JOHNATHAN Thurston has broken down after speaking about two of the toughest times of his rugby league career in an emotional interview with 60 Minutes.
Thurston addressed both the brutal murder of his uncle in 2008 and the Bulldogs rape scandal in 2004 during the interview which aired on Sunday night.
Eight men were jailed for bashing Thurston’s uncle Richard Saunders to death in Brisbane while the playmaker was in camp with the Kangaroos during the World Cup.
“Getting the phone call from (now wife) Samantha that my uncle had been murdered in a park — that was an extremely tough phone call to receive,” Thurston said, before succumbing to tears.
“Sorry — I’ve never spoken to anyone about it.
“This is the first time I’ve spoken about it so just bringing all those memories back.”
Thurston showed great mental strength and played just days after and won man of the match in the quarterfinal win over Fiji.
“He would have been up there smiling down, proud as punch,” Thurston said of Saunders.
The 35-year-old also admitted that the Bulldogs’ 2004 scandal was “definitely not” acceptable, although he denied participating in group sex.
Bulldogs players were accused of sexual assault after a night out in Coffs Harbour but no charges were laid.
“I wasn’t a part of that but certainly we had broken team rules and it was very serious allegations,” Thurston said, while expressing regret that players were gagged from talking to media at the time.
“That’s the advice that we had been given — everyone was tarnished with these allegations and it was a traumatic time for everyone.
“Obviously the victim at the time and certainly the club at the time as well.
“I wish we could have come out and cleared our names straight away because everything was consensual at the time.
“Speaking about it is quite difficult, knowing that my daughters will probably see this when they’re older, having to sit down and explain to them my side of the story, is going to be tough.”
After calling time on his remarkable 323 game career, Thurston has opened the JT Academy and the couple will soon welcome their fourth child.
A player who will long be remembered as one of the toughest to ever step onto the field, almost never came to be. Thankfully through every bump, Thurston’s strength prevailed.
