Do we like them?

Do we like Johnathan Thurston?

Our score: 8 out of 10. Nothing harmful found, a steady record of backing Indigenous causes and calling out racism, and only a few old footy-field stoushes against him.

Johnathan Thurston is one of rugby league's most recognisable names. He was already captain of the North Queensland Cowboys by 2008, and these days he works as a commentator for Nine. That puts him in front of a big audience, which matters for what he does with it.

His scrapes are small and old. He was arrested for public drunkenness in Townsville in 2008 after locking himself out of his apartment, and no conviction was recorded. The club said he was apologetic and remorseful. In 2011 he faced a contrary conduct charge over contact with a referee, said the collision was accidental, and the NRL judiciary found him not guilty.

That fight came in April 2025. Roosters prop Spencer Leniu, the player who was banned, clashed with Thurston on the sideline after a Roosters-Broncos game and later accused him on Instagram of being two-faced and fake. Thurston gave no direct comment in the report, but sources close to him said he was rattled. Leniu's coach said he didn't see Leniu cross the line.

The good stuff is his Indigenous advocacy. In 2018 he said Australia Day should be inclusive and that people need to be educated on why some Indigenous people don't feel included. In 2023 he joined Eddie Betts and Evonne Goolagong Cawley in backing a Yes vote in the official Voice referendum pamphlet. Where you land on the Voice is your call, but he put his name to it openly.

Nothing new on him lately that I could confirm from a solid source. The gap on LGBTQ+ issues is real: I found no statements from him either way, so this is a pass on what's on the record, not a gold star.