Phil Gould makes eye-opening call as Laurie Daley linked with return as NSW State of Origin coach

NSW's hunt for a new coach has seen them identify former Blues coach Laurie Daley as a leading contender but Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould believes that appointment would be a mistake. Top-level discussions have reportedly begun surrounding the eligibility of Daley - who has previously been held back from the role due to his involvement with TAB.

Key stakeholders are understood to have informed Daley that if he wants the Blues role he must cut ties with the betting agency and cease roles on The Big Sports Breakfast, as well as his regular appearance on The Late Show with Matty Johns. But it's not the first time the 55-year-old has been told to rethink his priorities, with the league great denied a chance to work as a consultant with Manly back in 2022 due to his involvement in TAB.

But Daley is understood to be willing to cut the necessary ties for another shot at the Origin arena. The 55-year-old coached NSW in five series between 2013 and 2017 and broke the Blues' eight-year drought with his sole triumph in 2014. But his contract was not renewed at the end of a 2017 series defeat after Andrew Johns slammed the coach's tactics after the Blues let a 1-0 lead slip.

However, even if Daley decides to let his other commitments go, he is far from certain to get the nod, with the Blues still looking at other options including Matt King - who was an assistant to Michael Maguire during this year's come-from-behind series win. The main hesitation with King, however, is his lack of senior coaching experience.

Phil Gould believes a current NRL coach should get the gig

But Gould doesn't see Daley or King as the right fit for the Blues coaching job as he believes a current NRL coach should take the job. Speaking on The Journos podcast, Gould said the role should be taken by someone who has experienced sustained success in clubland.

"Being brutally honest, I think it needs to be done by a club coach," Gould said, "I think that the successful club coaches in your Ivan Cleary's and your Ricky Stuart's and your Craig Bellamy's are the people that should do it.

However, both Bellamy and Cleary have already ruled out juggling their club side and the Blues, stating it wouldn't be possible to do both roles well. Bellamy spoke in depth about the situation after he claimed his seventh Dally M coach of the year honour last month.

"I've committed myself for the Storm next year," Bellamy said last month. "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."

Is Ricky Stuart a viable option to coach NSW?

However, Gould doesn't believe it is too hard to juggle club and State of Origin commitments. "I believe their clubs are set up well enough to do it," Gould said. "Clubs are set up now where I think their head coach would have the time to go and do it. You've got plenty of other staff and administrative staff doing all the other stuff."

And Canberra coach Stuart could fit the bill, after previously expressing his love for the NSW Blues. The Raiders coach was linked with the Blues job after Brad Fittler stepped down in 2023 despite being offered a one-year extension. But at that time Stuart said he wanted to focus on the Raiders after the club lost hundreds of games worth of experience and transitioned into a younger side in 2024.

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“(It) wasn’t a matter of knocking back the job […] I've got to make Canberra Raiders and those young boys there my priority, I love the Blues but my priority is the Raiders,” he told 2GB last year. However, with that tumultuous time in the rear vision mirror, he could be tempted to take the NSW job.