The prosecutors in the court of public opinion have all the evidence they need to nail Laurie Daley to a wall.
The NSW legend has surged well past Nathan Cleary as the lightning rod for criticism following Queensland’s State of Origin slaughter in Game 2 in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
Post mortems always make mountains out of mole hills, but on the back of a comprehensive coaching lesson from Maroons coach Billy Slater at the MCG, the torches are being lit before the Raiders icon has a chance to defend himself in the series decider at Suncorp Stadium on July 8.
Almost all of Daley’s biggest calls blew up in his face on Wednesday — and the reaction from maligned Blues fans has been brutal.
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The most obvious criticism surrounds Daley’s interchange jumble which saw livewire hooker Api Koroisau ride the pine for 80 minutes.
Fox League’s Andrew Voss was questioning when Daley was going to inject the Tigers rake as early as the 15th minute after Queensland’s strong start to the game.
Other commentators were even more blunt.
Koroisau was hailed in the lead-up to the game as NSW’s secret weapon to unsettle Queensland and many would have injected the crafty hooker into the game with at least half an hour remaining. It was a baffling call not to use Koroisau given starting No. 9 Reece Robson looked exhausted.
Another gripe will be the fact Ethan Strange played just 17 minutes in Game 2 after dominating his Origin debut in Game 1, while Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses struggled to create attacking opportunities.
The halves combination of Cleary and Moses combined for 19 missed tackles
The heavy defeat saw Daley break an unwanted record, becoming the coach who has lost the most games in Origin history.
Daley passed Wayne Bennett, losing 12 Origin games in his two stints in charge as NSW coach. His only series triumph in six campaigns was the drought breaking victory back in 2014.
His selections have been heavily criticised, specifically the forward pack and the use, or lack thereof, of his interchange bench.
There are calls for Isaah Yeo to move to the bench so Cameron Murray can start at lock, while Warriors forward Jackson Ford could replace Fonua-Blake, who has been underwhelming with his limited opportunities.
Second-row star Haumole Olakau’atu, who was dropped in favour of debutant Dylan Lucas, also has plenty of support to be re-called for the decider.
Victor Radley gave away two penalties for high tackles and dropped the ball when NSW was deep in attack.
Brian To’o looked vulnerable under the high ball — again. The biggest questions surround the use of the NSW bench.
It was a similar situation in Game 1 when Jacob Saifiti also sat out the game on the bench.
Daley appeared out of answers in the second half of the series opener when Queensland led 20-6 before Kalyn Ponga has sent off for his shoulder charge on Tolutau Koula.
More than one commentator has come forward to say the Ponga decision is the only reason Daley still has his job, since it proved the spark to the Blues’ historic comeback while the Maroons had just 12 players on the field.
Code Sports Brent Read said at the time Cleary’s masterclass following Ponga’s send off potentially saved Daley’s job.
It was reported by the SMH this week that win or lose, this will be Daley’s final series as coach.
Daley is a fighter. A smiling assassin. A good bloke, who has forgotten more about rugby league than most will ever know — but it’s impossible not to think he is done.
The constant barrage of criticism is undignified for a person who has given so much to his state — and fighting through the mud may simply be too much for the 56-year-old.
Leading NRL journos Michael Carayannis and Read were scathing of Daley’s performance when speaking on CODE Sports NRL show.
Read said on Thursday the Blues had gone backwards from the series opener where they had been dominated before the Ponga shoulder charge.
“Haumole has to come in for Origin III, that in hindsight was a complete and utter blunder by Laurie Daley,” he said as one example of Daley’s failures.
He went on to say: “He’s clearly been outcoached again. That’s pretty obvious. And I think the use of the bench rotation shows that.
“I know he’s a great bloke, and we all love him, but last year he lost the unlosable series.
“This probably isn’t worse than last year – but it’s on the verge of being very close to it.
“Queensland look like a well-coached, well-drilled, well-led football team. The Blues look like a complete and utter rabble. They weren’t even in the picture the second half.”
Carayannis also singled out Daley’s failure to get Koroisau in the contest.
“One of the biggest blights on this NSW game – and it was the same in game one – was the bench rotation. It was diabolical,” Carayannis explained.
“Addin Fonua-Blake, 10 minutes. Came on in that second half and was on and off the field in the blink of an eye. No impact.
“Ethan Strange onto the field as a middle forward and eventually shifted to five-eighth for Mitch Moses.
“So the player sat unused? Api Koroisau.
“When NSW were chasing points, when NSW were trying to get some ascendancy around the ruck, when NSW needed a spark… Api sits unused.
“At that stage the game was in the balance. (In game one) Blayke Brailey had an instant impact as soon as he came onto the field. So… what is doing with the bench rotation?”
Daley may be helpless to wield the axe again as a result of his team’s performance — another act that will result in criticism, regardless of his call.
He is now facing some of the biggest calls of his career in what could be his final game in charge.
“We’ll look at the game and see where we’re at. I think you just analyse everything,” he replied when asked if there would be changes.
The Blues are rank outsiders to win the decider at Suncorp Stadium on July 8, but they showed two years ago that it was possible when they won game three in enemy territory.
Originally published as Images show ‘biggest lose’ Daley is on borrowed time as NSW coach