Thurston’s stunning praise for Maroons assistant coach
JOSH Hannay, the Queensland assistant coach who spent every waking hour devising the game plan to blunt the NSW attack could be an NRL coach tomorrow, according to rugby league legend Johnathan Thurston.
Which is why it came as no surprise to Thurston when told both the Bulldogs and Warriors have inquired about the services of the Maroons assistant coach and right-hand man to Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
“He’s a great coach, just so knowledgeable and everyone I’ve spoken to just loves him,’’ Thurston said.
“The three of us (Queensland coaching staff members Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Thurston) aren’t in an NRL system and he’s the only one that is, so you could tell when we were running training sessions, his communication and the way he sets up the drills, was exactly what we needed.
“If there were an NRL job for him available, in my eyes he wouldn’t be a gamble at all.
“He’s ready.’’
To footy fans, Hannay is the forgotten man on the coaching merry-go-round.
But within the clubland, Hannay’s name sits written in the notebook of the good judges.
Such is his lustre, Maroons coach Billy Slater could’ve chosen anyone, from the King Wally Lewis to Supercoach Wayne Bennett, to sit alongside him on Wednesday night in the coaches box.
He chose Hannay. For a number of reasons, there’s a quiet maturity about him.
Nothing beats experience in the hot seat, which came over two separate stints as interim coach for the Cowboys (10games) following the sacking of Paul Green in 2020.
The 42-year-old from the small coal mining town of Moranbah in Queensland was so good at 16, he almost created history by becoming the youngest player to make his first-grade debut before it was blocked by the ARL.
He ran out 12-months later for North Queensland as a 17year-old, going on to play 153 games for the Cowboys and two for the Maroons.