Johnathan Thurston has been named as assistant coach of the Queensland Maroons for the 2021 State of Origin series.

In his regular spot on Wide World of Sports, he said he was excited about it.

“I was very excited, Paul [Green] rang me earlier this year asking if I wanted to be a part of his coaching staff along with Neil Henry,” he told Peter Psaltis.

“I wanted to say yes straight away I’ve got 4 young kids at home … so I had to have a quick conversation with [his wife] about it.

“I rang Greeny back and got the all clear from my wife and obviously from Channel 9 as well.”

Later in the show, Maroons coach Paul Green joined the conversation to talk about how JT will guide and coach the team.

“Learning how to win is important, and I think he can certainly impart some of that particularly onto some of the younger guys.

“We are in a good spot … we need to make sure these young guys keep continuing to improve and I think Jono can really contribute to from that point of view.

“I said at the start, guys like yourself JT, if you want to be involved, you have had a long history of winning series …. any of those guys can add to the legacy, they did a great job as players, now it’s an opportunity to contribute from a coaching point of view and as I say the door’s always open.”

Click PLAY to hear both chats 

Part 1:

Part 2:

Image: File