'We all miss him greatly': Ikin remembers Paul Green

Ben Ikin knows that Paul Green would have a “wry smile” on his face if he could see what his former Wynnum Manly Seagulls assistant coach was up to this Sunday.

One year after his passing, two of Green’s former clubs in Wynnum Manly Seagulls and Brisbane Tigers will honour the former player and coach with the Paul Green Medal Memorial Day at BMD Kougari Oval.

It’s a day that will honour the former Queensland Maroons and North Queensland Cowboys mentor with footy, fun and reflection, as people remember the beloved Green while also raising awareness and money for CTE research, which is the brain disorder the 49-year-old tragically suffered from.

For Ikin, he will play a big role on the day – and maybe a somewhat unexpected one.

A good friend of Green’s, the Queensland Rugby League CEO will make a return to the coach’s box for the first time in over a decade to oversee the Wynnum Manly Legends team as they take on the Brisbane Tigers Legends in the second match of the day.

Ikin has tried his hand at coaching just twice before – once for the Aspley Devils under 18s in 2005 and then again as Green’s assistant at the Seagulls in 2011.

And it is because of this second coaching stint that Ikin knows Green would be highly amused if he saw his friend’s return this weekend.

“He would laugh because my title in 2011 when we coached together at Wynnum was the assistant to the assistant,” Ikin said.

“Even though I gave myself the job title, I thought it was the smart play, because truth be told I didn’t really offer much.

“Paul was a great coach. That was evident from the first time I saw him on the grass.

“He was extremely capable at whatever he wanted to do in life. Coaching was just one of those things.

“When I joined him for the 2011 season at Wynnum, I was trying to get a sense if coaching was for me. To see what he put into it and how good he was, I decided pretty quick to pursue another career.

“I wasn’t that good, nor was I that committed. To go back out there and coach the Legends team, he would certainly have a wry smile.

“I actually sent a message to his wife Amanda saying, ‘maybe now I’ll finally get the credit I never got in 2011'.

“It would almost be fitting, based on the fun I’ve been having with this, that my team loses on the weekend. It will show why I never took up coaching and he would laugh even harder.”

Ikin said having fun would be a key element of Sunday.

The Paul Green Medal Memorial Day will kick off at 11am with the Round 16 Hastings Deering Colts clash between the Seagulls and Tigers on the field, while a fundraising lunch for CTE research will start inside Wynnum Manly’s Leagues Club.

Money will be raised throughout the entire day for the Australian Sports Brain Bank.

At 1pm the Legends match - the BMD Bartons Cup - will then kick off followed by the Round 22 Hostplus Cup showdown - the Charity Cup - between Wynnum Manly and Brisbane.

The two Cup sides will be led out by Green’s children, Emmerson and Jed, and there will also be one minute’s silence for Shane McNally, who passed away recently.

The player of the match will then be awarded the inaugural Paul Green Medal.

Green played for both the Seagulls and Tigers across his lifetime and then coached Wynnum Manly to back-to-back Cup premierships in 2011 and 2012.

Ikin said it was fitting for these two clubs to honour him in this way.

“These two clubs that clearly played a big part in his life, in a game that defined - in many respects - who he was,” Ikin said.

“We’re all coming together to celebrate the life of a guy we loved and who gave so much to the game.

“In amongst that, remembering who we’ve lost, we get to celebrate what he stood for and send a message around some key aspects of what he was dealing with.

“For me it’s the merging of all the best parts of our game, who we are and the people that work in it, to shine a light on something that is important.

“He was a highly intelligent, compassionate guy who loved rugby league. He was clearly a great player and I would probably say an even better coach.

“Eventually he became a great family man – married, two kids, who joined him on the journey through rugby league, who rode the highs and the lows.

“He had many, many friends, most of whom came out of the game. What you’ll see on Sunday is a small snapshot of that part of his life, which was a big part of his life.

“We’re coming together because we lost our mate so that’s very sad and we all miss him greatly. But I just know that he was so full of fun and so full of life and he loved that part of rugby league… for the most part, the best way to honour him will be to make sure we’re all having fun.”

Ikin said it was also fitting to see where the Seagulls and Tigers are in the lead up to next week’s finals series kicking off.

The third-placed Brisbane Tigers are fighting for a top two finish while the fifth-placed Wynnum Manly Seagulls could have their sights set on a potential top four finish, depending on results from Saturday’s Cup matches.

But either way, both teams will be looking for a strong finish to the regular season and to make a statement ahead of week one of finals.

And Ikin knows Green would have loved to see that competition on display.

“That’s the other element that will honour him – he was highly competitive and wanted to win everything,” Ikin said.

“The fact that those two teams will be going hard at each other, still both a legitimate chance to win the comp this year, that’s another part of the day that will celebrate him well.

“I want to see the players doing everything they can to win because that’s what Paul used to do. He was always extremely well-prepared.

“He had this big brain and was using every part of that brain to think his way through the training plan, the game plan… there was no stone left unturned.

“There was also this warrior element to him. He’d play tough, he was cheeky, he was a halfback. He’d be trying to sledge or undermine the opposition – whatever he needed to do to get the win.

“While he was a deep thinker, there was also some blunt force trauma about him.

“For me, knowing that there are some games on the weekend in the Colts and the Cup that are hugely important in the context of the season, that those guys who are taking the field will be going at that contest in the same way he would and the best player on the field will get an award named in his honour, it’s quite fitting.”