Mick Power vows to complete Paul Green’s ‘legacy project’
Paul Green’s last conversation with his greatest supporter was two days before he died. Their last project together could be his legacy, writes Robert Craddock.
The generous sponsor who linked with Paul Green as a schoolboy and stayed for life spoke to him less than two days before his death without getting any hint of the tragedy ahead.
“I just can’t understand it,’’ building magnate and fellow Wynnum local Mick Power said of Green’s decision to take his own life.
“There is simply no rhyme or reason for what has happened. It’s just surreal. The whole mental health issue is so difficult to understand.
“I saw him at Wynnum Golf Club on Tuesday night after he had dropped (son) Jed off for training and he said he would stay and buy some raffle tickets until he picked up Jed.
“I had to go to the opening of Cinderella — one of those rare occasions when I couldn’t stay. I will always look back and think I wish I had stayed and had a few beers. But I did not notice anything at all.
Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
“The next day was Jed’s birthday and he (Green) was pleased about the fact that he had talked him out of going to the Ekka and would take them down the Gold Coast. I said, ‘that would be great because you won’t have to carry those sample bags around.’ He was a great father, husband, brother and son.’’
Power’s friendship and personal backing of Green was one of the most unique liaisons in Australian sport and Power has vowed he will complete the wellness app which Green had designed, which was close to public release.
Their friendship started when Power answered the call to buy the jerseys and socks for Green’s Wynnum-Manly State High School’s Commonwealth Bank Cup team.
Green appreciated the gesture so much he broke the rules to wear Power’s BMD logo on the front of his shirt when the team were snapped for a front page photo in The Courier-Mail when they returned to Brisbane after winning the title.
Power and Green were both proud Wynnum boys and school rugby league captains. Power’s backing of Green extended to the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls, which Green coached to two premierships.
When Green applied for North Queensland Cowboys coaching role which defined his career Power promised the club he would up his upgrade his small sponsorship of the Cowboys if Green got the job. He did and Power willingly parted with a six-figure annual sum as his company name was plastered over Green’s coaching box.
When Green and the Cowboys parted ways, Power hired Green as an ambassador for BMD — a role he excelled in.
“I guess our friendship was a lot us about just being Wynnum boys through and through,” Power said. “We were both raised there. His dad, Neddy, was a Wynnum selector who wouldn’t pick me when I was playing (rugby league).
“Paul once said he asked Neddy why he wouldn’t picked me and he said, ‘because I was no bloody good.’ It was quite funny.
“When he (Green) left the Cowboys he joined us and he has been an enormous part of our business for the last two years travelling all around the country and talking about leadership and the feedback was just fantastic.
“I spent so much time with him over the years. I would see him at Christmas. He really fancied himself as a singer and would grab the microphone.
“The irony of this is he has come up with a wellness app which we have been trialling at BMD with a lot of success. We have taken it to a few of our major clients and it has been a major success. It could be his legacy. It could be bigger than Ben Hur.’’
Roy’s shock death rocked Green: Craddock
Allan Langer once broke his thumb having a swing at Paul Green but an hour later they shared a beer and a laugh in the dressing room.
This was life in one of rugby league’s most enduring friendships which meshed a deep-seated mutual affection with a fierce, at times playful, rivalry which bubbled up in everything from rugby league to poker, darts, drinking games and anything else that pitted one man against each other.
Had Langer not road-blocked his career, Green might have played 17 State of Origin games instead of just seven yet, quite unusually for a key rival, Green considered Langer his favourite opponent.
The respect flowed both ways, leaving Langer shattered by news of Green’s sudden death on Thursday.
“Andrew Gee rung with the news (of Green’s death) this morning,’’ Langer said.
“I was at home by myself and I cried. It’s just devastating. I still cannot believe it. He had been going so well and enjoying life. I saw him recently at Andrew Gee’s wedding and really enjoyed his company.
“I can’t stop thinking about his lovely wife and kids. Greeny and I shared a lot of great times.’’
They did indeed. Super intense Green and playful pot-stirrer Langer were, in a way, rugby league’s true odd couple but that is one of the reasons they gelled.
You only had to mention the word “Alfie’’ within Green’s vicinity and Green would smile and ask “what’s he up to now?’’
When the two halfbacks confronted each other they would go hammer on tongs in the day then quiet drink for quiet drink at night.
When they played in Cronulla they would go out in Cronulla. When they played in Brisbane it was off to City Rowers.
“I’ll never forget that day at ANZ Stadium when he hit me a late and I gave him a bit of a clip and I came out second best with a broken thumb. But after the game we had a beer. We have told that story a lot over the years.
“We were really fierce competitors during a game but would always have a beer afterwards. He was a great competitor in anything he did in life.’’
