Josh Hannay

A goal-kicking centre / winger, Josh Hannay's rugby league playing journey took him from Moranbah to Townsville; down to Sydney, and over to Wales, before he finished back in Moranbah.

He played junior league for Moranbah Sharks, before he was signed by the North Queensland Cowboys as a 16-year-old. Cowboys coach, Graham Lowe wanted to play Hannay in first grade in 1996, when he was still 16, but the Australian Rugby League said he was too young. Instead, Hannay made his NRL debut for the Cowboys in 1998, and quickly cemented his place in the side, scoring 15 tries and kicking 29 goals in his rookie season.

He made his State of Origin debut in the centres in Game III of the 2003 series, kicking four goals in the Maroons' 36-6 win at Suncorp Stadium.

Hannay was recalled by the Maroons for the third and deciding match of the 2006 series in Melbourne, following the withdrawal of centre, Justin Hodges through injury. Hannay rose to the occasion, as the Maroons scored a memorable 16-14 win.

Hannay played 150 NRL games for the Cowboys and scored 882 points for the club, second only to Johnathan Thurston. Hannay and Thurston hold the club record for the most points scored in a match with 24.

I was really fortunate to experience Origin and lucky enough to win both, and in 2006 be a part of a winning series.

Josh Hannay FOG #139

He played centre in the 2005 grand final loss to Wests Tigers, kicking two goals.

After 150 NRL appearances for the Cowboys, Hannay signed a one-year deal with Cronulla in 2007, but played just three games, before linking with ambitious Welsh club, Celtic Crusaders, helping them win promotion to Super League, before visa problems saw him return to Australia in 2009.

He played for Mackay Cutters in the Queensland Cup and then returned to Moranbah, where he took on the captain-coach role of the Miners, in the Mackay competition.

In 2014, he was appointed coach of the Souths Logan Magpies in Queensland 's Intrust Super Cup, before taking the step up to the NRL as an assistant coach to Paul Green at the Cowboys.

When Green lost his job during the 2020 season, Hannay was appointed caretaker coach, a role he also filled at Cronulla in 2021, following the sacking of John Morris.

In 2022, new Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon named Hannay as part of his coaching staff.

Hannay also had experience on the Queensland Origin coaching staff, when Kevin Walters was in charge and was reappointed to the Queensland Maroons coaching staff at the end of 2021 by Billy Slater.