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JOHNATHAN Thurston has re-written one of rugby league's great cliches since returning to halfback, proving it does actually matter whether you have the No. 7 or 6 on your jersey.
The Cowboys have an unblemished record since Thurston returned to halfback. They have shot from 11th to seventh on the NRL ladder.
Three games, three wins, with an average score of 25.3 points per game.
Since Thurston returned to the position he became a superstar in, the Cowboys' attack has produced almost one extra try per game.
Johnathan Thurston runs the ball against the Bulldogs. Source: Getty Images
Thurston, who has "No. 7" tattooed across his ribs, was reinstated as halfback for the Cowboys' clash with South Sydney in round 16.
In the three games prior, with Thurston at five-eighth, North Queensland lost twice, including a drubbing at the hands of Newcastle who piled on 36 points.
Since the shift, Thurston has helped the Cowboys beat the Rabbitohs and engineered back to back wins in Sydney against Cronulla and Canterbury.
Tomorrow night in Townsville, the Cowboys host a rattled Gold Coast club who last week failed to halt their opposition's key weapon — Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne.
Gold Coast Titans captain Nate Myles perhaps put it best this week when he said "JT … well, he's JT".
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In the week leading up to their clash with the Eels the Titans about the need to contain Hayne, only for him to burn them with two second half tries.
It is a failure Titans coach John Cartwright has rammed home this week.
"He's a freakish player," Cartwright said of Thurston.
"We had one last week we didn't handle all that well.
"We'll do our homework on him and basically we've got to keep him quiet. If he plays well, generally the Cowboys win."
The 31-year-old Thurston excelled at half early in his career, winning the Dally M Medal twice, in 2005 and 2007, with the No. 7 on his back.
Thurston has not played halfback since the Cowboys lost their qualifying final against Manly in 2011, moving to No. 6 to coincide with the retirement of Queensland and Test pivot Darren Lockyer.
Johnathan Thurston passes the ball during a Cowboys training session. Source: News Corp Australia
Early this season, former Test pivot Scott Hill called for Thurston to be returned to his natural position while Thurston himself claimed it didn't matter whether he played five-eighth of halfback.
"There's not too much difference between the two positions. I'm pretty comfortable. We've switched a couple of things up already but there's no need for me to switch back to halfback," Thurston said in May.
The evidence since he switched proves it actually does matter.
Thurston requires just two points tomorrow night to become the 16th player in history to bring up 1500 career points, while five points will see him overtake Matt Orford (1502 points) to become the 15th leading point scorer in premiership history.
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