Johnathan Thurston is free to play the Origin decider after beating a controversial charge at the NRL judiciary last night. Thurston, the Cowboys and Maroons superstar, pleaded not guilty last night to a grade two contrary conduct charge for making contact with referee Matt Cecchin in last weekend's match against the New Zealand Warriors. The NRL sought a two-match suspension that would have rubbed Thurston out of Origin III. But the judiciary exonerated the Queensland star. "I'm very relieved and happy," Thurston said. "There was a bit of doubt there but I am just glad I can now play against the Panthers (for North Queensland) this Sunday. I knew we had a good case."Asked was Queensland's conspiracy theory now dead, Thurston said: "Yeah, obviously. I was always confident we could come here and put forward a good case. "The support has been great north of the border and south of the border." It took the three-member judiciary panel - comprising Sean Garlick, Michael Buettner and Ian Roberts - 45 minutes to reach their verdict. There were no Queenslanders on the panel, although former Maroons centre Mark Coyne, another judiciary member, withdrew because he is Thurston's friend, while Bob Lindner was unavailable. Asked was he concerned at the 45-minute deliberation, Thurston said: "I was, but I feel good now. "Rules are rules and we need to stick by them." Thurston collided with Cecchin when attempting to tackle Warriors halfback James Maloney, who scored a try. During the one-hour hearing, Thurston said he was only watching Maloney and never saw Cecchin. "I saw James Maloney push up on the outside and I was running toward him," Thurston said. "At no point did I see the referee until I collided with him." Asked by his counsel, Alan Sullivan QC, whether he saw Cecchin's distinctive pink uniform, Thurston said: "Not until I collided with him." Sullivan then asked what Thurston would have done had he in fact seen Cecchin. "I would have tried to run around him," Thurston said. Thurston ran five metres in a direct line toward Cecchin but reiterated he did not see the referee. NRL prosecutor James McLeod stressed there was no malice or intent in Thurston's action but claimed it was "careless". "In the circumstances, (Thurston) didn't take reasonable steps to avoid contact," McLeod said. "It was careless but there was no malice in your action." McLeod asked whether Thurston could have done more to avoid Cecchin. "No," Thurston said. McLeod asked why not? "Because I didn't see him," Thurston said. Cecchin did not attend last night's hearing but did forward a report to the panel. It read in part: "The impact was severe, causing some pain. The player apologised straight away." While acknowledging a responsibility to avoid contact with match officials, Thurston said he did not constantly watch for the ref's position on the field. Sullivan said Cecchin actually moved backwards and into Thurston's line. McLeod countered, saying: "The key question was whether it was avoidable. He (Thurston) has to take steps to avoid contact. That is his duty. He should have been on guard."Sullivan summed up his client's case by stating: "This was a genuine accident. "Why didn't Johnathan see the ref and why didn't the ref see Johnathan? Because they were both doing their job by following the play. It is an unfortunate situation where they came into contact, but neither was at fault." Thurston's Cowboys teammate Tariq Sims was banned for two games for a "crusher" tackle last night while Melbourne's Sika Manu copped a one match ban for dropping his knees into Wests Tigers' Gareth Ellis. Source: The Daily Telegraph.
