Category: Sports

NRL icon Paul Green’s family have made their first public statement since the 49-year-old’s tragic deathwhich has left the rugby league world in shock.

Green was found dead at his home in Brisbane last week, with the cause of death later, sadly, revealed to be that he took his own life.

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A wave of tributes to the former North Queensland Cowboys and QLD Maroons coach came in the wake of Green’s death, as his brother Rick told the Sunday Mail the family had planned a public funeral.

A farewell for Green is planned for either August 23 or August 30, with the final date to be confirmed soon, while venue will be the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls’ home ground of Kougari Oval.

Green won a premiership for the club as both player and coach, a fitting nod to his similar feats at NRL level.

speaking to the Sunday MailRick admitted the circumstances of Green’s death had been a shock to the family.

“Everyone is feeling overwhelmed,” Rick said.

“There’s certainly a lot of stories that we’re sharing about our times with Paul but as we reflect on those good times, there’s a great sadness at his passing.

“It’s still very raw and difficult to process.”

Tributes have flowed from all corners, from Cowboys coach Todd Payten to newsreader Peter Overtonas the NRL world grapples with the highly respected mentor’s death.

Green goes down as a great of the NRL, a two-time Rothman Medal winner as well as a premiership coach with the 2015 Cowboys, the first grand final win in team history.

The Green family had earlier issued a statement after his passing.

“Today we are devastated,” the statement began.

“We have lost a devoted husband, loving father and wonderful brother and son. We cannot find the words that would come close to expressing our feeling, however we would like to extend our thanks to those who have reached out to us with their love and support.

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“Paul was loved by so many and we know that this news will generate immense interest, however at this time we ask for privacy.

“Our family is still trying to understand this tragedy and we request space and time as we come to terms with this loss. Thank you.”

Cowboys offer gutsy NRL effort against Roosters after Paul Green tragedy

In simple terms, North Queensland were beaten 32-18 by the Sydney Roosters on Saturday.

The Cowboys were gutsy. They twice fought back from double-figure margins but were ultimately out-muscled and outplayed.

With it, North Queensland’s shot at a maiden minor premiership is almost certainly gone.

Penrith now hold a six-point lead with three rounds to go, with a significant for-and-against advantage meaning they will surely finish first.

Coach Todd Payten was also unhappy over three refereeing calls, including one where Matt Lodge held Griffin Neame back in a scrum and Roosters hooker Sam Verrills scored.

Payten was insistent it didn’t cost his side the match, but against a club like the Roosters it didn’t help.

But after the two days North Queensland has endured following the death of former coach Paul Green, that all paled into insignificance.

Ten members of North Queensland’s team played under Green two years ago.

And bona fide Cowboy stars such as Valentine Holmes represented Queensland in the State of Origin arena when Green was in charge last year.

Flags flew at half-mast at the SCG, while the Cowboys were visibly moved during the minute’s silence before play.

“There’s just no real words to express what has happened … and how it has affected a lot of people in the rugby league community and families,” co-captain Jason Taumalolo said.

“I can’t imagine what (Green’s wife) Amanda and the kids are going through.

“Everyone should have someone to talk to regardless of how big or small a problem is. No-one should have to carry that sort of pressure around with them.”

Taumalolo said that message had been discussed among Cowboys players, with the NRL also providing welfare assistance.

“I’d like to think we are a tight-knit group and we are able to talk to each other, whenever we go through a tough time or something really difficult,” he said.

“I think everyone copes with loss and grief differently. I’m not sure about any of the other boys but everyone is affected differently.

“What has happened has really shocked and rattled most of us. It’s going to take some time to get over it.”

Playing on Saturday was never in question for the Cowboys but management is unsure how to treat the next few days.

The squad will return to Townsville on Sunday and play on Friday, but some days off remain an option ahead of another emotional week.

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Three months to the day since they last won a game, the Titans returned the winner’s circle with a 44-24 victory over the Sea Eagles at Cbus Super Stadium.

The Gold Coast, who headed into Sunday’s match on a 10-game losing streak and without their skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, who missed the game due to the impending birth of his second child, ran riot against Manly for their biggest win of the year .

The result all but ends Manly’s top-eight hopes, while they also lost winger Jason Saab to a suspected ACL injury in the second half.

Props Jarrod Wallace and Jaimin Jolliffe – who were both late additions to the starting side – combined for the opening try, but Reuben Garrick canceled it out with his own converted try a short time late.

When Dylan Walker was sin-binned for a high tackle seconds after entering the game from the interchange on 20 minutes, the Titans took full advantage and exposed Manly with looping ball out to winger Jojo Fifita.

But the back-and-forth nature of the contest continued, and despite their numerical disadvantage Manly got one back through representative forward Jake Trbojevic.

Nine minutes from the break, former Sea Eagle Brian Kelly picked off a pass from Daly Cherry-Evans and took it 60 meters for a try which gave the Titans a 20-12 lead at the break.

The second half was all about the Titans, with Beau Fermor scoring before AJ Brimson made the most of a fortuitous bounce to score his side’s fifth, two minutes before David Fifita ploughed through the Manly defense for another.

