“We were devastated [on Thursday] when we heard the news,” V’landys said. “It just shows you how fragile life is and that we should take care of each other.
“We all go through doubting ourselves, we all go through some terrible times. But it doesn’t hurt to talk to somebody about it.
‘His humor was really important, his brutal honesty was really important and his vision as a coach was special.’
Trent Robinson
“This is the classic example. I hope if anything comes out of this – which is one of the saddest things I have been involved in in rugby league – that people do reach out when they are troubled.”
Green’s two most recent clubs, the Roosters and Cowboys, will meet in a top-eight shootout at the SCG on Saturday, with both teams to wear black armbands in tribute to the former Rothmans Medalist, who led North Queensland to their maiden title in 2015 .
The Roosters’ squad gathered to speak about their feelings on Friday morning and look at photos of Green wearing the tricolours as a player and as an assistant to Robinson in 2013. Green was Roosters player No.998.
“He was just an amazing coach and an amazing guy,” Robinson said. “His humor was really important, his brutal honesty was really important and his vision of him as a coach was special. We’re just really sad, a lot of the staff here. Some of the players have had a bit to do with Greeny [as well].
Cowboys coach Todd Payten.Credit:Getty
“It just highlights the personal side of what we do and the need for support. I remember Greeny was my last coaching hire [in 2013]. He’d won a couple of comps at Wynnum Manly, he’d been with Wayne [Bennett] at Brisbane and he came down.
“I still remember his first session. He came in and we were getting all our systems in play and he got straight into the coaching. He was really confident about his knowledge of him and he got straight into his style of him, his forthright approach of him… and the players really loved him for that.
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Green’s name had been linked to several jobs since leaving the Cowboys midway through the 2020 season, before he returned to elite coaching with Queensland in last year’s Origin series.
He was instrumental in lobbying for the opening match of the COVID-affected series to be played in Townsville, the first time Origin has been played in north Queensland.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten said Green would be “sorely missed.”
“It’s been a difficult 24 hours, and as a club and as a group, we’ll just have to put our arms around each other,” Payten said.
“Some guys [here] have a long history with Paul. We understand that grief affects people differently at different times, and the club have been great at putting in resources around staff and players to make sure that they can come up with strategies to best deal with that and talk through how they’re feeling.”
For help in a crisis call 000. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
Stream the NRL Premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
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