{"id":789648,"date":"2026-07-09T17:38:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/789648\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:38:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:38:18","slug":"careers-were-on-line-in-qld-now-the-next-coach-has-huge-dilemma-verdict-on-every-blues-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/789648\/","title":{"rendered":"Careers were on line in QLD. Now the next coach has huge dilemma \u2014 Verdict on every Blues position"},"content":{"rendered":"

NSW pulled off an unlikely Origin series win, claiming the decider in Brisbane 30-12 <\/a>to give coach Laurie Daley the last laugh after constant attacks from critics.<\/p>\n

But it seems Daley is unlikely to be the Blues mentor next year<\/a>, and a new coach will no doubt have different views on selections.<\/p>\n

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While the Blues are celebrating today, there were cracks across the series. A Kalyn Ponga send off rescued them in Game 1 before being comprehensively beaten in Game 2.<\/p>\n

The team was under so much pressure heading into the clash at Suncorp Stadium that former playmaker Luke Keary declared there were \u201csix or seven blokes that won\u2019t play State of Origin again\u201d if the Blues lost.<\/a><\/p>\n

So, who is in the firing line, who is 50\/50, and who is safe for 2027?<\/p>\n

1. James Tedesco (IN THE FIRING LINE)<\/p>\n

James Tedesco is arguably the Blues\u2019 best ever fullback and he took a lot of tough carries out of his own end before his night ended with a concussion. While he\u2019s been a great player for the Blues, only his Game I heroics saved him from criticism. And he just doesn\u2019t gel well with Nathan Cleary. Their combination isn\u2019t slick. He\u2019ll be 34 next year and with Cleary\u2019s younger Penrith teammate Dylan Edwards in career-best form, he might get his Blues jersey back. It will be a travesty if Tom Trbojevic never wears the No.1 jumper and that\u2019s looking more likely by the day.<\/p>\n

2. Jack Bostock (50\/50)<\/p>\n

The Dolphins flyer had a mixed bag in his Origin debut before his night ended in the 62nd minute due to concussion. He made a few simple errors including dropping a ball early with the tryline wide open, but other than that, was solid enough on debut. It\u2019s a shame he didn\u2019t get many chances to show off his aerial skills under the high ball in attack, which helped get him in the team over Brian To\u2019o. His club form has been sensational this season and if he keeps it up he\u2019ll be in the conversation again next year.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

\u2018You pathetic fools\u2019: QLD erupts over Origin ambush as Blues told to enjoy \u2018hollow\u2019 win<\/a><\/p>\n

NRL responds in big twist to hidden camera claim as Bunker admission sparks Origin fury<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018F***ing bulls***\u2019: Moses\u2019 X-rated rant as Blues boss hits back in $50m Laurie claim<\/a><\/p>\n

‘You pathetic fools are the losers!’ | 00:25<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. Bradman Best (50\/50)<\/p>\n

The Knights centre was exceptional with the ball in hand and came up with another crucial try in a decider at Suncorp. In fact, he scored in nearly the same area he did in the 2024 decider in Brisbane, and once again beat off his club teammate Kalyn Ponga in the process. He was forced to defend on the wing, with Cameron Murray at centre, for a short period and the Maroons took advantage of that to score, but otherwise, he was great and is such a strong ball runner. On that performance, you would say he is a lock to be there for Game 1 next year, but Latrell Mitchel and Tom Trbojevic will likely be favoured to come back into the side.<\/p>\n

4. Stephen Crichton (50\/50)<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs skipper is renowned for his defence, but six missed tackles, along with a number of poor reads, where he played the man and not ball, were uncharacteristic. He also gave away a silly escort penalty. He\u2019s been battling a shoulder injury for much of the season and has had excuses for not being at his absolute best. He got limited chances with the ball compared to Best to only run for 56 metres. He\u2019s one of the top three or four centres in the game when fit and is a winner so he\u2019ll no doubt be in contention again next year. But, like Best, his centre positon could be threatened by Mitchell and Trbojevic. He did win a grand final with Penrith on the wing and made the game-winning intercept from there. He\u2019s such a big-game player and selectors will try and get him into the side next year, and it might be on the wing. <\/p>\n

