Justin Hodges discusses how the death of Paul Green and concussions have prompted introspection in rugby league

Green had been on a fishing trip in Queensland and told the boys he wouldn’t be able to make it. So Hodges was stoked when Green succumbed to the fear of missing out and cut his holiday short at the last minute.

His journey to Sydney involved a couple of boat rides, a few car journeys and two flights, with the premiership-winning coach arriving at the function in ill-fitting clothes he had bought on the way in.

It was the last time Hodges would see his friend.

“It’s sad, man. Everyone was so thrilled to see him and he looked so happy,” Hodges tells CODE Sports. “When you see someone who’s so smart and intelligent and is just a loveable guy …

“Those are memories I’ll hold onto forever.”

Hodges and Green only played one game together at the Roosters before injury ended Green’s 2002 season early. They linked up again three years later in Brisbane, though, at a time when Green was making a name as an elite assistant coach and Hodges evolving into one of the game’s best centres.

The pair remained close over the next 15 years, even when Green’s Cowboys ruined Hodges’ NRL swan song in the 2015 Grand Final.

Hodges was blindsided when Green passed away in August.

“He was tossing up whether to have a career, or if Wayne (Bennett) was going to give him a job at the Dolphins,” he says. “He has two beautiful kids and a lovely wife, but it just goes to show you, when you look at somebody, you don’t really know what’s going on underneath.

“He’s just one person I never thought would do that.”

It was a reminder to Hodges to keep checking in on old mates.

“Mental health is a serious issue, and we just need to make sure that we reach out and talk about it more,” he says. “We need to make sure that men know it’s OK to reach out and be there for each other.

“You just touch base, and see how everyone’s going. You don’t want to see it like that … one split second and then we’re left suffering that loss. It’s so sad.

“You see Amanda and the kids, and it’s a cruel game sometimes. Greenie was a fantastic man, he was wonderful.”

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Two months after he died, Green was diagnosed as having severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, linked to repeated head knocks sustained during his playing career.

“Paul had one of the more severe forms of pure CTE we’ve seen,” Professor Michael Buckland told The Australian.

It’s dangerous to imply a direct correlation between the disease and Green’s death, but it is another reminder of the seriousness of CTE.

Hodges played nearly 300 games of top level rugby league and will have his eighth professional boxing match when he fights Paul Gallen on November 23 in Sydney.

The fact he played in a different era with a less enlightened approach to the long-term effects of concussion gives Hodges cause for concern.

“It’s hard, man, you get headaches now,” he says.

“With footy, we’ve had long careers and the game now, as soon as you get hit in the head, you’ve gotta come off and get assessed. But in the era that we played, you’d get knocked out and you’d continue to play with stars in your eyes and stuff.

“The boys are looked after these days, which is good to see, because you don’t want anyone hurt.

“At the end of the day, it’s our choice. We chose to do this.”

Although the protocols around head knocks have improved, Hodges says the game poses different dangers today.

“The boys these days are big, the contact is big and the game’s fast,” he says. “The shoulder charges are gone, but you’re seeing now the tackles where the boys are getting their heads in the wrong spot.

“With the forwards these days, they’re a bit more agile, they’re using their feet late and the boys are getting their heads in the wrong place.

“That’s what seems to be knocking the guys out.”

Kalyn Ponga seems to be both a beneficiary of the stricter protocols around assessing head injuries and a victim of the changes Hodges references.

The Queensland and Newcastle fullback suffered five concussions in 2022, including three in a six-week span. He ultimately cut his season short after a high shot from Roosters forward Matt Lodge in August.

Hodges worked with Ponga when he was Queensland assistant coach under Kevin Walters and admits concern at the impact concussion is having on his career.

“You don’t want to see that for someone that’s got so much to offer the game,” Hodges says. “Kids love him and I love watching him play because he’s such a rare talent, but to lose someone like that to concussion, it’s scary.”

As much as he enjoys watching him play, Hodges says there is more to life than footy.

“A rugby league career’s short. Your whole life is ahead of you, and you’ve gotta make sure you have a good life for your kids as well,” he says. “Your kids needs you around. That’s what the scary thing is with sport. You take a risk every time you get in the ring, or every time you get on the paddock.

“We’ve just gotta make sure that everyone’s looked after, and I think the game is doing a great job of that now.”