Paul Green’s $600,000 CTE research legacy

Paul Green’s legacy is now more than rugby league – his passing has seen a record $600,000 donated to CTE research.

Amanda and Paul Green.

Since Amanda Green shared her story about her husband, NRL great Paul Green, silently suffering a “severe” form of CTE when he died, more than $600,000 has been donated to the Australian Sports Brain Bank in his honour.

Ms Green called for donations to the brain bank in lieu of flowers after the Cowboys premiership-winning coach, also a former Rooster and Cronulla footballer, died in August.

The brain bank’s Michael Buckland reached out to the family, who agreed to donate Green’s brain and Professor Buckland discovered he was suffering stage-three CTE.

Ms Green said the ASBB had an “incredible” impact on her family’s life.

At Thursday’s match ­between the Cronulla Sharks and Cowboys, Ms Green will present a medal in her late husband’s honour. The game will highlight his rugby league legacy, raise the issue of CTE and involve calls for more ­donations to the ASBB.

“That $600,000 has been raised so far in Paul’s honour – funding the ASBB’s potentially game-changing research into CTE – it is no surprise to those who knew him,” she said.

“Paul was a pioneer, a great leader, this is testament to his character and now it’s part of his legacy.

“I cannot thank professor ­Michael Buckland and the ASBB enough for what they have done for our family. From the moment they contacted us about donating Paul’s brain, to Paul’s diagnosis, to the ongoing support they continue to provide, I will be forever grateful.”

Professor Buckland said the Green family’s impact had been “game-changing”.

“I think Amanda’s the perfect person to push this issue forward – we are not about destroying the game, we are about making sure it is safe for the next generation,” he said.

“The donations in Paul’s honour changed what we are doing. That’s really kickstarted hardcore research, we’ve got three or four research projects under way, one currently identifying unique biomarkers in the brain lesions.”

Ms Green thanked the Sharks and the Cowboys for support of the Paul Green Medal.

“We are so grateful to the Cronulla Sharks and the North Queensland Cowboys for coming together and providing this medal and allowing the kids and I to celebrate Paul in this way,” she said.

Ms Green, whose son Jed, 10, plays for the Wynnum Seagulls like his father and grandfather did before him, has also called for more education around concussion for parents.

“The life skills he learns playing team sport are endless,” she said. “However, my job as his mother, the job I value more than anything else, ­involves many things, but high on that list apart from loving him unconditionally is to care for him both physically and emotionally.

“And with this in mind, I have sat on the sidelines the last couple of weeks watching both my son and his teammates do what they love and thought about the responsibility I have not only to my son but to all the other budding junior athletes out there.”

Ms Green said she wanted all codes to be safer for all.

“Sundays are all about rugby league when filled with pride,” she said.