North Queensland great Johnathan Thurston says the news of former coach Paul Green's death left him sad, angry and confused.
In his first public remarks since learning the man who coached him to premiership glory had died by suicide, Thurston said he had been on a "roller coaster of emotions" as he tried to come to terms with what had happened.
"It's hard," he told Channel Nine
"I'm sad, I'm angry. I think of [Green's wife] Amanda and the kids [son Jed and daughter Emerson] and it just breaks my heart."
Thurston was on a plane to Sydney to cover the NRL clash between Penrith and Melbourne on Thursday when the news broke.
He said when he landed, he received dozens of messages, including one from a friend who is the godfather to one of Green's children.
Thurston hopped straight on a plane back home to Townsville, saying he "just needed to be around family".
One of Thurston's teammates from their 2015 grand final victory under Green had spoken to the coach a day before he took his own life.
"Gavin Cooper spoke to him the night before to check up and see how he was. It was Jed's birthday," Thurston said.
"It's just come out of nowhere. … I don't know. It's hard to comprehend.
"It just doesn't make sense."
Thurston said he was particularly shocked because Green was rumoured to be in contention for a number of coaching jobs around the NRL after losing the Cowboys job in 2020 and coaching the Maroons for the 2021 series.
"Mental health has really come to the forefront in the last 10-to-15 years and before that it was an era of 'she'll be right, mate'. Well, it won't be right. It's not going to be right," he said.
"We need to be there for our mates and to get them to talk about their feelings, and what they are going through, and to seek professional help if they need it.
"The days are gone of 'she'll be right'. Suicide has taken far too many lives in this country and we need to be able to talk about it."
