The smile was still wide on Johnathan Thurston's face as he pulled on his socks an hour after he and sidekick Matt Bowen had done a job on Brisbane in front of 45,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium.

Thurston has been waiting a few years for his mate `Mango' to find his old zing following two major knee operations.

It was there for all to see on Friday night as Bowen helped the Cowboys produce thrilling 16-14 upset.

The little genius sprinted, stepped and swerved his way through Brisbane's defence with only the brilliance of Brisbane fullback Josh Hoffman stopping him from adding his name to the scoresheet.

"It brings a big smile to my face to see him play like that," said man of the match Thurston.

"It's only round one but it will do a lot for his confidence and it's great for the team to see him bring the ball back the way he does.

"It was great to see him chipping and chasing, it's great for us."

Thurston, who has come back from his own foot issues this season, said Bowen's courage to fight back from not one but two major knee operations showed how tough he was.

"He's had a real good pre-season, in fact we've had our first pre-season together which has helped us both," he said.

Thurston and Bowen are lethal in broken play when they are in harmony.

They seem to read each other like books which creates nightmares for defences.

"It's just an understanding we seem to have," said Thurston, breaking into another Bowen-inspired smile.

"He's just got that ability to show up at the right place at the right time and it's great for us."

Thurston said he hoped the effort the players put in defensively, holding out Brisbane in the last 30 minutes, was a sign to fans that 2011 would be a season in which they repaid their loyalty and faith.

"I hope so .... No doubt our fans have been disappointed over the last couple of years," he said.

"So hopefully (the victory) puts a smile on a lot of their faces and next week against Newcastle our fans will pack out Dairy Farmers Stadium."

While Thurston and Bowen were working their magic, new recruit Dallas Johnson was doing what he does best, tackling the opposition out of the game as he racked up 43 tackles.

The only downside for the Cowboys was a calf injury to wide running forward Scott Bolton who will have scans on Monday.

The early indications suggest Bolton has suffered a low grade tear, putting him at risk of missing two to four weeks.

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