North Queensland Cowboys great Johnathan Thurston flew back home to be with his family after he was left "absolutely devastated" by the news that his former coach, Paul Green, had died by suicide at the age of 49.
On Channel Nine's coverage of the Panthers-Storm game in Penrith on Thursday night, Thurston, the co-captain and Clive Churchill medallist of Green's premiership-winning Cowboys side, was absent.
After hearing the news of Green's death, Cameron Smith said he spent a few hours with Thurston in Sydney on Thursday afternoon before his friend, colleague and former Maroons teammate returned home to be with his family and his beloved North Queensland community.
"[Thurston] was absolutely devastated, as were many of the players and his teammates in that Cowboys outfit led by Paul Green," Smith said.
"We just want to send our best wishes to all those players and particularly our mate JT. We feel for you, as the entire rugby league community do.
"For everyone that was involved with Paul Green and his family, we wish you all the very best."
Many other Cowboys premiership players posted messages of sadness on social media, including Michael Morgan, John Asiata and Ben Hannant.
A minute's silence was observed before Thursday's game at Penrith Stadium and others will be held before every NRL game this round.
Cowboys coach reflects on opportunities Green gave him
North Queensland plays the Roosters in Sydney on Saturday afternoon.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten said the club had to "put our arms around each other" after a difficult 24 hours.
"It's a good reminder of how fortunate we are to do what we are able to do," he said.
"We would like to perform well in Paul's honour."
Payten served as North Queensland's under-20s coach and an assistant to Green for the 2015 premiership season.
"He gave me an opportunity to bring my family up here when I didn't have a job," Payten said.
"He made me a better coach in many different ways [and] he certainly challenged everyone around him to be better. He was a good person.
"He is always going to be the coach of our maiden premiership. He will be etched in our history books, he has had a significant contribution to our club, and he is going to be sorely missed."
Green's impact felt across NRL community
While Green made his biggest coaching impact for North Queensland, he had ties to a number of clubs all around the Australian rugby league scene, playing for five NRL sides and being involved in coaching many more.
He played alongside Broncos coach Kevin Walters for Queensland and finished his playing career and started his coaching career in Brisbane, where Walters is now in charge.
"I was fortunate enough to play State of Origin football with Greeny and I had many battles against him in his days, particularly at the Sharks and up at the Cowboys," Walters said.
Green has touched many lives in the Broncos camp: Current Broncos assistant coach John Cartwright coached under Green at the Cowboys during their 2015 premiership year, and Kurt Capewell played under his guidance in last year's origin series.
"We all played against him and with him on different levels," Walters said.
"He was a great fella to be around, obviously a good human, very smart, very tactical."
"My feelings go out to his family and friends. They're a great rugby league family, the Greens, and have been for a long time," he added.
"It's just so sad."
