James Maloney lifts lid on reason for NRL coaching call after revelation about wife

James Maloney has opened up on the main reason he decided to return to the NRL in an assistant coaching role, revealing he had no desire to do so until late in his playing career. Maloney has been working with the North Queensland Cowboys this season under head coach Todd Payten, and actually rejected an offer to work with former club the Roosters as a result.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald late last year, the 37-year-old revealed how he had to renege on a promise he made to his wife in order to take up the offer from the Cowboys. Maloney was all-but set to work with the Roosters this year and had promised his wife the family would be settled in Sydney after years of travelling around.

But a chance meeting with Payten's agent sent him to the Cowboys because they could offer him a full-time role. Maloney, who played for the Storm, Warriors, Roosters, Sharks and Panthers in the NRL before finishing his career at the Catalans Dragons in France, had only just returned to Sydney with his young family when he had to convince his wife Jessica that they should pack up and move again.

“I spoke to [Trent Robinson], who had a part-time role for me there (at the Roosters),” Maloney said. “He told me if I couldn’t find a full-time role elsewhere, he had the next best thing for me at the Roosters.

“It came out of the blue the move to the Cowboys. I arrived back in the country on a Tuesday and by Thursday we had just finished organising the kids back into school out in Penrith where we were moving back to. I went to a chicken shop and bumped into Isaac Moses, who looks after Todd Payten. As I was heading out he said to me, ‘What are you doing?’, and I said, ‘I’m doing some stuff with the Roosters’, and he said, ‘Toddy is looking for an attack coach up there’.

“I had a chat with Toddy on the phone, flew up the following week, and by the Friday I had a job. I phoned Robbo when I got the Cowboys job. He said he was always happy to have a chat if I had any questions about coaching.”

James Maloney reveals what sparked his NRL coaching interest

This week, Maloney revealed how his stint at the Panthers changed his mind about coaching one day when he'd never really considered it before. Maloney played for the Panthers in 2018 and 2019 when they had a young, emerging squad, which eventually developed into the all-conquering team that won three-straight premierships from 2021 to 2023.

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Speaking to Yvonne Sampson on Fox League program 'Face-to-Face', Maloney revealed how the opportunity to mentor some young Panthers players sparked an interest in coaching. “I didn’t really think about coaching or anything until I got to Penrith," he said. "There was just such a young squad and I think they just naturally came to you for advice.

“Then I remember guys making debuts, in the dressing sheds beforehand getting tingles and hairs on the back of your neck standing up, going ‘I remember when this was me.’ That’s when I started sort of thinking about maybe that’s the rewarding side of coaching.

“I got there, they were really young, really keen and obviously there was plenty of talent. They worked really hard and I think even from a far now you sort of admire how hard they work.”

Maloney has helped the Cowboys make a red-hot start to the 2024 NRL season. Payten's men finished 11th in 2023 after making the preliminary final the year before. But they've started 2024 with a bang and were sitting second on the ladder after five rounds with a 4-1 record.