Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston will both play their parts in Green's Maroons vision,<\/a> but it's the radio silence from Smith that has the former Cowboys coach at a loss.<\/p>\n Green revealed he had made repeated attempts to reach out to Smith, who is hot off his recent retirement from rugby league<\/a>, but has so far yet to make contact with or receive any response from the Storm icon.<\/p>\n "I reached out to Smithy but he's very good at disappearing and not answering people's phone calls," Green told Wide World of Sports on 4BC radio. "So, I might start sending smoke signals or something.<\/p>\n "I said from the start, any of the guys that want to be involved who've had a long history at winning series, any of those guys that added to the legacy as players, now it's their opportunity to contribute from a coaching point of view. And as I said, the door's always open."<\/p>\n Asked by 4BC's Wide World of Sports host Peter Psaltis if there was any message he could relay to Smith when the two catch up at a scheduled luncheon later in the week, Green quipped:<\/p>\n "Just give him my number and just tell him, 'That's Greeny's number'."<\/p>\n Smith's former teammate, Slater, will once again take up his role as a Queensland selector, while Thurston will reunite with his former Cowboys mentor to form an integral part of Green's coaching staff.<\/p>\n "We all know what Jono brought as a player at Origin level, so I think learning how to win is important and he can impart some of that on some of the younger guys," Green said.<\/p>\n "Given the series we had last year, we're in a good spot but we've got to make sure these young guys keep continuing to improve. I think Jono can contribute from that point of view.<\/p>\n "I spoke to Billy around the potential for him to be involved as a coach, he's probably got a bit too much on his plate at the moment, but he'll still be involved as a selector. It'll be great having him as someone to bounce ideas off."<\/p>\n The 2021 season will mark the first in Green's coaching career that he won't be attached to an NRL franchise.<\/p>\n The former Cowboys coach said he was enjoying the new perspective he's adopted when watching games and revealed he had already been making notes of individual player performances.<\/p>\n "It was a really different feeling for me going into last week, Round One," he said.<\/p>\n "This is the first time in my life I've never been associated with a team, but having the Origin job, I've just got to have a different perspective. I'm looking at a lot of different teams this time around. Not so much from a team play point of view, I'm looking more at how the individuals are going and what strengths and weaknesses those guys have.<\/p>\n "So, it's a different perspective for me, but I'm enjoying it, I do have a vested interest, but I'm not really emotionally attached to the result which is quite good when you wake up the next day."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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