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Paul Green parts ways with Cowboys

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20th July, 2020
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The NRL’s coaching carousel has claimed a third casualty in 2020, with North Queensland coach Paul Green exiting the club immediately as of today.

The Cowboys released a statement confirming media reports from earlier in the day, in which Green claimed “the board felt that the club was at a juncture where they needed to move in a different direction, and I can only respect their views.”

“Whilst this is obviously disappointing news, I am grateful to the board for allowing me to lead this club whilst creating some lifelong memories. I will use this next period to freshen up, spend some time with my family and assess options before moving on to my next coaching role,” he said.

Assistant coach Josh Hannay will assume caretaker coaching duties for the remainder of the season.

The seventh-year coach was under pressure to deliver on high expectations this season following the acquisition of State of Origin star Valentine Holmes, but the Cowboys just never got going. Despite an improved effort against the ladder-leading Panthers on Sunday, the 22-10 loss was their third in succession and left them languishing at 12th on the ladder with a 3-7 record and a horrid -70 points differential.

Green joined the club as coach in 2014 and delivered a maiden premiership in 2015 following one of the all-time great grand finals. They lost to eventual premiers Cronulla in the 2016 preliminary final and enjoyed a fairytale run to the decider in 2017, only to be brushed aside by the Melbourne Storm.

Recent seasons weren’t as productive, however, with slow starts dooming the club to bottom eight finishes in 2018 and 2019. This year started off okay, with two wins from their first three matches, but awful defence saw them suffer six defeats from the following seven matches. Their 275 points conceded so far is only better than Brisbane and Gold Coast.

Phil Rothfield of The Daily Telegraph claims Green was informed of his fate on Wednesday, but agreed to stay on as coach for Sunday’s loss to Penrith. The club is reportedly interested in luring Anthony Griffin as a permanent replacement.

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His departure follows the sacking of Stephen Kearney by the Warriors and Dean Pay’s resignation from the Bulldogs on the coaching front this season.

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