{"id":789242,"date":"2026-07-09T13:14:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/789242\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T13:14:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:14:26","slug":"state-of-origin-2026-nsw-coaching-conundrum-laurie-daley-ivan-cleary-trent-barrett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/789242\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Origin 2026: NSW coaching conundrum; Laurie Daley; Ivan Cleary; Trent Barrett"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laurie Daley<\/a> is unlikely to coach NSW<\/a> next year as the Blues face a coaching conundrum ahead of the 2027 series.<\/p>\n

Daley has fulfilled his two-year agreement with the Blues, and judging by his comments after the game and on Thursday morning, he is long-odds to remain in the job next series, despite the emotional game three victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Laurie Daley refused to commit to the role next year.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got my mind made up what I want to do. Look I\u2019ve enjoyed it, but we\u2019ll see what happens,\u201d he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Asked specifically if he\u2019d already decided he was moving on, Daley said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to answer. <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew what I wanted to do coming into this series, for me, you don\u2019t change course, it\u2019s like I said at the start of the campaign – my focus was just on game, game, game. So I know what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many in the NRL<\/a> world interpreted Daley\u2019s comments as a strong hint he was about to resign from a coach who did not want to take the shine off the players\u2019 historic effort just hours after it happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are trying to read anything into that answer, Loz won\u2019t be coaching next year,\u201d NSW great Greg Alexander<\/a> said on SEN.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t take a genius to realise Daley was hurt by the commentary during the series about his competence as a coach<\/a>, which led to reported claims that Blues players had concerns about him motivating the team.<\/p>\n

That could seriously impact NSW in next year\u2019s series and moving forward.<\/p>\n

Signing Daley to a one-year deal would be of huge benefit for the NSWRL<\/a>, before Ivan Cleary<\/a> finishes his duties with the Panthers<\/a> in 2027.<\/p>\n

Cleary has stated that he\u2019d be interested in coaching representative football once his Penrith deal is up.<\/p>\n

While Daley is unlikely to go around again, Blues officials are left with the unenviable task of trying to sign a coach for only one year, before a man who is likely their preferred candidate becomes available.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s unless the NSWRL lobbies the Panthers to have Cleary available for next year\u2019s series, which would create an opportunity for assistant and Panthers coach-in-waiting, Peter Wallace<\/a>, to get some experience in the role before sinking his teeth in the following year.<\/p>\n

\"Panthers<\/p>\n

Panthers assistant Peter Wallace with Ivan Cleary.\u00a0Louise Kennerley<\/p>\n

Such a move would be a first for the NRL, but the Blues need to be creative if they want to avoid a gap year next series.<\/p>\n

If Cleary had a chance to take the reins next year, it would create a sense of security for NSW officials and familiarity for the players, knowing he\u2019s the long-term option.<\/p>\n

If Daley stayed for another year, that sense of familiarity would remain before Cleary ushered in a new era, assuming he\u2019s the preferred candidate and the Blues get their man.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s word that former NSW playmaker Trent Barrett<\/a> has been floated as a possible candidate for the job next year.<\/p>\n

Ex-Blues players have been pushing for Barrett to get a chance, after a number of years as an assistant following a couple of failed stints as a head coach in the NRL.<\/p>\n

Matt King is also highly regarded by NSW bosses and served as an assistant to Daley. Boyd Cordner is viewed as a possible option down the road.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Incoming Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett during a Penrith Panthers training session.\u00a0nna\\telbra<\/p>\n

Whoever is picked to fill the void must contend with the fact that Cleary is likely the man NSW officials want in the role.<\/p>\n

If Barrett gets the nod \u2013 he would go in knowing he\u2019s probably keeping the seat warm for the four-time premiership winning coach.<\/p>\n

For a coach looking to elevate his reputation within the coaching sphere and players looking to defend the shield, it\u2019s hardly a recipe for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Laurie Daley is unlikely to coach NSW next year as the Blues face a coaching conundrum ahead of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-789242","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\/789242","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=789242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}