FRESH off being appointed Queensland’s new assistant coach, Maroons legend Justin Hodges has revealed his ambitions to one day take over an NRL top job.

Hodges, who has overseen Maroons Under 20s team for the past two years, was unveiled as Kevin Walters’ right hand man on Monday after the head coach put a broom through his ranks to bring a fresh feel to the camp.

Making way are Queensland stalwarts Trevor Gillmeister and Tony Spencer, as well as Josh Hannay who was the previous assistant.

In a changing of the guard, Walters has hired Hodges, Petero Civoniceva as team manager, recently retired duo Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston as consultants, and Melbourne’s Matthew Barradeen as trainer.

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Justin Hodges and Kevin Walters will be working together with the Maroons in 2019. Source: News Corp Australia

It’s a rapid rise through the Maroons’ coaching ranks for Hodges, who only retired as a player following the 2015 NRL season.

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“It’s very humbling to be associated with that side,” Hodges told foxsports.com.au.

“This has only been my third year away from the game in terms of playing, so it’s a tremendous amount of faith shown by Kevvy Walters to have me in there as assistant coach.

“Kevvy rang me the other day and told me so I had a meeting with him. He said he believed in me and reckoned I could offer something to the younger generation of players.

“It’s probably come a bit earlier than I expected, but I’ve learnt a lot over the past two years with the Under 20s and having blokes like Princey (Scott Prince), Lote (Tuqiri) and Paul Dyer around me has helped as well.

“With Petero, Billy and JT coming in too, we’re all looking forward to the challenge.”

Johnathan Thurston and Petero Civoniceva will be in the Maroons camp in 2019. Picture: Peter Wallis Source: News Limited

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After an NRL career spanning 15 seasons, the former Australia Test centre can see a long-term future for himself in coaching.

Aside from coaching the Maroons’ Under 20s outfit, Hodges was also an assistant with Brisbane’s Holden Cup team during their final season.

“That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but at the moment I’m only young and I’m still learning,” Hodges said.

“I’ve watched a lot of basketball and read (11-time NBA champion coach) Phil Jackson’s books.

“Even though you play the game for a long time at different levels, it’s a different type of role coaching. You’ve got to sit back and see the game as a coach, not a player.

“Something I’ve been learning of the past few years is that you’ve got to have a different approach to things, but it’s something I’ve really enjoyed.

“I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I have, but it’s something I’d love to pursue later on in life.

“I’m always open to learning new things and trying to make other players better and trying to make myself better as a coach as well.”

Justin Hodges is the new Queensland assistant coach. Picture: Darren England. Source: News Corp Australia

While Hodges, Civoniceva, Thurston and Slater have 125 Origins between them, there’s little coaching experience.

That doesn’t seem to worry Hodges.

“We’ve played a lot of Origin and know what Origin’s about,” he said.

“It’s a lot different to the week-to-week stuff in terms of coaching for the whole year.

“These three games are important in terms of creating the right environment for the players and getting the right staff around them.





“We just have to pass on our knowledge and make sure they stay focused.

“We’ve played a lot of games between us and we all won a lot of series so we know what works and what doesn’t work.

“It’s about guiding the players into something that they can be proud of.”

Johnathan Thurston (left) and Billy Slater will be consultants with the Maroons in 2019. Source: AAP

While the coaching staff have been shaken up, Hodges doesn’t believe a mass of changes will come to the playing group.

“The selectors will sit down and there’ll be some input from myself,” he said.

“I think the players we had this year did a great job.

“The first game we were blown off the park, NSW were just too good, but games two and three were very competitive — we only just went down in game two and won game three.

“You probably don’t need significant changes, it’s just a matter of making sure everyone’s playing well and fit and healthy.”