{"id":696937,"date":"2026-05-27T02:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696937\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T02:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:27:18","slug":"daley-has-hung-his-game-plan-on-one-thing-and-its-a-huge-gamble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696937\/","title":{"rendered":"Daley has hung his game plan on one thing, and it\u2019s a huge gamble"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opinion<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Breen<\/a>National sports editor<\/p>\n

May 27, 2026 \u2014 9:30am<\/p>\n

May 27, 2026 \u2014 9:30am<\/p>\n

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AAA<\/p>\n

Asked how his NSW Blues will win tonight\u2019s State of Origin opener at Accor Stadium, Laurie Daley\u2019s answer was simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just going to defend our way to victory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"BluesBlues coach Laurie Daley has declared his tight-knit team will defend their way to victory in tonight\u2019s State of Origin Opener at Accor Stadium.Getty Images<\/p>\n

In reality, of course it won\u2019t be that simple. But, after so many crushing defeats as a coach at this level, simplifying things seems to be Daley\u2019s way of handling the enormous challenge ahead.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying his record is poor.<\/p>\n

He coached NSW for five series from 2013 to 2017 for one series win (2014) and was surprisingly resurrected for the 2025 series after Michael Maguire was appointed Broncos coach.<\/p>\n

It was a job Maguire secured off the back of a series victory in 2024, snapping a Maroons dominance under Billy Slater.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Daley had it all to lose. He was taking over a team which had won the year before.<\/p>\n

During his five-year run from 2013, he had excuses as Queensland had a mighty team which strung together 11 of 12 series wins between 2006 and 2017.<\/p>\n

This time though, it would be all on him and his good friend, NSWRL boss Dave Trodden, who brought Daley back from the coaching wilderness of breakfast sports radio.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Blues came up short. After winning game one it all fell apart. There were odd selections and strange strategies and the Maroons did what they do so often. Backs-to-the-wall, they won games two and three.<\/p>\n

When Queensland gets a sniff, they put you to the sword.<\/p>\n

It left Daley\u2019s record at seven wins and 11 losses overall and one series win from six attempts.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Brian<\/a><\/p>\n

The forthrightness of his answer about how the Blues would win tonight with defence at least showed a confidence in his strategy.<\/p>\n

The problem is, defence isn\u2019t winning matches in 2026 in the NRL after the extension of the six again rule.<\/p>\n

Previously, repeat sets of six were only awarded after the attacking team\u2019s 40m line. Now they are awarded after the 20m line, and teams have pounced. There have been a record number of points, rapid momentum swings and record winning margins.<\/p>\n

Defence-oriented teams, namely the Bulldogs and Storm, have slumped from the top four last season to 13th and 15th respectively as we approach the halfway point of the season.<\/p>\n

Despite this, basing the bulk of your plan on defence isn\u2019t necessarily a sure-fire bust as there are many variables.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, how the game will be refereed.<\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter losing game one, Queensland were left celebrating at series\u2019 end, winning games two and three. Getty Images<\/p>\n

NRL head of football Graham Annesley told this masthead<\/a> on the weekend it would be officiated the same way as club football.<\/p>\n

In other words, Origin won\u2019t be refereed differently, and he scoffed at suggestions it has been in the past.<\/p>\n

Which is incorrect. It most definitely has been refereed differently in the past and everyone knows that.<\/p>\n

Daley needs it to be refereed differently – less penalties and set restarts – for his defence strategy to work.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Blues put the finishing touches on their preparations for the 2026 Origin opener.Getty Images<\/p>\n

He has no inside knowledge that it will be different – it\u2019s a gamble.<\/p>\n

Asked if he\u2019d had a pre-match meeting with Annesley and referee Ash Klein, he said with an ironic laugh and more than a hint of disdain: \u201cNo. I\u2019ve been down that road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JacobJacob Saifiti is the only \u2018big bopper\u2019 on the Blues\u2019 six-man bench, with coach Daley opting for more mobile forward optionsGetty Images<\/p>\n

In other words, Daley\u2019s had pre-match meetings before and found them worthless because what he was told in the meetings didn\u2019t eventuate.<\/p>\n

Then there is the weather. It will be wet. The Accor Stadium surface will hold up, all modern grounds do, but it will be slippery and holding on to the ball will be all important.<\/p>\n

The cornerstone of victory in the modern game are completed sets of six. The cornerstone of losses are dropped ball and giving away sets of six.<\/p>\n

Of vital importance will be the forwards in the tough conditions.<\/p>\n

Daley, interestingly, has gone for a more mobile six-man bench, with Jacob Saifiti the only \u201cbig bopper\u201d.<\/p>\n

Queensland has Lindsay Collins and Patrick Carrigan on the bench. They would love it to be a slugfest.<\/p>\n

\"CanberraCanberra Raider Hudson Young is a key part of the Blues\u2019 powerful starting backrow, alongside Isaah Yeo and Haumole Olakau\u2019atu.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Key for the Blues will be the starting back row of skipper Isaah Yeo, Hudson Young and Haumole Olakau\u2019atu.<\/p>\n

It looks stronger on paper than the Maroons\u2019 trio of debutant Max Plath and the tried and tested Kurt Capewell and Reuben Cotter.<\/p>\n

Another perspective\"Spinal<\/a><\/p>\n

Paper though can be worthless in Origin. Time and again stronger teams on paper have been rolled – except for the golden Queensland era.<\/p>\n

Daley\u2019s long-term fate as a coach isn\u2019t hanging on a win or a loss in this series.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s in year two of a two-year deal and he has a life and a job he\u2019s good at away from coaching, which is a glorified hobby.<\/p>\n

Ivan Cleary finishes at the Panthers at the end of 2027. He wants to coach at representative level. He must be the NSW coach in 2028. If he\u2019s not, then the NSWRL board has got it all wrong. Maybe not for the first time.<\/p>\n

A win in this series and Daley might be asked to warm the seat for Cleary. A loss and he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

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\"NeilNeil Breen<\/a> is the national sports editor and a Walkley Award-winning journalist.Connect via X<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opinion Neil BreenNational sports editor May 27, 2026 \u2014 9:30am May 27, 2026 \u2014 9:30am Save You have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-696937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}