Program: Encore: How Johnathan Thurston became one of the greats

Johnathan Thurston showed a rare talent for rugby league early on but his parents didn't have the money to help him travel to games.

So in his late teens, Johnathan moved to Toowoomba to get a start in the game, while working part-time in the butcher’s section of a supermarket.

And although he was a stand-out player many of the big NRL clubs rejected him because they thought he was too small and wiry for the NRL.

But when Johnathan moved to Sydney at 18 to try his luck with the Cantebury Bulldogs, he began to get noticed and by the time he retired in 2018, had won a record 4 Daly M medals.

Further information

Johnathan Thurston The Autobiography (with James Phelps) is published by HarperCollins