Cleary & Blues react to Origin glory! | 10:38<\/p>\n

5. Mark Nawaqanitawase (GONE)<\/p>\n

The Roosters winger won\u2019t be there next season as he heads off to rugby union, so Brian To\u2019o is a good chance of taking his place. Like Bostock, he had a mixed night and dropped a few bombs which halted the Blues\u2019 momentum at times. He still fronted up for his tough carries coming out of trouble, often when Queensland were mounting defensive pressure. And he\u2019s a fairly smart, quick thinker, when a try scoring situation presents, which was there to see for Nathan Cleary\u2019s second try.<\/p>\n

6. Mitchell Moses (50\/50)<\/p>\n

The Parramatta half got somewhere back to his best with a good game under immense pressure. His form in the lead-up was way below his usual standards and many questioned why he retained his place in the side over young gun Ethan Strange. But his experience was on show on Wednesday night as he didn\u2019t overcomplicate his game and combined well with Cleary as a link man to the outside backs. It was his long kicking game that was the highlight. He got NSW out of trouble a number of times with his boot. He didn\u2019t put in a poor kick all night and it really made a difference in terms of field position, which has been so crucial in this year\u2019s series. At 31, he\u2019s in his prime as a playmaker. The problem for Moses is the rise of Strange. If the Canberra five-eighth continues improving, and the Blues have a change in coach as expected, Moses might fall out of favour next year.<\/p>\n

“I’m just so happy for Loz!” | 01:16<\/p>\n

7. Nathan Cleary (SAFE)<\/p>\n

The game\u2019s best halfback silenced his doubters and confirmed his greatness with a man-of-the-match performance. The criticism of Cleary after Game 2 was very unfair given his forwards didn\u2019t lay a platform for him. On Wednesday night he showed what he can do with a bit of ball down the Maroons\u2019 end. He scored two tries and a one-on-one steal helped the Blues go over for a third and lead 18-0. He also kicked five from five, including a pressure penalty goal from 38m out in the 70th minute to put the game beyond two converted tries which broke the Queenslanders, mentally. It\u2019s a shame he declined the conversion kick after Hudson Young\u2019s try on the bell. It would have given him 20 points, which would have been a record in a decider. He\u2019s the best player in the game. <\/p>\n

8. Payne Haas (SAFE)<\/p>\n

The game\u2019s best prop was outstanding after coming into Game 2 underdone. Haas played out a little wider at times on Wednesday night and proved very hard to contain with 136m and a few offloads to go with his 29 tackles. There\u2019s not much more to say about Haas. You know what you get each week and he\u2019s one of those players that the opposition can\u2019t wait to see the back of. At 26, he\u2019s set to surpass Glenn Lazarus as the Blues\u2019 greatest front-rower.<\/p>\n

Daley’s passionate response to critics | 02:31<\/p>\n

9. Reece Robson (50\/50)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no question about his toughness and he is the ideal Origin hooker to be there in the opening exchanges. But, unlike Harry Grant, he\u2019s not a player that should be out there the whole game because he\u2019s not a running threat out of dummy half which is very important after 20 minutes when fatigue sets in. And when the team\u2019s on the back foot, it make things even harder when the opposition knows the hooker will mostly just pass to the first receiver. Blayke Brailey, a ball running and ball playing hooker, will be pushing to start next year and turn himself into the Blues\u2019 version of Grant.<\/p>\n

10. Mitch Barnett (50\/50)<\/p>\n

Barnett was solid and did his job, as he has done for much of his Origin career. While he\u2019s not a superstar prop, he\u2019s reliable and a player that Queensland would pick, so NSW might be smart to stick with him. Barnett had 12 runs for 76m and made 26 tackles with no misses. Those stats sum him up. His position in the team next year, like a few others, will depend on the probable new coach and what he wants. But it\u2019s not like bench prop Addin Fonua-Blake is banging on the door to start after an average first series.<\/p>\n

Daley’s passionate response to critics | 02:31<\/p>\n

11. Hudson Young (SAFE)<\/p>\n

Young was the only Blues forward to run for more than 100m in the disaster of Game II and he did it again (147m) on Wednesday night. He and backrow partner Liam Martin have a lot of mongrel in them and are well suited for the Origin arena. Due to his nature, he can give up a penalty or two, but that negative generally isn\u2019t outweighed by all his positives. Like Haas and Martin, he\u2019s one of those players the opposition hates seeing in the line-up. At 28, he\u2019s got another four or five series to terrorise the Queenslanders.<\/p>\n

