North Queensland Cowboys coach Paul Green had urged his players to take advantage of appearing in the World Club Challenge and was delighted to see them keep their heads as they eventually cruised past Leeds Rhinos.
After a tight first half at Headingley, the NRL champions ran away with it in the second 40, running in seven tries in all to register a 38-4 victory.
It hadn’t looked that one-sided early on with the teams level at the break but the Cowboys’ class told in the second half.
Johnathan Thurston was particularly impressive and Green was grateful for that experience as his charges weathered the early storm to emerge comfortable winners.
“It’s a great reward for the boys,” he said. “I said earlier in the week you’ve got work really hard to get this opportunity so don’t waste it. I’m really proud of the way the boys played. We got off to a good start.
“Once we got control of the game we played really well and didn’t let Leeds back into the game. But full credit to them, they’ve come back and stuck it to us early. It was a good contest at the start. I wasn’t worried, we knew they would start with plenty of physicality and would throw the ball around, which they did. But full credit to them they played really well. I was happy with the way we played the second half.
“Johnathan Thurston is a handy bloke to have on your team. I’d rather have him playing for us than against us. He’ll need a bigger trophy room when he gets home.”
Thurston had a mixed first half, setting up one try but throwing an interception for the Leeds score, but he ran the show in the second, endearing himself to the local crowd by handing his kicking tee to the crowd after each kick.
And having won virtually every honour in the game, he was quick to credit his teammates for their contribution.
“It was good that we got a few tries and I could hand out a few kicking tees to the crowd,” he said.
“It was tit for tat, going set for set (in the first half). We made a few errors that put us under the pump. But they are a quality side Leeds, they have been at the top of the table for a number of years so we knew they were going to come at us hard and that’s what they did.
“It’s a good reward for last year, I couldn’t be prouder of the boys. They worked extremely hard last year, the last couple of years, so they deserve everything they get. I see the sacrifices they make week in, week out and how hard they train. The boys enjoyed it from the moment we ran out to warm up, the crowd was singing.
“The boys will go home with those memories. We’re a special bunch of guys now and we’ve achieved something special, and we’re the World Club champions now so they should be proud.