Queensland Origin star Brent Tate has urged North Queensland to appoint a new coach ASAP.

Tate admitted the Cowboys board faced a tough decision in replacing the unwanted Neil Henry but felt they needed to move quickly to take the 13th-placed NRL club in a new direction.

Kevin Walters, Paul Green, Trent Barrett, Brad Arthur and Andrew Dunemann – all current assistant coaches at rival NRL clubs – have been mentioned as leading contenders for the job.

Tate had faith the right man would be appointed but hoped it could happen sooner rather than later, with the Cowboys’ 2014 roster yet to be finalised.

“It’s a huge thing for the club to do now and it’s really important we get it right,” he said in Townsville.

“With the club coming out and saying they want to sign some other players it’s really important we have a coach here moving in the direction he wants to take us.

“I hope that decision gets made really soon and we can move on.”

The Cowboys face Barrett’s team, Penrith, on Sunday afternoon at Centrebet Stadium where Tate hopes they can show the same enterprise as last weekend’s 30-12 upset of South Sydney.

The veteran centre attributed their turnaround to the pressure being lifted with Henry told his contract would not be renewed once they were out of finals calculations.

“The boys went out with the attitude to go out there and enjoy it,” Tate said on Wednesday. “The shackles have been broken a little bit.

“It was the first time (this season) we really clicked.

“The (coaching) innuendo wasn’t helping and as much as you try to block it out it’s always in your face.”