Paul Green left the North Queensland Cowboys immediately and announced to his players today that he will no longer be their coach.
The drums have been beating Green’s future for a while and he and the club have decided to split up as the cowboys endure a horrific year. Assistant Josh Hannay will step in as an interim coach.
North Queensland has missed the final in the last two seasons and has dropped to 12th place after 10 rounds in 2020, winning just three games all year round.
“After seven years as head coach, I’m making this announcement with a heavy heart,” Green said in a statement. “The board thought the club was at a point where they had to move in a different direction and I can only respect their views.
“Although this is obviously disappointing news, I am grateful to the board that I managed this club while creating some lifelong memories. I will use this next time to refresh myself, spend some time with my family and consider options before moving on to my next coaching role. “
The Cowboys showed a brave performance against new leader Penrith yesterday and lost 22-10, but when Green went into the weekend, he was reportedly aware that this would be his last responsible game.
Daily telegraph Rugby league writer David Riccio said Green agreed to management on Thursday that he would resign after the Panthers clashed.
GREEN ALREADY CONNECTED TO BRONCOS
Channel 9’s Danny Weidler said on Twitter that the Broncos are an “obvious fit” if Green wants to continue his NRL coaching career.
Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold’s tenure hangs on a thread as the Broncos are in 14th place after losing seven of their last eight games and beating the Tigers 48-0 on Friday night. Although Seibold is only in the second year of a five-year contract, they believe that Seibold will not be in Red Hill for long as the club sinks to its lowest level ever.
Green briefly played for the Broncos before retiring in 2004 and held coaching roles there from 2005 to 2009, leading to speculation that he should replace Seibold. Club legends blew up the organization because of their failures in 2020 and called for someone who knows the structure of the Broncos.
WE ALWAYS HAVE 2015
Before the loss of the Panthers, North Queensland had been hammered by the Roosters and Eels for consecutive weeks. On lap eight, Parramatta beat Green’s troops 42-4 and on lap nine they went 42-16 to the Roosters.
Green is the third coach this season. The Warriors released Stephen Kearney in June after the club moved to Australia amid the COVID-19 pandemic to keep the NRL season alive. Last week, Bulldogs trainer Dean Pay quit after being told that he would not be wanted in 2021.
The Cowboys have won two of their first three games against Canterbury and Gold Coast, but since then it has only been going downhill and they have lost six of their next seven.
Green, a former halfback from NRL and Queensland Origin, was an assistant coach to the Roosters when they won the competition in 2013, and started cowboying in 2014. He led them to their first premiere in 2015 when Johnathan Thurston scored a field goal. The golden point against the Broncos sealed the club’s greatest success.
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PAUL GREEN’S TIME IN TOWNSVILLE
Cowboys trainer: 2014-20
Profit loss: 87 wins, 79 losses
Season after season
2014: Lost semi-final 31-30 against Roosters, Auckland Nines won
2015: NRL Premiership won
2016: Lost preliminary final 32-20 against Sharks, won the World Club Challenge
2017: Lost big final 34-6 against Storm
2018-19: Missed finals
2020: NRL Nines won, season 3-7 started
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