NORTH Queensland coach Graham Murray has confirmed asking captain Johnathan Thurston if he still had the players’ support after being told he would be axed at the end of the season.
Cowboys officials immediately confirmed they would open negotiations with joint favourites Wayne Bennett and Ian Millward after confirming Murray’s seventh season in Townsville would be his last.
But Murray told The Daily Telegraph he had asked 2007 Dally M medallist Thurston whether he had been the victim of a player-led coup.
"I said to him ‘do the players have respect?’ and he said ‘I’m captain and I have the utmost respect and I speak on behalf of the players’," Murray said. "People are going to make up all sorts of things heading into the weekend.
"I said to Johnathan ‘I’ll give you two days to think about it’ and he said ‘I don’t need two days, I’ll tell you right now’.
"You can’t then go to 31 and ask them individually, can you?"
Reports in Queensland have players exchanging the text "ding dong, the witch is dead" when Murray’s fate was known.
NQ chief executive Peter Parr described being involved in the termination of his close friend as one of the hardest tasks of his life.
But he confirmed Millward would be asked if he was interested in the post.
"Certainly, he’s a guy we would want to talk to about it," said Parr.
Of Bennett, he said: "I’d be surprised if, once we got together and put together a list, Wayne wasn’t on it. You can’t deny what he’s done in the game and his ability as a coach.
"Contrary to what everyone thinks, we haven’t already spoken to him. Contrary to what everyone thinks, we haven’t done a deal.
"But certainly, I’d be surprised if we didn’t have a discussion with him."
Parr said Millward would tell him if he received an offer from another club.
Millward, whose father is St George Illawarra director Bob Millward and who is also a close friend of Murray’s, declined to comment.
Source: Murray seeks Thurston’s support
