Kangaroos assistant coach David Furner has wasted no time in joining North Queensland as he attempts to put his axing from Canberra behind him.
Fresh from Australia’s victorious World Cup campaign in the UK, Furner arrived back in Canberra last Wednesday and jumped on a plane the next day to Townsville to take up his gig with the Cowboys.
Furner, who has made way for Ricky Stuart at the Raiders, will be a key ally to new rookie Cowboys coach Paul Green next year following Neil Henry’s controversial axing.
And he said he was keen to get involved at the Cowboys as soon as he could.
“We finished off the campaign with Australia on Saturday I was back in Canberra on Wednesday and jumped on a plane on Thursday, I just wanted to get involved as soon as possible and move up here as quickly as possible,” Furner told reporters on Monday.
“I was with the Australia side for a seven, eight week tour at the end of which we played a very good brand of football which was good to be part of. But the focus now is my job here and the support for Greeny, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Cowboys stars Johnathan Thurston, Matt Scott, James Tamou and Brent Tate were all part of the Kangaroos’ successful campaign and they won’t return to training until mid-January.
“There were very good all four were … the contribution from the Cowboys guys was fantastic,” he said.
“They have earnt a break, I am just looking forward to working with them.”
Furner revealed he would take over the defensive coaching duties next season.
“At this stage I’ll be working with the defensive side … that’s why I have come up here,” he said.
“Obviously I’ve had that experience in that (head) position before but it is about what Greeny wants and what the team needs and that’s why I’m here.
Meanwhile Furner’s former club the Raiders have engaged the services of sports physician and administrator Dr Peter Fricker to conduct a high performance review of the club’s football operations ahead of the 2014 season.
Dr Fricker said he would take a couple of weeks to speak to all of the club’s football staff across all areas and provide a set of recommendations which could help improve certain aspects of the organisation.
The Raiders had a disappointing season, finishing 13th.
Their year was marred by a number of off-field distractions with State of Origin players Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson sacked at different stages in 2013.
