Johnathan Thurston is poised to sign a $1million one-year contract extension that should ensure he ends his NRL career at North Queensland, according to reports.
The Courier-Mail claims Cowboys recruitment chief Peter Parr and Thurston's agent Sam Ayoub met late last week and had agreed to several key aspects of the deal - which will be the richest for a 34-year-old in NRL history.
"I haven't taken Johnathan to the open market. He will finish his career a Cowboy and so he should," Thurston's manager Ayoub told The Courier-Mail.
Retaining Thurston will be another huge boost for the Cowboys after they recently secured reigning Dally M player of the year Jason Taumalolo on a 10-year deal and co-captain Matt Scott until the end of the 2019 campaign.
"We have a few final things to tick off but it's safe to say Johnathan will stay here for another 12 months," Parr said.
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"As a club, we want our champions to exit properly and that's what we will ensure with 'Thumper' (Scott) and Johnathan.
"Jonno has made it clear to us he isn't looking anywhere else. Sometimes these contracts aren't as straightforward as people think but we will make it happen."
It's understood the Cowboys are hopeful of announcing Thurston's re-signing before he plays his 300th NRL game in round eight.
If Thurston remains fit, the game against Newcastle on April 22 will also result in him becoming the most-capped Cowboys player - surpassing Matt Bowen (270 games).
"He's not available to anyone else," Ayoub said.
"Johnathan plans to stay and I'm confident the Cowboys won't play on that fact. They owe him as much as he owes them so it will be a deal done in good faith."
Thurston, who will quit representative football at the end of 2017, has yet to confirm if 2018 will be his final year in the NRL.
