🏉 Remembering Paul Green

Good morning, it's Friday, 12 August. It's been a rough 24 hours for NRL fans with news of the death of rugby league champion Paul Green. We cover that today - and we talk AFL, tennis, golf and a sing-a-long that'll get you hooked. Let's get into it. 

⏱ 1,428 words = 7 minutes

👀 Watch out for the swoopy boys...

THE MAIN GAME

🏉 Rugby league says goodbye to Paul Green

Former NRL player and coach Paul Green died yesterday morning in Brisbane. He was 49yo. Yesterday, the rugby league community remembered him as a fierce competitor, brilliant coach and lovely bloke.

Golden points: Police were called to Green's house in Wynnum around 10am yesterday. He was found unresponsive and declared deceased a short time later. Last night, reports said it was confirmed that he took his own life. 

• As a player, Green was a diminutive halfback that played above his weight and with a lot of heart. Over 11 seasons, Green played 162 first grade games for 5 clubs - the Sharks, Cowboys, Roosters, Eels and Broncos. He won the Rothmans Medal in 1993 in Queensland and then again in 1995 in NSW as the best player in the respective comps.

• He also played 7 games for Queensland in State of Origin, as well as 3 more for the Maroons and 2 Tests for Australia in the Super League year of 1997.

• When he transitioned to coaching, he won 2 premierships with Wynnum Manly in the Queensland Cup, but he'll be remembered for coaching North Queensland to their 1st NRL premiership in 2015.

• He left the Cowboys in 2020 after 167 games in charge, then coached Queensland in 2021. He was linked to almost every coaching job this year. And next year, he looked set to sign on as an assistant coach to Wayne Bennett at the new club, the Dolphins.

• Green is survived by his wife Amanda and 2 children, Emerson and Jed.

They said it: "Today we are devastated. We have lost a devoted husband, loving father and wonderful brother and son. We cannot find the words that would come close to expressing our feelings..." - Green's family statement. 

They said it: "I can't believe he's gone … it makes me appreciate that time I got to spend with him. We played together for years and he was just an incredible competitor. There was nothing of him and he just never took a backward step." - Former teammate Mat Rogers.

They said it: "He was tough. He was good on the sledge too. Anything he did, he was competitive. He was that all-round talented guy, but also that guy who didn’t have any enemies. I don’t want to be sad. I want to celebrate a great human." - Wendell Sailor remembers his mate.

What's next: Every NRL game this round will pause for a moment's silence to honour Green. And stay tuned for funeral/memorial details.

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QUICK SINGLES

🏉 AFL: Patrick Cripps is free to play for the Blues after a loooong hearing last night. We're not joking, the hearing went for 4.5 hours... He is free to play after the AFL Appeals Board found there was an error in Tuesday's tribunal hearing and the jury's findings were unreasonable. Cripps was banned for 2 games for a dangerous bump on Brisbane's Callum Ah Chee, but now he can play against the Demons tomorrow night and the Pies next week, which is massive because the Blues need a win to play finals and having their captain on the field is a huge boost. 

🏉 NRL: Melbourne Storm have kept their top 4 hopes alive with an upset win over Penrith last night. The Storm scored 3 1st-half tries to get to 16-0 in front then defended their guts out to win by the same score. It means they're now up to 3rd on the competition ladder but play top 8 teams the Broncos, Roosters and Eels in the final 3 rounds. Finishing in the top 4 means your team gets a second chance should they lose in week one of the finals. 

🎾 Tennis: Nick Kyrgios continues his winning ways in Canada. Kyrgios came from a set down to beat world #1 Daniil Medvedev in the 2nd round of the Canadian Open to make it 14 wins in his past 15 matches. He'll now face fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur in the round of 16. 

🎾 Tennis: The Canadian comp wasn't as kind to Serena Williams. In her first match since announcing that she's "evolving away from tennis", Williams lost to Swiss player Belinda Bencic in straight sets. But she didn't leave empty-handed - Williams got a standing ovation and received a gift for her brilliant career. There'll be a lot of that in the next month or so... 

⛳️ Golf: Move over cricket, it could be the summer of golf this year. The Australasian Tour schedule was released yesterday and there are 16 events from October to March with a total prize purse of $8 million. The best part about this tour is that all are welcome - even the LIV golfers who have been banned from the PGA and European Tours. So come on down, Cameron Smith (if he signs with LIV, of course...). 

LEFT OF FIELD

🏉 NFL: If you think American Football is all about big dudes in body armour crunching each other, well, you'd be exactly right. But, they can also be sweet men with a song in their heart, just like Detroit Lions rookie Aiden Hutchinson. He got up in front of his 50-odd teammates and delivered a rendition of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. After a nervy start, Hutchinson turned on the dance moves - and he brought the house down! The whole thing was filmed for the HBO docu-series Hard Knocks, and we reckon you'll watch this clip at least 5 times. We're up to 15 it's that good. 

📽 Highlight reel: If there was an award for 'No Try of the Year', it would have to go to Storm winger Xavier Coates. Look at the air he gets here. Just give it to 'im, ref!

📸 Photo finish: Check out this snap by Gary Bradshaw of Crib Point Junior Football Club player Ethan getting swooped by a magpie. Ironically, the club's mascot is a magpie - not that the feathered fiend gave a rats... 

THE POLLING BOOTH

Thursday's result: 67.33% voted Test cricket as the best form of cricket. Just under 5% voted for French cricket. 

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING (THAT'S NOT THE COMM GAMES)

• ⚾️ 9:00am Friday - MLB - Reds v Cubs - Dyersville, Iowa - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 7:55pm Friday - NRL - Eels v Souths - CommBank Stadium - Channel 9, Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 3:00pm Saturday - NRL - Roosters v Cowboys - SCG - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 7:25pm Saturday - AFL - Demons v Blues - MCG - Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 5:10am Sunday - Rugby - Australia v Argentina - Estadio Bicentenario, San Juan - Stan Sport

• 🏉 3:20pm Sunday - AFL - Swans v Magpies - SCG - 7mate, Foxtel, Kayo

THE MANAGER'S OFFICE

Before you set sail for the weekend, we just wanna let you know the manager has hauled us in for getting a couple of things wrong in yesterday's newsletter. Sorry, manager - and sorry to you too... We'll try to do better the next time, which is this time, so hopefully, it was a good time. If you like us for who we are, flaws and all, please share the newsletter with your mates. Have a great weekend!