Johnathan Thurston's final season didn't go the way he had wanted, but his final home game was every bit the storybook ending, as a packed house in Townsville saw the Cowboys run out 44-6 winners over the Parramatta Eels, all but avoiding the wooden spoon in the process.
The Cowboys were many experts' pick for the premiership, and in the opening exchanges they looked every bit that title contender, not the shadow of a team we saw for most of 2018.
One last hurrah: Johnathan Thurston plays his last NRL match in Townsville.
Paul Green's men were always going to give their all for their departing legend, and there wasn't a missed tackle or dropped ball to speak of as they marched up the field time and time again in the first half.
After an early deluge of penalties, the man of the hour opened the scoring with a gift two-pointer.
Fans may have been frustrated by that conservative decision, but didn't have to wait long for tries, with a long break from Gideon Gela-Mosby after the kick-off paving the way for Thurston to put Ben Hampton over.
Early possession was close to 100 per cent in North Queensland's favour, and they took full advantage, with Hampton grabbing his second with a jinking run from about 10 metres out.
Ten minutes on the clock, 14 points on the scoreboard.
The JT show: Spectators show their appreciation for the departing legend.
A perfect opening quarter of the match was punctuated by a flying Kyle Feldt leaping over George Jennings to snaffle a Jake Clifford bomb and plant it in the corner.
A trademark JT curler from the touchline made it 20 in as many minutes – but they were far from done, going back to back after a penalty from the kick-off, Feldt acrobatically touching down for his second.
If this was the final curtain for one of the NRL's Globetrotters, the Eels were playing their role as the Washington Generals perfectly, offering nothing with the ball and seeing their first proper attacking foray of the night end when Peni Terepo was penalised for not playing the ball correctly.
Punctuation point: Kyle Feldt crashes over for the Cowboys as the Eels head towards the spoon.
Some beautiful work from Gavin Cooper on the left edge put Gela-Mosby in the clear, Thurston's conversion ensuring the race between the clock and the hosts to get to 40 would remain locked in a dead heat.
Parramatta were spared the humiliation of conceding 40 in a half, however, a small consolation as they went into the sheds with a goose egg next to their name.
There was no respite for the visitors as Feldt grabbed a hat trick – each try provided by young Clifford, who will surely take on a larger role in years to come – and each converted by Thurston.
Things went from bad to worse as Brad Takairangi was sent to the bin after a string of deliberate penalties before Cooper crashed over for a try in his eighth consecutive game, the first forward to do so since the immortal Frank Burge, a century ago.
Favourite son: Johnathan Thurston walks to the tunnel one last time.
But that disadvantage seemed to spur the Eels into action, as they finally got on the board despite only having 12 players – Jarryd Hayne breaking down the right before putting Michael Jennings over.
The first half might have caused fans to wonder what might have been for the 2018 Cowboys, but the last half an hour served as a timely reminder of why these two teams occupy the lower rungs of the ladder, as a foregone conclusion fizzled out into an error-ridden mess.
There would be no half-century, or farewell Thurston try – but there was little to complain about on a night where the margin of victory means that the wooden spoon is almost a mathematical impossibility for one of the game's true champions.
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