North Queensland coach Todd Payten has paid tribute Paul Green as a good father and good person as the Cowboys try to come to terms with the sudden passing of their maiden Premiership-winning coach.
The devastating news of Green's unexpected passing broke at lunchtime on Wednesday as Payten's side were in the midst of preparations for a vital top-eight clash against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday afternoon.
The current Cowboys coach, who worked with Green previously at the club, said had been an incredibly "sad and strange" day as players, staff and officials learned of and began to process news of the 49-year-old's death.
"It's been a difficult 24 hours, and as a club and as a group, we'll just have to put our arms around each other," Payten said at an emotional press conference.
"Not just from myself, but a lot of people within the club woke up with an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
"Some guys [here] have a long history with Paul. We understand that grief affects people differently at different times, and the club have been great at putting in resources around staff and players to make sure that they can come up with strategies to best deal with that and talk through how they're feeling."
Remembering Paul Green
After leaving Wests Tigers at the end of 2014, Payten joined Green's coaching staff at the Cowboys in 2015, featuring alongside Green as the Cowboys celebrated in maiden Premiership with a 17-16 Grand Final win over the Broncos.
"Myself and my family owe him a great deal of gratitude," Payten said.
"He gave me an opportunity to come up here when I didn't have a job, and that was his decision. He made me a better coach in many different ways. He certainly challenged everyone around him to be better and he was good company.
"He's always going to be the coach of our maiden Premiership. He will be etched in our history books and has had a significant contribution to our club.
"He's going to be sorely missed."
Payten confirmed the Cowboys would wear black armbands for Saturday's game against the Roosters with both teams to take part in a minute's silence pre-game.
The Cowboys are expected to honour and pay tribute to Green further in their following home game in Townsville next week against the Warriors.
"There's a fair motivation in what's ahead of us this weekend in who we're playing and what we're doing," he said.
"There's [been] an excitement through the week and a certain way that we're moving and we understand what's ahead of us tomorrow.
"At the end of the day, it's a good reminder of how fortunate we are to do what we are able to do. We'd like to perform well in Paul's honour."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