Fermor stormed over for his second inside the final minute to finish off his side’s best performance of the year.

match snapshot

• The victory was the Gold Coast’s first since Magic Round in May this year and snapped a 10-game losing streak.
• Tanah Boyd was a strong performer in the halves, kicking seven conversions from seven attempts and setting up a try.
• The Sea Eagles completed at just 55 percent, making 15 errors.
• Manly winger Jason Saab suffered a suspected ACL injury after falling awkwardly while jumping for a high ball in the second half.
• Manly’s Dylan Walker was sin-binned for a high tackle midway through the first half.
• Andrew Davey left the field for a HIA 10 minutes before half time but passed and returned to the field.
• David Fifita has scored in each of his last three games against the Sea Eagles

Play of the game

A monster run from David Fifita which showed what he can do when he is on his game. Since regaining his starting spot in the pack Fifita has been in good form, and this effort – which means he has now scored in each of his last three games against the Sea Eagles – gave Titans fans plenty to smile about.

What they said

“Let’s not beat around the bush, we were poor today, out of our own making, that’s the disappointing part about it. We were ill-disciplined with the ball, made unforced errors… we were definitely down on the effort that we displayed against Parra last week” – Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler.

“I feel like the last few weeks we have been sort of working towards a performance like that. But we had to put it together and we did that tonight, so really happy… I thought we controlled the game really well and hence why we had a good win.” – Titans coach Justin Holbrook.

what’s next

The Titans head away to face the Dragons next and will be hoping to have the services of Fa’asuamaleaui again, while the Sea Eagles are home to the Sharks on Saturday night.

They’re words no Canberra Raiders fan wants to hear – but veteran referee Ben Cummins has admitted ‘I stuffed up’ in the 2019 NRL grand final.

Cummins, a respected referee of more than 400 matches, has spoken out for the first time about the fallout of the crucial six again call in the 2019 decider between the Raiders and Sydney Roosters.

In the midst of an entertaining arm-wrestle, scores were locked at 8-8 when Canberra’s Jack Wighton took the ball believing Cummins had just called six again.

Indeed he had, but as Wighton run into the Roosters defence, Cummins changed his call – correctly as it would later turn out – handing the ball back to Sydney on the sixth tackle of the set.

The Raiders were rattled and the Sydney seized momentum in the aftermath, the turning point proving decisive as James Tedesco scored soon after to hand the Roosters the lead.

Sydney went on to win, and Cummins says he knew immediately afterwards that there would be plenty of scrutiny on that game-changing moment.

“I realized I stuffed up big time and I tried to correct the call – which would have been the right call,” Cummins said.

“But Jack Wighton didn’t see that and he got tackled and the Roosters get the ball and go down the length of the field in the next set and score.

“I realized then that this was big at eight-all in a grand finale.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this.

“I walked into the tunnel and cameras were all on me… my heart sunk.”

Cummins opened up about the aftermath of the decider in the wake of the death of NRL great Paul Green, at the age of 49.

Though he expected some level of abuse as part and parcel of being a referee, seeing his children being harassed about the split-second decision weighed heavily on Cummins.

Referring to the months following as ‘dark times’, Cummins said he ‘basically locked myself in my house for a week’ following the decider.

“It was pretty dark times. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. I had some thoughts about what I wanted to do with my life and they were pretty negative.

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“You feel ashamed and worthless, embarrassed. I wasn’t sleeping. I just wanted everything to go away.”

Ben Cummins opens up about infamous ‘six again’ call

The veteran referee opened up about the saga in a video published by the NRL, encouraging viewers to seek help in times of mental health crisis.

Cummins spoke about how the fallout affected his family further affected his anxiety in the wake of the grand finale.

“When you sign up to referee at the top level, you know that it comes with fans who are passionate, and people can say things about your performance,” Cummins said.

“But when it brings in your family and your home, it’s sort of to a different level. I found that really hard.

“I can’t say it was easy for them. My son was copping a lot of abuse at school and my daughters (were) online – because they are on social media. That was really tough.”

The NRL world is reeling from the death of Green earlier this week, with North Queensland coach Todd Payten admitting the loss of the club’s first premiership coach had been a shattering blow.

Their club chaplain has met with club veterans who played under Green, who oversaw 167 games between 2014-2020, with welfare specialists and psychologists also available.

The NRL has also deployed professional support services for Cowboys players and staff.

Payten was an assistant to Green when North Queensland triumphed in the grand final over Brisbane 17-16 and said the experience had made him a better coach.

“Myself and my family owe him a great deal of gratitude,” Payten told reporters on Friday.

“He gave me an opportunity to bring my family up here when I didn’t have a job, and that was his decision.

“He made me a better coach in many different ways, certainly challenged everyone around him to be better and you know, he was a good company. He was a good father and was a good person.”

It’s been a difficult 24 hours for the Cowboys with a clash against the Sydney Roosters at the SCG looming.

Green led the club to two grand finals in three years, transforming a side with NRL great Johnathan Thurston and his legacy as North Queensland’s maiden premiership-winning coach is cemented.

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