Thurston shattered as injury ruins rep swansong

Johnathan Thurston is out for the remainder of the NRL season and the Rugby League World Cup after scans revealed he will need surgery on his injured right shoulder, as revealed first on Seven.

The 34-year-old will also miss his State of Origin swanswong after announcing his retirement from representative football earlier in the season.

Thurston re-injured the rotator cuff in his right shoulder in Queensland's 18-16 victory over New South Wales on Wednesday night, while making a tackle on barnstorming Blues forward Tyson Frizell.

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The Kangaroos, Maroons and Cowboys playmaker had scans on his injured shoulder on Thursday after already being ruled out from what would have been his 300th NRL match against the Panthers in Townsville this weekend.

"The news isn't good," Thurston said.

"And the best decision for myself and the club is to get the op done.

"I thought I might have been able to pump one or two more games out.

"But the medical advice I've been given is that if I wanted to live a normal life after football, then I had to have the surgery."

The injury is a huge blow to the Maroons' hopes of lifting the Origin shield in 2017, after they struggled in Game I without their inspirational star.

JT's representative farewell at Rugby League World Cup, which starts in October, is also well and truly over.

"It's a decision that I've made," he said.

"I wanted to finish on a high this year with representative football. I'm comfortable with that decision I've made to retire from rep football."

The shocking injury news makes Thurston's Game II efforts seem even more heroic.

Queensland skipper Cam Smith heaped praise on "warrior" Thurston following the superstar halfback's Origin II efforts.

"He's got nearly every joint in his body strapped up tonight," said Smith of Thurston in a post-match news conference. "He's a warrior, isn't he?

"Some of the things he's gone through in his career and to still be able to play at this level - it's quite remarkable. He took a couple of whacks during training this week. I really don't know how he gets up for these matches most of the time and to still be able to play the way he does, it really is quite unbelievable.

"His body's not 100 per cent, there's no doubt about that, but he just finds a way. He finds a way to get himself up for these games and makes things happen.

"He's a special talent, we all know that. And special players, they get themselves up, they find a way to get there and play well."

Despite the painful injury, Thurston held his nerve to land a decisive kick in the 78th minute, after Dane Gagai's second try had enabled Queensland to cancel out a 10-point half-time deficit.

The injury is a crushing blow to the Maroons who also lost Darius Boyd to a broken thumb after a brutal Game II.

Thurston and Boyd headline a long list of Origin casualties which includes Cameron Smith, Boyd Cordner, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater, all of whom will miss this weekend's NRL action after the game.

Thurston first picked up the shoulder complaint during the Kangaroos' mid-year Test against New Zealand and has struggled with the issue ever since.

His shoulder injury was a major talking point during Game II, with Blues legend Andrew Johns calling the NSW team 'dumb' for not targeting the injured Maroons playmaker.

Johns also proved his incredible eye for the game by declaring the classy playmaker will certainly be headed for surgery.

"Johnathan Thurston his performance tonight, so courageous," Johns said.

"I guarantee you he'll be heading for an operation the next couple of days, his shoulder is stuffed.

"There's your game plan! You just got at him all night."

With AAP