Green once said nothing in life would match guiding the Cowboys to their first premiership in 2015 but said some of his favourite memories of coaching was spending less stressful times with Langer when they were assistant coaches at the Broncos.
Tribute gallery: Paul Green’s life in pictures
When the Cowboys beat the Broncos in the epic 2015 Grand Final the last place Broncos trainer Langer wanted to be was the Cowboys dressing room but he made a special visit to shake Green’s hand.
“I never normally go in the winner’s room but it was something I felt I had to do. He was a great competitor and we were great friends.’’
“When he coached State of Origin he was pretty serious and intense and I was there to take the heat off him. He was a great bloke and we will all miss him.’’
Green often enjoyed life’s playful characters and recently made a special trip to Townsville to attend Andrew Symonds’ funeral.
He was captivated by Symonds character and never took offence when Symonds rang him late at night to talk football.
After the service he went to a wake where he said of Symonds “he was such a big character you honestly just cannot believe he is gone.’’
Now people are saying the same about Green. It hardly seems real.
What a bloke, what a coach: Green’s league legacy
- Brent Read
A week or two ago, I picked up the phone and called Paul Green. Whispers were doing the rounds that Green was being headhunted to join the coaching staff of the Gold Coast Titans to help Justin Holbrook through a difficult period.
It made sense. They knew each other from the Roosters and Green was one of the most experienced coaches in the game without a gig.
The whispers turned out to be wide of the mark, Green insisting he was unaware of any interest. What Green didn’t actually say was that he was on the verge of a return to doing what he genuinely loved — coaching.
It turned out that the Dolphins had earmarked him to be part of their staff under Wayne Bennett and Green was expected to take up the role in their inaugural year.
What a blessing he would have been to Bennett and the Dolphins. What a bloke. What a coach. North Queensland turned into a juggernaut on his watch as he led the club to their first premiership in 2015 with Johnathan Thurston pulling the strings.
They were one of rugby league’s great tandems. Green the brains off the field and Thurston the orchestrator on it. Along with their great mate — former North Queensland head of football Peter Parr — they turned the Cowboys into a source of pride for the people of Townsville.
A club the envy of the NRL. It is one of the great legacies he leaves behind. The people of North Queensland and the game of rugby league owe him a debt for what he did in Townsville.
Before he was a coach he was a hell of a player, spending time at Cronulla, North Queensland, the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta and Brisbane. He was your typical cheeky halfback and played seven games for Queensland as well as two Tests during the Super League war.
I still remember the first time I really got immersed in a deep conversation with Paul. It was at the inaugural Auckland Nines years ago and we ended up in the corner of the a pub as players and officials celebrated the end of the event.
Greeny chewed my ear off for about two hours, taking about his playing days and life as a coach. You got the feeling he felt he deserved more respect for what he achieved as a player but I reckon he was selling himself short.
Everyone knew he was one heck of a footballer and competitor. It says even more about his coaching that it overshadowed his playing days. Green was passionate about his players and his club. He coached the hell out of the Cowboys until his time at the club came to an end in 2020.
Green wasn’t happy about it at the time but he helped soothe the disappointment by taking over the reins of Queensland. His one series in charge ended in disappointment and while he sat on the sidelines, he channelled his energy into his family and helping out with mental health in the building industry.
He had endured a difficult year, losing great mate Andrew Symonds to a tragic accident in May. The pair had forged a bond when they lived near each other in Townsville. They would spend their spare time fishing and spinning yarns. Symonds’ passing rocked Green earlier the year.
That said, Green was desperate to coach again. For all the disappointment with the Maroons, his reputation remained and Wayne Bennett recently came calling as he searched for an assistant coach to work alongside Kristian Woolfe next season.
I would have loved to see him coaching in the NRL again. Anyone who knew him would have. I wouldn’t say we were great friends, but he was a coach I could always call and know if he didn’t answer, he would always call back. We fell out on occasion but Greeny never held a grudge.
He would still answer the phone and it was a joy to bump into him over Christmas at the Northcliffe Surf Club on the Gold Coast, where we shared a beer and reminisced for a while about the good times.
He looked happy and relaxed. He looked like he was enjoying life. Sadly, it is now over. Oh, for one more beer.
More Coverage
Stranded Cowboys ask NRL for charter flight to avoid finals farce
The North Queensland Cowboys risk missing Friday night’s final against the Sharks after the club failed to secure seats on one of the two direct flights to Sydney.
What Seibold’s revival says about ‘cursed’ Broncos coaching role
“It’s you not us’’ was the cry when Anthony Seibold was effectively shown the door in Brisbane. Maybe, ROBERT CRADDOCK writes, it was the Broncos all along.