Laurie Daley spills the beans on Craig Bellamy's role as Queensland hit with Origin sucker-punch

Queensland fans rejoicing Laurie Daley's return as NSW State of Origin coach have abruptly muted celebrations after learning master Melbourne Storm boss Craig Bellamy will be alongside him in the Blues' box. Daley is back for his second stint in charge after being preferred over untried candidates Mick Ennis and Matt King following Michael Maguire's move to the Brisbane Broncos.

Maroons' supporters were gleefully pointing our Daley's record as NSW mentor from 2013-17 – six wins from 15 games and just the one series victory – and declaring it a win for Queensland. That was until the Blues' hierarchy sucker punched them with the Bellamy announcement.

Suddenly, a Daley-Bellamy combination looks a lot more threatening. "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.

"Knowing Craig the way I do, the way he operates, the way he goes about building structures in a footy team, the way he interacts with coaches, the way he interacts with players…I think that's a bonus for us. Both of us have that passion and desire to be successful."

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Laurie Daley reached out to Craig Bellamy over Blues gig

Daley revealed he first contacted Bellamy last month to gauge the Storm coach's interest in the job. The idea quickly grew on Bellamy, who liked the idea of taking on an advisory role beside his former Raiders teammate.

The three-time premiership winner has unfinished business in the Origin arena, having overseen three series losses as NSW coach between 2008-10. Daley said of Bellamy's role: "They've (Melbourne) got a couple of byes during Origin, so there will be a period of time where he will spend a lot of time (in camp).

"Then there will be a stage through the third Origin where he will be in camp (for a shorter time). "He will certainly be there on game night, sitting in the box, and I'll be at games with Craig throughout the year at certain games, just sitting in the box and learning and seeing how he goes about processing things.

"I'll work closely with him throughout the year and certainly run things past him. He's a great mentor and someone that's got huge amount of experience in the game and someone we can all learn a lot from." King and Brett White, who both acted as assistant coaches under Maguire, will remain as part of Daley's coaching group, while the highly regarded Frank Ponissi stays as Team Performance Manager.