sparked discussion on who could step up and lead Queensland in Slater\u2019s place. <\/a><\/p>\nSmith has emerged as the favourite with Slater and Wayne Bennett both believing he\u2019s best suited for the role.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to convince me. I\u2019ve been a part of Cameron Smith\u2019s life since I was 17 years old. I know exactly what he brings to a footy team as a player, as a leader and as a coach. He would do a fantastic job,\u201d Slater said on Channel 9\u2019s Sunday Footy Show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe QRL will go through their due diligence and work out who is best suited. I have my views and I\u2019ll voice them to the right people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron Smith and Billy Slater at Queensland State of Origin camp at Sanctuary Cove, Hope Island, Saturday, June 17, 2023 – Picture: Richard WalkerSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
In an interesting twist, Slater, who won three of five Origin series while in charge, hinted on Sunday that he is open to one day returning to the position he just gave up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I decided to take up the role five years ago I didn\u2019t think it was forever, and maybe this decision right now isn\u2019t forever either,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the position was put in front of me five years ago, I looked at it and thought I probably don\u2019t need the job, but the position to lead Queensland was super important to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably more just a feeling that it\u2019s the right time for someone else to come in and lead our footy team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Storm legend also discussed the persistant rumour that he\u2019d consider coaching his former club.<\/p>\n
The Storm have publicly said they\u2019d love for Slater to replace Craig Bellamy in the next couple of seasons, but the champion fullback has yet to express an interest in becoming a full-time NRL coach.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always said and I\u2019ve been pretty consistent with it, that I don\u2019t see myself as an NRL coach. But you never say never,\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s obviously Craig Bellamy\u2019s last year next year, but right now I don\u2019t see myself coaching in the NRL.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bennett agrees with Slater that Smith is the \u201cideal choice\u201d for the Maroons\u2019 next head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great player and he has been part of the Queensland system before as an assistant to Billy,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt for me he would be great. If he wanted to do it, he would handle it. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been there with Billy and done some coaching, he would have great respect from the playing group.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘DEVASTATING’: Metcalf & Walsh go down | 01:13<\/p>\n
Given Bennett\u2019s voice holds so much weight in the game, Smith is the clear favourite for the role. <\/p>\n
Does he want it though? <\/p>\n
The NRL\u2019s record holder for games played says he would consider it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are asking me if I will coach,\u201d Smith said on 2GB.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I really didn\u2019t think Billy would step down this year, so I haven\u2019t thought about it. But it\u2019s something definitely to consider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was fortunate enough to spend two years with Billy as an assistant coach in 2022 and 2023, and had a fantastic time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have to speak with my family first and foremost. That will be the deciding factor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Billy Slater has become the second former Maroons coach to publicly endorse Queensland legend Cameron Smith for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-571099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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