Craig Bellamy's confession about Billy Slater that shows State of Origin call might be a mistake

While NSW fans are excited to have Craig Bellamy back in the fold for State of Origin, his previous comments about not wanting to coach against his Storm players are telling with Billy Slater now the rival coach. NSW finally announced their 2025 State of Origin coach with Laurie Daley returning to the role.

Daley coached the Blues between 2013-2017 and was part of the NSW team that broke the legendary eight series winning streak from. However, he then lost three in a row and finished with just five wins in 16 games as NSW coach.

However, the NSW hierarchy feel Daley deserves another shot at the role off the back of Michael Maguire's victory this year. And part of his appointment saw Melbourne Storm coach Bellamy join him as an assistant.

Bellamy took the role and will help the coaching staff during the series, which comes as a surprise for some having just about shut down his involvement in Origin after winning the Dally M coach of the year. But it appears he is willing to take a background role to help Daley out upon his return.

Craig Bellamy struggled coaching against Melbourne Storm stars

And Bellamy's inclusion is interesting considering he had previously mentioned how he didn't like coaching against his Storm players such as Slater, Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Cooper Cronk in the arena. Bellamy took over NSW in 2008-10 but didn't have the same success he has seen at club level.

The coach admitted forming a game plan against the players he coached at club level was not his favourite part of the job and has showed little interest in returning until now. It appears Daley was able to bring Bellamy around this time, even though he will be up against Melbourne players such as Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Xavier Coates this time around.

He will also be part of a coaching team going up against one of his former players in Slater. While some may feel it is not the best idea for Bellamy to be involved, after previous comments, there is little doubt the players will rally behind him. And Daley explained why he reached out to Bellamy. "I've a great relationship with Craig over a number of years. (It) started out as a player (at Canberra) and obviously we keep in touch," Daley said after Bellamy was announced as the Blues' chief advisor.

"I was looking for some guidance. I was looking for someone, if I ever got an opportunity again, to help me and I thought he would be the best possible person to do that. Craig will help the coaches and be part of the coaching group, and I'm pretty excited to have him involved.

"And if I'm excited, I think the players will be extremely excited to get to work with someone like Craig. You don't have to talk about what he's achieved in the game. He's passionate about NSW and he wants to be a part of it, which is exciting for us."

Slater had previously talked about feeling sorry for Bellamy having returned to club footy only days after competing against one of the greatest Origin teams ever with the likes of Smith, Inglis, Slater, Cronk and Johnathan Thurston running around. He even claimed Smith gave him a few reminders they had lost against Queensland when returning to training. This could be part of his motivation though to return to the fold and go out a winner in 2025.

Craig Bellamy involved in selection process

Last time Bellamy was involved in the Origin arena, a board of NSW selectors decided who would ultimately be in the team. However, this has changed in recent years. Speaking on SEN Radio last month, NSW boss David Trodden told Andrew Voss claimed the process has changed. This will allow Bellamy and Daley more control over who plays for them in 2025.

"Historically when we had NRL coaches doing State of Origin jobs, we had selectors picking the team. That doesn't happen anymore. The coach picks the team. What happens if the NRL coach is faced with the prospect of leaving out his own players," Trodden said before Daley's appointment.

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While Bellamy's appointment has reassured NSW fans they will have a veteran in the coaching box, Voss admitted it was an interesting call. Speaking on SEN in Sydney, leading commentator Voss admitted it was a concern that Daley has been out of the coaching game for so long.

"By the time Origin rolls around in 2025 it will have been eight years since Laurie last coached," Voss said. "It's impossible to escape the fact he was sacked, and he hasn't done any coaching since then. That's the unusual aspect of it. He hasn't actually gone away and coached anywhere."