Michael Morgan

The announcement is a massive boost to the club as the Cowboys prepare to host their Telstra Premiership season launch in Townsville on Friday ahead of star half Johnathan Thurston's final season.

The Townsville-born 26-year-old will line up next to Thurston this year before taking over as the chief playmaker in 2019.

Morgan had previously said he did not want to leave the club that signed him as a teenager and he has proved good to his word.

"I'm stoked to be staying at the Cowboys, a club I grew up supporting and, later in life, proudly playing for," Morgan said.

In a wide ranging interview with NRL.com the off-contract Cowboys half has detailed why money won't be a motivating factor when he signs his next deal, his innermost thoughts on embracing the playmaker role when Thurston was injured in 2017 and the expectation that he will carry if he is to play a key role in the halves for the Maroons in the future.

Morgan has conceded that stepping into Thurston's shoes last year was a nerve wracking experience initially, but a challenge he was determined to rise to. 

Australia will start as unbackable favourites in Brisbane after putting together four comprehensive victories, with their stout defence consistently shutting teams out – so much so that they have not conceded a second-half point for the whole tournament.

Thurston has been a mainstay in the Queensland side, playing all 36 matches since making his debut in 2005 in an incredible display of durability.