Brad Fittler's huge Blues boost as NSW boss slams Origin 'hysteria'
The Blues coach's Origin future has come under fire after another series defeat to Queensland.
The head of the NSW Rugby League has declared his board will not be bullied into sacking Blues coach Brad Fittler – even if Queensland secures a series whitewash next Wednesday night. NSWRL chairman Paul Conlon is blaming "clickbait journalism" for mounting a campaign to oust Fittler and his coaching staff after a third series loss in four years.
A defiant Conlon denied there had been any talk at board level about Fittler's future and ruled out an independent inquiry into the entire Origin set-up. There is now every chance the Blues coach could retain his position, with a possible change to overall coaching structure.
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"There has not been one word spoken at board level in relation to the coaching position of State of Origin," Conlon told the Big Sports Breakfast. There will be a process that will be undertaken at the end of the series.
"Why do we do it that way? Well, we're dealing with four Blues legends in Fittler, Brandy Alexander, (Danny) Buderus and (Paul) McGregor. They're entitled to respect in the job they're attempting to perform at the moment and they're entitled to support from the board."
NSWRL boss slams campaign against Brad Fittler
Conlon blamed the media for piling on Fittler and ignoring his overall record as NSW coach. He said: "The modern-day clickbait journalism being what it is has kept this whole issue alive.
"A fair-minded person would look at the six years of Fittler's tenure - the first four years he won three out of the first four series. So, what we're really talking about is the past two years. He had a 2-1 loss last year and we lost this year."
Asked what had gone wrong in this year's series, Conlon responded: "The other side performed better on each occasion. Was that a horrible, terrible loss (in game one)? I'm not sure it was.
"And when you’re going to Suncorp Stadium one-nil down, as a coach you’d like to have at your disposal your first-choice team. That wasn't possible this year because we lost Latrell, we lost Nathan (Cleary), we lost (Api) Koroisau.
"And when you go up there, you want all the calls in the game to go your way if you’re going to be successful. Four minutes into the game we lost (Tom) Trbojevic. If we win game three, Freddy has a record of nine and nine (from 18 games)."
A decision on Fittler's future is not expected until well after the 2023 series is finished. "We will let the dust settle and have calm, objective and rational discussions at board (level). I won't be letting hysteria into the room," Conlon said.
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