{"id":784418,"date":"2026-07-07T08:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T08:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/784418\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T08:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T08:36:13","slug":"blown-out-of-proportion-slater-clarifies-handshake-deal-and-responds-to-gus-cheat-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/784418\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Blown out of proportion\u2019: Slater clarifies handshake deal… and responds to Gus\u2019 \u2018cheat\u2019 claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland coach Billy Slater has responded to questions about his State of Origin coaching future ahead on Wednesday night\u2019s decider, while also addressing explosive claims by Phil Gould<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Slater raised eyebrows recently when he said he wouldn\u2019t sign another contract with the QRL<\/a>, and that any future deals would be sorted out with a handshake.<\/p>\n

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The former Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos fullback was questioned about his \u2018handshake\u2019 deal with the QRL, particularly amid rumours that he might leave the job to replace Craig Bellamy as head coach of Melbourne in 2027.<\/p>\n

Slater said on Tuesday that his handshake comments were \u201cblown out of proportion\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t anticipate not being here next year, so sorry for all those comments,\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just how I feel. I could be standing here in five years\u2019 time doing the same thing. I love this position, I love what it means, I love the group of men in that dressing room and I enjoy helping them prepare for that game of football.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve studied this game pretty hard and put a lot of time energy into it. This position means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

QRL boss Ben Ikin is confident Slater will continue on as Queensland\u2019s coach<\/a> well into the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t gone too deep-diving, but everything is pointing in the right direction for him to continue next year,\u201d Ikin told the NewsWire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the pragmatic and honest approach he\u2019s taken to this discussion with Queensland Rugby League about this role.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very simple, it\u2019s uncontroversial, and I think it\u2019s a responsible approach from his side because he is a guy that is going to be very good at whatever he turns his hand to, and at some point, there are going to be multiple NRL clubs \u2013 not just the Melbourne Storm \u2013 who are going to potentially go after him as a head coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Sorry for all those comments!’ | 01:19<\/p>\n

Slater is looking to win a fourth series as coach on Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium and his side is heavily favoured to do so after thumping the Blues 44-24 in Game 2.<\/p>\n

But that didn\u2019t stop the most successful coach in NSW history Phil Gould launching a hand grenade into the Queensland camp by calling hooker Harry Grant a cheat on \u2018100% Footy\u2019 on Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s call it for what it is – Harry is a cheat,\u201d Gould said.<\/p>\n

His comments came in respect to Grant\u2019s behaviour on the field, including constantly seen speaking to referee Ashley Klein in Game 2 as well as taking a dive to deny Penrith a crucial win late in the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

When asked about Gould\u2019s comments, Slater brushed them off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t hear those comments, but knowing Gus\u2026I\u2019m sure it wouldn\u2019t have been portrayed like that,\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry will be concentrating on playing footy and he\u2019s an integral part of our footy team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billy unfazed by Grant ‘cheat’ calls | 01:13<\/p>\n

Slater also declared that reserve Reece Walsh was \u201cevery possibility\u201d of getting game time on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Walsh ended 2025 with a premiership, a Clive Churchill Medal, and was the Australian fullback on the victorious Ashes tour.<\/p>\n

Few would have predicted he\u2019d be on the bench for Queensland this series, but Kalyn Ponga\u2019s sensational form, along with a dip in Walsh\u2019s, has seen the Broncos custodian lose his Origin jersey.<\/p>\n

Billy Slater says Reece Walsh could get on the field. Picture: Liam KidstonSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s ready to go if the team needs him in any capacity,\u201d Slater said of Walsh.<\/p>\n

Despite being heavy favourites to win Game 3, the Blues won the last decider played in Brisbane in 2024.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s no doubt still in the back of Slater\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to go and earn that. It\u2019s not just going to happen and we can\u2019t just rely on the history of this great stadium,\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that Arthur Beetson ran out here 47 years ago, we can\u2019t rely on all that stuff. We need to make sure it happens because of our actions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queensland coach Billy Slater has responded to questions about his State of Origin coaching future ahead on Wednesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-784418","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\/784418","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=784418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}