Thurston gives damning appraisal of his NRL return after 8 months out

Asked what he had to work on after his long-awaited injury return, Johnathan Thurston didn't mince his words.

"Everything," he said.

But a rusty Thurston was simply happy to emerge unscathed in the North Queensland Cowboys' 30-16 NRL trial loss to the new-look Wests Tigers in Cairns on Saturday night.

Cowboys coach Paul Green was happy to give Thurston the all clear after the eventful clash, along with fellow co-captain Matt Scott on his comeback from a serious knee injury.

Playmaker Thurston, after an eight month recovery from shoulder surgery, played the first half while Test prop Scott was given just 20 minutes.

However, Thurston admitted his game needed a dramatic improvement before the Cowboys' NRL season opener against the Cronulla Sharks on March 9.

"There's lots to work to do on both sides of the ball," Thurston said.

"I have got a few days to rip in with the boys and get it right before a couple of weeks' time.

"But it was nice to blow the cobwebs out.

"I was obviously very rusty and out of whack the first 20-25 minutes but I was happy with the back end of that first half."

Thurston didn't waste time testing his reconstructed shoulder, getting stuck into his defensive work from the outset.

But the former Test half admitted to some nerves.

"It took me 25 minutes to get a bit of confidence," he said.

"I made a few more tackles and started to get a bit more confidence.

"And it was nice to get back out there and be alongside the boys.

"It was my first game in months so it's nice to get it out of the way."

All eyes were on Thurston and Scott, who had not played since round two last year.

But the stars were plunged into darkness minutes before kickoff due to a city-wide blackout caused by a thunderstorm.

After the start was delayed for 45 minutes, the match got under way in steamy conditions before the last 10 minutes ended in torrential rain.

"It had everything, a true trial," Thurston said.

Cowboys coach Paul Green lamented his team's poor handling against the Josh Reynolds-inspired Tigers but was simply thankful his co-captains were in one piece.

"They both pulled up pretty well. They were a little bit rusty both of them but they got through alright," he said.

"It was a scrappy game, some of the fundamentals we didn't do particularly well.

"But it's the first game of the year so you are going to get a bit of that."