12. Liam Martin (SAFE)<\/p>\n

His critics will occasionally point to his stats to say he\u2019s overrated. And on Wednesday night, Martin ran for just 51m from seven runs. But there\u2019s a reason he\u2019s a Clive Churchill Medallist and has been part of four premierships at Penrith. He\u2019s a moments player and that was on show when he broke the Queensland line out of nowhere to help set up Cleary\u2019s second try. He put in a few typical bone-rattling hits to keep the Queensland forwards wary. What he does on the field makes life easier for his teammates. Don\u2019t read the stats sheet, watch him in the flesh to get an idea of his impact. Arguably the standout second-rower of his generation.<\/p>\n

BLUES SHOCK MAROONS in decider! | 06:44<\/p>\n

13. Isaah Yeo (SAFE)<\/p>\n

There was debate about whether Yeo should come off the bench and let Cameron Murray start, or for Yeo to push up to the front row so the pair of them could be in the run-on side. But Daley stuck firm and the skipper was sensational. And it was because he reverted back to the way he played in 2024. He did come off the bench that series, but it wasn\u2019t the reason he was so effective. In that series, and again on Wednesday night, he simply ran the ball. He stopped playing like he does at Penrith as a link man to Cleary. And putting him in the front row would\u2019ve been a bad move because, despite playing in the middle, front row and lock are still different positons. Yeo makes his metres through footwork. Had he been given the job to run the ball off the back fence from the kick off, it wouldn\u2019t have ended well. Inspirational player and the best lock of his generation.<\/p>\n

14. Cameron Murray (SAFE)<\/p>\n

The Souths forward has been great all series and came up with some inspirational efforts in defence and was there to carry the ball when needed as he ran for 93m from 13 hit-ups. He also made 25 tackles and is one of the most reliable players in the squad. He\u2019s so important off the bench because his quality is that of a starter.<\/p>\n

15. Addin Fonua-Blake (IN THE FIRING LINE)<\/p>\n

Had his best game of the series after two underwhelming performances which probably left him lucky to be in the side of the decider. But eight runs for 70m off the bench, with a few tackles breaks, and he gets a pass mark for Game 3.<\/p>\n

QLD reflect on shock loss at home! | 07:44<\/p>\n

17. Blayke Brailey (SAFE)<\/p>\n

He could be the Blues\u2019 version of Harry Grant from next year. He was outstanding in the Game I comeback and kept the Maroons guessing after he came on in the 50th minute. He set up the final try. He\u2019s not overly young and will be 28 in September, but he\u2019s got a bright future as long as he can continue his club form. The issue for him starting in 2027 will be if there\u2019s a hooker good enough to back him up from the bench.<\/p>\n

18. Ethan Strange (SAFE)<\/p>\n

He\u2019s already showed he\u2019s up to Origin standard and natural progression should see the 21-year-old come into serious contention to partner Nathan Cleary in the halves next year. He\u2019s a bit like Cameron Munster in that he\u2019s so hard to tackle and often beats off the first defender. His constant threat with the ball could give Queensland headaches for the next decade.<\/p>\n

19. Tolutau Koula (IN FIRING LINE)<\/p>\n

Came on to play fullback and had a night to forget with a dropped ball along with letting a bomb bounce when he easily could have made the ground to catch it. It led to a try, which, for his sake, was disallowed. He did run the ball well though, like he did in Game 1. He still has a future in the Origin area, but in the outside backs.<\/p>\n

POTENTIAL 2027 NSW STATE OF ORIGIN TEAM<\/p>\n

1. Dylan Edwards<\/p>\n

2. Stephen Crichton<\/p>\n

3. Latrell Mitchell<\/p>\n

4. Tom Trbojevic<\/p>\n

5. Brian To\u2019o<\/p>\n

6. Ethan Strange<\/p>\n

7. Nathan Cleary<\/p>\n

8. Payne Hass<\/p>\n

9. Reece Robson<\/p>\n

10. Mitchell Barnett<\/p>\n

11. Hudson Young<\/p>\n

12. Liam Martin<\/p>\n

13. Isaah Yeo<\/p>\n

14. Cameron Murray<\/p>\n

15. Haumole Olakau\u2019atu<\/p>\n

16. Blayke Brailey<\/p>\n

17. Mitchell Moses<\/p>\n

18. Casey McLean<\/p>\n

19. Keaon Koloamatangi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NSW pulled off an unlikely Origin series win, claiming the decider in Brisbane 30-12 to give coach Laurie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,85,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-789648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789648","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=789648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}