New South Wales coach Laurie Daley is by all accounts a great bloke. He was a brilliant player during his time with Canberra Raiders, representing his state on 23 occasions and his nation 21 times. He has gone on to be an astute commentator on the game, with a great eye for what is happening on the field and a very likeable and natural personality. Sadly, all of that talent has not resulted in Daley being a particularly good coach.
With the 2026 State of Origin decider set for Brisbane and the Blues having a very ordinary record in all deciders (six from 24) and in deciders played north of the Tweed (three from 10), Daley looks highly likely to lose a sixth series out of seven attempts with the Blues.
The only reason the series isn't already over is the sending off of Kalyn Ponga in Origin I. The Blues were strapped in for a hiding in Sydney, before receiving the numerical advantage that allowed them to power their way home. So it was not completely surprising that Daley looked to fine tune the squad ahead of Origin II, but his selections, as they have in the past, certainly raised some eyebrows.
Ethan Strange played out of his skin on debut in Sydney, but Daley chose to rush Mitchell Moses back into the side without testing himself at all with the Eels. Moses was back in the No.6 jersey so quickly that his fitness was still in doubt during the early days of Blues camp. Moses was needed for his big kicking game, and in Origin II we saw precious little else from him. If the Blues felt they needed a big boot they might as well have named a fully fit Matt Burton. Not only was it a risk to rush Moses back, it was unnecessary, and more than likely demoralising to Strange and to his teammates who celebrated his contribution to winning Origin I.
There has been news from Queensland today suggesting that Tom Dearden is close to a return from injury, but there is no talk of rushing him back into his Queensland jersey. Why? Because Sam Walker has been brilliant in his place and the Maroons have just won a game. Sound familiar?
The other selection head-scratcher was the naming of Dylan Lucas to make his debut in the back-row. Lucas has shown a lot of raw potential with the Knights this year, with many labeling him an Origin player of the future. Daley chose to accelerate his career path and threw him in for the entire 80 minutes of Origin II. Lucas was ineffective at best and missed a couple of key tackles. Haumole Olakau'atu, who has been in devastating form for the Sea Eagles, admittedly had a quiet Origin I, and was demoted to the non-playing reserve spot. Another morale sapping move that may not have resulted in open statements from players, but may have manifested in a drop in performance.
Coaching is not an easy job, but at Origin level it is all about selecting the best players, winding them up and pointing them in the right direction. It is about letting these players know that you believe they are capable of doing the job at Origin level. It is about raising their commitment levels to the point of putting their lives on the line for their state and teammates.
Commentator and former Blues star Brad Fittler said something that caught the ears of most fans before the game.
"The coach was our best player ever and they can't walk away from that," Fittler said.
"The players need to stand up for 80 minutes tonight. They need to be all heart - just like their coach."
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Regardless of whether you agree that Daley was the Blues best player ever, his achievements on the field do not necessarily guarantee a similar effort from his players. Wally Lewis was one of the greatest players to ever lace up a boot, inarguably Queensland's greatest ever and he won two of seven games as an Origin coach. His record as a club coach was even worse. It takes a little more than being a great player to be a great coach, in fact most of rugby league's greatest coaches were, at best, average players.
If you overlook Daley's quirky selections, if you ignore his confounding use of the interchange bench, if you forget that there doesn't appear to be any cleverness in the game plan or any real set moves, there is always the bleeding obvious. Daley appears to lack the motivational ability to get these players up for the biggest fight of their lives.
Laurie Daley; tremendous bloke, legend of our great game, has been given two shots at coaching the Blues. It will take a miracle for New South Wales to win this series in Brisbane, the same miracle that Daley needs to have any chance of retaining his position.