North Queensland great Johnathan Thurston says the news of former coach Paul Green’s death left him sad, angry and confused.
Key Points:
- Paul Green coached Johnathan Thurston’s Cowboys to the top NRL charge in 2015
- Thurston said news of his ex-coach’s death ‘came out of nowhere’
- He said a former teammate from 2015 checked in with Green the day before he died
In his first public statements since learning the man who coached him to prime ministerial glory had taken his own life, Thurston said he had been on a “roller coaster of emotions” as he tried to come to terms with what he had past
“It’s hard,” he told Channel Nine
“I’m sad, I’m angry. I think [Green’s wife] Amanda and the kids [son Jed and daughter Emerson] and it just breaks my heart.”
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Thurston was on a plane to Sydney to cover the NRL clash between Penrith and Melbourne on Thursday when the news broke.
He said when he landed he received dozens of messages, including one from a friend who is the godfather of one of Green’s children.
Thurston boarded a plane straight back home to Townsville, saying he “just needed to be with family”.
One of Thurston’s teammates from their 2015 grand final win under Green had spoken to the coach a day before he took his own life.
“Gavin Cooper spoke to him the night before to check and see how he was. It was Jed’s birthday,” Thurston said.
“It just came out of nowhere… I don’t know. It’s hard to understand.
“It just doesn’t make sense.”
Thurston said he was particularly surprised because Green was rumored to be in contention for a number of NRL coaching jobs after losing the Cowboys job in 2020 and coaching the Maroons for the 2021 series.
“Mental health has really come to the fore in the last 10 to 15 years and it used to be a time of ‘she’s going to be right mate’. Well, it’s not going to be right. It’s not going to be. right,” he said.
“We need to be there for our peers and get them to talk about their feelings and what they’re going through, and seek professional help if they need it.
“The days of ‘she’ll be right’ are over. Suicide has claimed too many lives in this country and we need to be able to talk about it.”