Unlike tournament organisers, North Queensland's Gavin Cooper can see the funny side of Johnathan Thurston's Auckland Nines no-show.
But the stand-in Cowboys skipper is deadly serious when he reckons defending champions North Queensland can again prove they are no one-man show at Eden Park this weekend.
Tournament officials were kicking cans after the closest Thurston got to Nines action was flying the Indigenous All Stars flag while attending the official NRL season launch in Auckland on Thursday night.
Officially Cowboys coach Paul Green reckoned Thurston was "not worth the risk" at the Nines as he eased back from shoulder surgery.
But the affable Cooper - considered a strong Queensland Origin chance in 2015 - had his own theory.
"I said to Greeny I didn't want to co-captain with JT - I just wanted the reins myself," Cooper laughed.
"It would have been great for him to play here but I know we can do it without JT - we have proved that.
"It is great to see what JT can do, I still marvel at him at skills training.
"But there are bigger things we want to achieve this year.
"It will be wonderful to take this trophy home again but there is a bigger one we want at the end of the year.
"And JT isn't getting any younger - we have to look after him."
Cooper admitted teams still had little idea about a Nines winning formula - including themselves.
"It's a lottery. But it can come down to the bounce of the ball and who can defend as a team," said Cooper, who held aloft the inaugural Nines trophy as Cowboys' winning captain last year.
"With nine minute halves there's no real momentum swings - if they get a couple of tries it is hard to peg them back."
