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North Queensland say Neil Henry has left the club in good shape despite being dumped as coach with a year left to run on his NRL contract.
Despite their star-studded roster the Cowboys have been the big flops of 2013 winning just six games to plummet from pre-season fancies to out of finals calculations with six rounds to go, with Henry the fall guy.
But Cowboys board member Ben Ikin said on Wednesday that Henry had had a positive impact on the club and could move on and enjoy success at a rival NRL club.
“We part company knowing full well Neil Henry could go to another NRL club and do great things,” Ikin said.
“But we felt the relationship between the current coach and the current roster wasn’t going to take us to the next level.
“I wouldn’t say the relationship was soured but it wasn’t what it used to be.
“The current coach with the current roster couldn’t achieve all we expected in what we see as a premiership window.
“But I want to stress that Neil Henry is a very capable coach. He has left the Cowboys in good shape. Whoever comes into the organisation isn’t coming into a rabble. It’s a good place.
“It was a tough decision. The process we went through was as thorough a process as I have been involved in with sport or business and I am proud of the board for making that decision.”
Ikin said a replacement for Henry, who is in his fifth year coaching the Cowboys after two years with Canberra, had not yet been pencilled in.
“We have no preconceived notions,” Ikin said on NRL on Fox.
“The process is open to all applicants.”
Ikin reeled off a list of possible successors to Henry including Brad Arthur, Trent Barrett, Nathan Brown, Andrew Dunemann, Paul Green, Terry Matterson, Justin Morgan, Steve Georgallis and Kevin Walters.
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