Former Queensland State of Origin centre Josh Hannay will reunite with the North Queensland Cowboys next season as he takes the next step in his coaching career.
Hannay will take up an assistant coach role at the North Queensland Cowboys, where he played 150 NRL games from 1998 to 2006, under premiership winning coach and former teammate Paul Green.
Hannay, will see out the season in his role as coach of Intrust Super Cup club Souths Logan Magpies before making the move north.
“It’s really exciting news,” he said. “I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing yet — I’ll head up there in a couple of weeks and sit down with (coach Paul Green) Greeny to work out exactly what my role will be.
“I’m excited to take the next step in my coaching career. The Cowboys is probably as good a situation for a young coach to walk into as there is right now.
“To be able to learn from the other coaches they have there is going to be great for my development as a coach.”
The 36-year-old said the fact he would step into the assistant coaching role of his former club added to the excitement.
“I’ll start up there in October and it will be basically 10 years to the day since I left there as a player,” Hannay said.
“I’ve got great memories there as a player. It still feels a bit surreal at the moment that I’ll be heading there so I’m not sure how it will feel when I walk in to start there.
“There are quite a few old teammates up there in off-field roles now so it’s great to be back where it all started.”
The former Maroons centre said he was proud of his work during his three-year tenure at the Magpies and endorsed the selection of current Wynnum Manly Seagulls coach Jon Buchanan as his successor.
The Magpies will be left in good hands after Hannay’s departure to the Cowboys with Buchanan set to take over at Davies Park.
Buchanan has an impressive record in his four years in charge at Wynnum Manly, leading the club to the finals in each season, including a preliminary final in 2014.
It is a fairytale move for the 43-year-old, who coached at the Magpies more than 20 years ago.
“My coaching really started there, coaching 16 and 17-year-olds, so I have a bit of a soft spot for the place to be honest,” Buchanan said.
“I just think Souths Logan is a club with a lot of upside at the moment with the (Brisbane) Broncos link and I think that will only get better once Under 20s is gone as well because they won’t lose as many of their talented young kids.
“The chance to help the Broncos players who come down to the team will be a great opportunity for me as well to help them develop along the way.
“I think the Intrust Super Cup side is on the improve as well and that’s another big reason I wanted to go there. Hopefully my experience can help take them to another level.”
