It was meant to be the year Johnathan Thurston triumphantly said farewell to representative rugby league, instead 2017 will end with the champion halfback on the sidelines, robbed of a chance to say goodbye on his own terms.
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With confirmation that he won't play again this year due to a shoulder injury that requires surgery, Thurston, who declared earlier in the year that this will be his last season of representative rugby league, has officially played his final Origin game without even knowing it.
After making a crucial return for Game II which saw the Maroons edge the Blues 18-16, Thurston has spoken about the heartache of knowing he won't get to play in the decider after getting the news about his injury.
"It's been a rollercoaster of emotions at the moment," Thurston said on Triple M Weekenders.
"One minute I'm good and then the next I'm thinking about the game and about missing Origin and the rest of the season.
"I start feeling sick and want to cry, and then I see my girls and I'm happy again.
"I'm devastated, but that's footy."
Having played Game II despite the persisting shoulder injury, Thurston admitted the idea of pushing through the pain for Game III did cross his mind.
"I did ask and the advice they gave me was that I could, but if the tear got any bigger than the quality of your life post-football isn't going to be great," he said.
"I probably wouldn't be able to pick my kids up and things like that.
"While I would love to be there for Game III, I would prefer to be able to pick my kids up a thousand times over, so the decision was pretty easy.
"In the end, as much as I'm shattered, life after football is not far away. And that was the decision."
Though we won't get to seem play again in 2017, Thurston recently signed a contract extension with Cowboys so should be back on the field in 2018.
