The Queensland Maroons are hoping Johnathan Thurston can help Paul Green achieve success in the State of Origin arena.

Queensland has announced Thurston will join the Maroons as an assistant coach for the 2021 Ampol State of Origin series.

Green has also retained the services of experienced mentor Neil Henry, who assisted Wayne Bennett during the Maroons’ 2-1 series victory over NSW in November.

He is confident he has a formidable coaching team at his disposal in his first series at the Queensland helm.

Thurston, who played in all 24 games of Queensland’s eight-year winning streak from 2006, said he was excited to return to Camp Maroon.

He was the Cowboys’ co-captain alongside Matt Scott when Green guided the club to their epic 2015 grand final win over Brisbane in extra time.

Origin I will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 9, before Suncorp Stadium gets its turn on June 27 with the series finale set down for Stadium Australia on July 14.

Meanwhile round two of the Telstra Premiership kicks off tonight, the Eels take on the Melbourne Storm at 9.05pm.

You can catch the delayed coverage of the match on FBC Sports on the Walesi platform on Friday at 8pm.

Tomorrow, the Warriors face the Knights at 7pm while Titans meet the Brisbane Broncos at 9.05pm.

There will be three matches on Saturday, Bulldogs take on Panthers at 4pm, Sea Eagles battles Rabbitohs at 6.30pm and Cowboys faces Dragons at 8.35pm.

Two matches will be played on Sunday, West Tigers meets Roosters at 5.05pm and Sharks takes on the Raiders at 7.15pm.

The Roosters and West Tigers match will be live and exclusive on FBC Sports channel.

[Source: Nrl.com]