Ivan Cleary and Brad Fittler make emphatic call on coaching NSW Blues in State of Origin
Cleary and Fittler have ruled themselves out of the NSW Blues coaching job.
The NSW Blues' coaching options have continued to dwindle with Panthers premiership-winning coach Ivan Cleary and former NSW mentor Brad Fittler withdrawing from the race. The pair joined the likes of Matty Johns, Craig Bellamy and Phil Gould to pull their names from consideration in the last seven days, with the potential coaching options reducing by the day. The likes of Andrew Johns and John Cartwright have also withdrawn their candidacy, making the job of appointing Michael Maguire's successor all the more challenging.
NSWRL directors are set to accelerate the search for a new coach at their next board meeting in late October and it is expected that a new coach will be announced by late November or early December. However, on Thursday they lost two of their leading candidates in Fittler and Cleary, with the latter shutting down the suggestion he could juggle the Panthers and NSW roles, with Penrith group chief executive Brian Fletcher stating Clearu's sole focus is on making more history at the foot of the mountain.
"Ivan is having success here and is creating history. He’s a chance of chasing more history so why would he muck that up? That’s the last thing he would want to do," Fletcher told News Corp. "The biggest problem is that we’re playing away from home for the next two years. Plus we have to go to Vegas and take home games to Bathurst, Mudgee and Magic Round in Brisbane. We have a heavy schedule moving forward - we have a lot of travelling to do - so it would be highly unlikely that Ivan would make himself available.
“Would he want to be in the predicament of having to pick Penrith players to play State of Origin? The answer is no. When you list these things, why would Ivan want that burden put on himself? It becomes nearly impossible. Ivan has never mentioned it to me and I have never mentioned it to Ivan.”
Craig Bellamy won't be coaching NSW either
Cleary has only spoken briefly about being linked to the NSW gig, claiming he had "no idea" if he could realistically juggle both roles. But it seems that potential is off the cards at least for now for a similar reason to Bellamy who said juggling the Melbourne Storm and Blues coaching roles would just be too hard.
"I've committed myself for the Storm next year," Bellamy said after claiming his seventh Dally M coach of the year honour. "They're not going to have a coach who is coaching an NRL side coaching Origin. I think they think that is too hard, and I think that as well. I have been there and done that. It's too hard. It's hard on your club when you're in Origin because everyone else has to do your work as well.
"And then you're worrying about your club when you're in Origin. Well, you shouldn't be doing that. You shouldn't be doing Origin if you're doing other things. I have made that decision and I will stick with that."
Away from Cleary, Bellamy and Stuart, another name thrown around for the job was former coach Fittler, who walked away after a six-year tenure at the end of 2023. But when asked this week if he would consider taking the role back on, he was blunt in his response stating: "I won't be doing that, no".
Fittler's comment comes just weeks after close mate Johns pushed for him to take over as the Kangaroos boss down the line when Mal Meninga steps down. And while there's no clear indication of that happening in the near future, Fittler says being in charge of the Prime Minister's XIII for this weekend's clash with Papua New Guinea has reignited his coaching spark. " When you turn up and see all these blokes and be part of the group and the coaching staff again, it gets you all excited," Fittler said.
Who are the leading candidates for the NSW Blues job?
The list of options to head the NSW Blues in 2025 seemingly shrinks by the day, but there are still plenty of options. The main contenders left appear to be Laurie Daley, Danny Buderus, Paul McGregor and Trent Barrett. However, Dean Young, Michael Ennis, Matt King and Geoff Toovey have also had their names thrown around.
Daley is a former coach of the Blues side but is likely an outside chance given his lack of recent coaching exposure and previous struggles in charge of the NSW team - which led to him being ousted from the role at the end of 2017. Former NSW skipper Buderus is well respected and could be given an opportunity in charge of the Blues, however, his lack of coaching experience could go against him.
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Paul McGregor and Trent Barrett have experience at the NRL level and could be favoured for that reason. But Barrett has struggled to garner positive results in charge of NRL sides. However, the coach has received glowing recommendations from the likes of Nathan Cleary and Mitch Moses regarding the positive impact he has had on their games.
While McGregor has spent plenty of time around the Blues fold, being on the NSW coaching staff for the 2022 and 2023 series while also working with the Parramatta Eels as a consultant in the same year the club made a grand final appearance against Penrith. The 56-year-old was in talks with the Cowboys to join the club as an assistant coach this year, but ultimately decided against the move for family reasons. He played 14 games for NSW during his career as one of the game's top centres and is a leading option.
