurston’s no-show at the Dally M awards in Sydney on Monday night, when the North Queensland superstar is expected to pick up a record fourth gong.

Given the Cowboys hectic travelling Thurston has opted to miss the black tie ceremony to be held at The Star Casino as he focuses on delivering North Queensland their maiden NRL premiership.

The playmaking superstar flagged his intentions following the Cowboys’ 32-12 preliminary final win over Melbourne at AAMI Park on Saturday night saying: “When you play away, the flight’s very hard on the body. It takes you an extra day or so, probably an extra couple of days or three days to recover from the flight.

“The bumps and bruises are a lot heavier than when you play at home so that’s a big factor.”

The Cowboys, including Thurston, will still take part in the awards ceremony via videolink and the NRL said it was happy with that situation.

“The Dally Ms is the premier awards night in our game and we will ensure the Cowboys are part of it,” an NRL spokesman said.

“They are grand finalists and will still be a key part of the night.”