Johnathan Thurston's tribute to former teammate, names his all-time Indigenous squad

Rugby league great Johnathan Thurston has named his all-time Ingidenous squad in celebration of the NRL's Indigenous Round.

While Thurston may be considered one of the greatest Indigenous players of all time himself, he admits having to name a team was one of the toughest jobs he's been tasked with.

"One of the hardest things I've ever had to do," he told Nine's coverage of Thursday night football.

"A lot of these guys are players I've played alongside or seen growing up."

The four-time Dally M Medal winner made special mention of former Cowboys teammate Matt Bowen. The pair were teammates from 2005 until 2013.

Thurston, who famously departed Canterbury at the end of the 2004 season, said the appeal of linking up with Bowen was one of the main factors behind his move to North Queensland.

"The reason I moved to the Cowboys was to play alongside this man, Matt Bowen,"

"As soon as I arrived, we got a sixth sense playing alongside each other.

"All you had to do was create a little opportunity for him and he would do the rest."

Thurston's Indigenous XIII

1 Matt Bowen

2 Matt Sing

3 Greg Inglis

4 Justin Hodges

5 Wendell Sailor

6 Laurie Daley

7 Cliff Lyons

8 Arthur Beetson

9 Preston Campbell

10 Sam Thaiday

11 Gorden Tallis

12 Greg Bird

13 Wade Graham