Paul Green is set to be forever honoured by two former clubs he held so dear to his heart.
Having played 95 games and winning the Rothman’s Medal with the Cronulla Sharks ,along with coaching the North Queensland Cowboys to their historic first premiership win in 2015, both teams will honour Green by playing for a medal named in his honour when the face off this season.
When the Sharks host the Cowboys in round nine on April 27 at PointsBet Stadium, the man of the match will be fittingly awarded the Paul Green Medal. It will be played for again in Round 25 when the two sides meet again in Townsville.
Amanda, Green’s wife, has accepted the heartfelt tribute, and was thankful the clubs has created the medal in her late husband’s honour, and grateful their two children, Emerson, 14 and Jed, 10, will see how loved their father was by the two clubs.
“We can only say thankyou to the Sharks and Cowboys for coming together to provide a medal that will ensure Paul’s legacy lives on,’’ Amanda told the Daily Telegraph.
“Paul had so many wonderful connections throughout the game, but it was at the Sharks and Cowboys where he forged deep relationships with both his teammates, club and supporters.
“This will be a wonderful thing for our kids going forward for them to appreciate just how high their dad was held at these clubs.’’
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The rugby league world was left devastated when news broke Green had been found dead in his Brisbane home last August. A post-mortem later revealed that the 49 year old had suffered from one of most “severe forms” of pure CTE. Amanda was also hopeful that this will increase awareness for CTE, as well as encourage conversations surrounding brain bank donations.
“What I would also like to see is the medal raise further discussions around CTE,’’ added Amanda.
“We can’t lose another life like this because it’s just devastating.
“I still have days where I can’t believe we’re where we’re at.
“A day doesn’t go by where I just wish I knew then what I now know about CTE.
“I didn’t even know CTE existed.
“Hopefully this will only add to the education and awareness for families that may be going through what we went through.
“If Professor Michael Buckland (from the Australian Sports Brain Bank) hadn’t contacted us, I would never have known that Paul was suffering from this terrible disease.’’
When Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta approached Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel about honouring Green, it didn’t take long for the men to decide on the perfect way to go about it.
“When we (Sharks) first raised the idea with Jeff about the Cowboys and Sharks coming together to honour one of our most loved coaches and players, we immediately agreed that our head to head games were the perfect opportunity to make sure we forever honour Paul,’’ Mezzatesta said.
“We wouldn’t do this without Amanda’s blessing. Graciously, she accepted the gesture knowing what impact the Paul Green Medal will have for Emerson and Jed, and also our ability to raise awareness for head injuries in sport.
“Our coach Craig Fitzgibbon and his assistant Josh Hannay are deeply connected to the Green family through previously working with Paul, which gives us great confidence that the players will appreciate how special winning the Paul Green Medal will be.’’
When the Sharks travel to Townsville to take on the Cowboys in August, Reibel said the match would support the advocacy by Amanda for greater awareness of CTE.
“Given Paul’s contribution to both the Cowboys and Sharks, we felt compelled to continue Paul’s legacy in a very meaningful and powerful way,’’ said Reibel.
“When Dino and I spoke, we also discussed what we could do to raise awareness around the brain bank and to ensure they’re getting the donations and funding they need.
“At our home game, when we play the Sharks, we will be quite visual throughout the stadium with information and increasing that awareness about the brain bank and CTE. ‘’
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