There was sweat and there were plenty of tears, so when Johnathan Thurston slotted his match-winning field goal all he needed was a bloodied face to complete the image of a champion winning the greatest grand final of all time for his teammates.
But what had everyone confused was just how the blood got there, given when Thurston kicked the field goal there was not one bit of blood on his face.
When the ball sailed over the crossbar to deliver the Cowboys their maiden premiership, fullback Lachlan Coote was the first to grab his halfback and give him a hug.
From there, as you could imagine, the greatest player in the game was swamped by teammates who could not hold back their pure elation at achieving premiership glory.
Thurston emerged from the moshpit, however, with a nasty cut above his eye. Footage does not conclusively show which teammate gave Thurston a bit of friendly fire, but it's fair to say the four-time Dally M winner could not have cared in the slightest.
When Channel Nine's Yvonne Sampson interviewed Thurston after the game, it was hard not to notice the gash above his eye which made him appear even more warrior-like after arguably the greatest game of his career.
Where did that Thurston blood come from? How symbolic. What a finish. #nrl— yetiite (@yetiite)
October 4, 2015
Someone please stop interviewing Thurston and give him a hanky so he can wipe the blood off his face— fox muldo (@littledreamer_)
October 4, 2015
And Thurston did it with Blood in his eye! What more do you want? #NRLGF #CoC #ChampionOfChampions!— gregor lewis (@suepesas)
October 4, 2015
Thurston blood rule from a team hug? #NRLGF— Carolyn Cummins (@msccummins)
October 4, 2015
Johnathan Thurston crying blood!! I KNEW he was Jesus— Angie (@InfinityTimesMe)
October 4, 2015
Thurston literally looking like the definition of blood, sweat, and tears. #NRLGF— Nerisa (@neri_peri)
October 4, 2015
