Laurie Daley, genuine good guy of the game that he is, acknowledged the elephant in a room replete with blue seats, blue carpet, blue everything, almost immediately on Monday.
State of Origin is all encompassing, and his return as Blues coach, will polarise the premier state to say the least.
“In any job or any position, there’s always going to be criticism. You’re going to get 50 per cent of people hating you or 50 per cent of people liking you, you can’t change that,” Daley told a room of reporters. “But all you can do is do your best.”
The 40 per cent win rate from five series, for one iconic shield success in 2014 amid four Queensland triumphs, is the gripe of Daley’s detractors.
A two-year deal, with great mate Craig Bellamy riding shotgun as advisor and selector, is his chance to prove them wrong. And Monday’s announcement was our chance to put the first, and curliest questions on the table.
Can Daley keep up after almost eight years out of the game?
Aside from an annual Indigenous All Stars coaching gig he relinquished two years ago, Daley’s last outing as a competitive coach came in July 2017. By Origin I next May, it amounts to almost eight years out of regular top-flight rugby league.
Bids by Manly and Wests Tigers to bring him onto their staff have been vetoed by the NRL because of Daley’s TAB employment.
Since he was last Blues coach, the game has undergone arguably its most dramatic on-field change of the 21st century, with the high-octane, six-again era making for a significantly faster game that is sped up even more at Origin level.
Laurie Daley is back in the Blues hot seat.Credit: Louie Douvis
With Bellamy in his coach’s box, present-day NRL experience arrives alongside assistants Matt King, Brent White and another still to be appointed. Frank Ponissi is the best in the NRL as a general manager and returns as well.
But Daley wore some coaching mistakes during his previous tenure as well, most notably what Andrew Johns described as “the dumbest half NSW have ever played” in 2017 when the Blues failed to target a crippled Johnathan Thurston, who had sustained what proved to be a season-ending shoulder injury.
“I don’t think I have to get up to speed,” Daley said, pointing to his role as a radio analyst and undoubted feel for the game he dominated as a Blues great.
“The position I have in radio … you are giving an opinion on what you see is happening. Whether it’s trends, what’s happening with different teams.
“Even as a person who just sits and watches rugby league, if I see something I’ll write it down, or I’ll record it.
“I have it in my own memory bank. I think I am always trying to stay relevant and up to speed with the game.”
The biggest calls and the captaincy
Daley plans to lean into Bellamy’s thinking on selections and take heed of Michael Maguire’s prioritising of form above all other factors.
Maguire made 10 changes with his first NSW side, with the likes of Angus Crichton, Zac Lomax, Dylan Edwards, Spencer Leniu and Reece Robson all playing pivotal roles in either their Origin debuts or returns.
“One thing you learn over time is you have to pick on form,” Daley said.
Jake Trbojevic wields Michael Maguire’s famous baseball bat after NSW’s State of Origin series win.Credit: NRL Photos
“They did that really well this year. While you have guys who played really well this year, you want to make sure they are playing well next year as well.”
Loyalty to several key players was notable throughout Daley’s first Origin tenure despite Queensland sweeping to three straight series wins after the 2014 breakthrough.
Jake Trbojevic’s role as incumbent skipper intrigues, given that Daley acknowledged he was limited to just 85 minutes in three games and was overlooked by Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, who made Isaah Yeo Australian captain instead.
Trbojevic himself has admitted previously he is no guarantee to lead the Blues again but Daley was effusive in his praise of the Manly veteran.
“Jake did a sensational job,” Daley said. “He didn’t get the [playing] time, but his impact was amazing. Great leader. I’ve had a lot to do with Jake. He’s an exceptional person and … every time he has played for NSW, he has done a fantastic job.”
The superstars: Latrell and the champion No.7s
Barring injury, suspension or the world spinning straight off its axis, Nathan Cleary will be Daley’s halfback in 2025.
Will Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary combine again as NSW halves?Credit: Getty Images
Which leaves an intriguing No.6 shootout between incumbent halves Jarome Luai – the Tigers new $1.2m No.7, and Mitchell Moses – Parramatta’s own million-dollar man likely to be handed the club captaincy.
Elsewhere, the fitness of Tom Trbojevic and incumbency of Stephen Crichton and Brian To’o makes for an enticing three-quarter prospect.
But nothing is quite as tantalising as Latrell Mitchell in sky blue – Viv Richards with a Steeden when everything clicks in the Origin arena.
Mitchell has had his issues around previous NSWRL set-ups, but was a force Queensland simply could not reckon with at the MCG in Origin II, his first Blues appearance since 2021 and just the eighth of his career.
Latrell Mitchell ’s Blues return last year was a sight for sore eyes.Credit: Getty Images
Daley has worked with Mitchell in Indigenous All Stars camps and will be checking in with him as a priority, because “we all saw what we did in Origin II last year. When he’s in that mood, there’s not a more destructive player in the game.”
Glass houses, Billy and the mind games
Across the border, Billy Slater is coming off his first Origin series loss and was humbled by Maguire in the most unlikely of areas: media management.
Maguire delivered his famed ‘glass houses’ comment when Joseph Suaalii poleaxed Reece Walsh and endured heavy criticism, putting himself on the line for his players and getting under the skin of Slater in the process.
Billy Slater endured his first series loss as coach against Michael Maguire.Credit: Getty
Daley learned much of what he knows about Origin from Phil Gould. But as one of the game’s genuine good guys, tongue-fu and mind games have rarely been his bag.
“The only way I’d do that is if I felt I had to protect my team, like Madge. But I think you just go along with what’s happening, rather than pre-preparing anything.
“I’m not someone that will go out there and set the agenda. It’s about, ‘this is what I’m going to do’. And if something happens off the back of that, then you have to respond to it. But it’s not in my game plan to try and deliberately get under somebody’s skin, no.”
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