{"id":783476,"date":"2026-07-06T21:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/783476\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:56:16","slug":"state-of-origin-news-2026-ben-ikin-explains-billy-slaters-contract-situation-as-qld-maroons-coach-melbourne-storm-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/783476\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Origin news 2026: Ben Ikin explains Billy Slater\u2019s contract situation as QLD Maroons coach, Melbourne Storm rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben Ikin<\/a> is confident Maroons<\/a> coach Billy Slater<\/a> will remain in charge for next year\u2019s State of Origin<\/a> series, but conceded he would likely be \u2018at the top of the list\u2019 for Melbourne<\/a> should the legendary Craig Bellamy<\/a> retire.<\/p>\n

Slater has been a revelation at Origin level since taking over the job in 2022, winning three of his four series at the helm.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Billy Slater and Ben Ikin. \u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

He will have the chance to make it four-from-five on Wednesday night, with the Maroons to start as red-hot favourites in the decider against NSW.<\/p>\n

However, the pre-game comments around his own future last week caught many by surprise, when Slater revealed he was working on a \u2018handshake deal\u2019 basis<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly didn\u2019t catch us off-guard,\u201d Ikin told nine.com.au this week as part of his involvement with the Always Respect, Always DrinkWise campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in regular conversations with Billy since the start of the year and in his mind now, he\u2019s found his groove as Maroons coach and he loves the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, I would say he\u2019s super keen to do it next year – but he understands how quickly the game can change and on that basis, he wants to take his future as Maroons coach year-by-year and it\u2019s nothing more complicated than that. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe process will be he coaches out the series, we sit down and review the series together, we give our feedback and he gives his. Then, we jointly make a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, with one game to go, it all feels very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the outgoing chief executive is hopeful Queensland will have the champion fullback in the coach\u2019s box long-term, he isn\u2019t naive to the possibility of Slater making the move to club land and replacing Bellamy in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will be for Billy to decide but what I will say is, we would love to keep him around as Origin coach for as long as he wants to do it,\u201d Ikin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s highly capable and deeply passionate about the role, but I know if he decided he wanted to be an NRL head coach, he\u2019d do that very well too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get the sense that the Melbourne Storm feel the same way and as Craig Bellamy decides how much longer he wants to be coaching, if I was on that Melbourne Storm board, I\u2019d absolutely be having Billy Slater at the top of my list.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey would be mighty big shoes to fill [at the Storm], but I\u2019m more than confident that Billy would be able to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ikin has overseen a boom period for the sport in Queensland since stepping into the CEO position three years ago, in a tenure that has included Origin triumphs, the rise of the Dolphins, grassroot developments and potential future expansion. <\/p>\n

But as he prepares to step down at the end of July<\/a>, it\u2019s perhaps the work off the field with organisations such as DrinkWise – who are promoting responsible drinking during the Origin decider – that makes him most proud.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ben Ikin is working as an ambassador for DrinkWise.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cOrigin is the most popular sporting event in the country, it\u2019s highly engaging and as a code, it\u2019s an opportunity to use our voice responsibly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the QRL here personally, I really respect the core message of DrinkWise, which is drink responsibly even when you\u2019re in the midst of something as exciting and big as Origin because ultimately, drinking responsibly while taking in an event like Origin, will make it a better experience for everyone involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a husband and father, it\u2019s a really sensible message to push because the truth is, when you\u2019re drinking responsibly, you make better decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really leaned into as a code, which is something I\u2019m enormously proud of and watching the impact sport can have on people and communities in a really positive way has been a powerful part of my experience as CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cPartnering with organisations like DrinkWise makes sure that while we\u2019re out there and the game is getting more popular, we\u2019re using a share of voice to relay positive messages … it makes you feel good about the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cRugby league, used as a vehicle for good, can make great cut through and it can make the lives of people and their communities better.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as for the game three showdown at Suncorp Stadium?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we traditionally fight hard for the underdog status, but I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re going to get it this time around,\u201d Ikin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Ikin is confident Maroons coach Billy Slater will remain in charge for next year\u2019s State of Origin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-783476","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\/783476","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=783476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}