{"id":766739,"date":"2026-06-29T00:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T00:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/766739\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T00:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T00:47:21","slug":"state-of-origin-2026-billy-slater-drops-hint-on-queensland-maroons-coaching-future-links-to-melbourne-storm-craig-bellamy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/766739\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Origin 2026: Billy Slater drops hint on Queensland Maroons coaching future, links to Melbourne Storm, Craig Bellamy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater has dropped a bombshell on his coaching future ahead of the 2026 State of Origin series-decider.<\/p>\n<p>On the cusp of winning his fourth Origin series in five years, Slater\u2019s future has been the subject of growing speculation, with many tipping that he may succeed Craig Bellamy at the Melbourne Storm.<\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/nrl?extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkleague-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-nrl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The speculation has only intensified following Bellamy\u2019s revelation earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder, leaving no guarantee that he will be coaching beyond the 2027 season.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Slater has cast further doubt over his future, revealing that he won\u2019t sign an extension with Queensland Rugby League (QRL).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think so, but I don\u2019t know,\u201d Slater said on Monday morning when asked if Game III would be his final match as head coach of the Maroons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t be signing another contract. This is not a contract job for me. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really enjoy helping this group of men go and inspire our people of Queensland. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen that changes, my position will change. Or if someone in the QRL decides there\u2019s someone better for the job, I\u2019m all for that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blues confirm game three squad | 01:06<\/p>\n<p>Committing to a three-year extension in 2023 to lead the Maroons for the 2024-2026 Origin series, Slater runs off-contract following the series-decider next Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhilst I\u2019m here, I really enjoy helping these guys prepare for a game of footy and to go out there and help them inspire the people of Queensland,\u201d Slater added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what this team has given me when I was a kid. It gave me inspiration. Now we get the opportunity to go and give the rest of Queensland that inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And while he said he won\u2019t sign a new contract with QRL, he may still opt to coach the Maroons, but that will only hinge on a handshake agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYep, pretty much. It might surprise you, but that\u2019s how it is,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater has dropped a bombshell on his coaching future ahead of the 2026 State&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-766739","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\/766739","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=766739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}