Why Gus Gould is wrong - Geoff Toovey must be in the running for NSW State of Origin job
The Blues are on the hunt for their next coach after Michael Maguire's departure.
OPINION
To paraphrase his own words, there ought to be an investigation if Geoff Toovey isn’t being seriously considered as NSW's next State of Origin coach. Of all the contenders being thrown up to replace Michael Maguire, Toovey may be the best credentialled of the lot.
He captained Manly to a premiership and played 16 Origin games for the Blues, becoming a valued member of series-winning sides. He knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Toovey took that passion, knowledge and die-for-the-cause attitude into coaching - and did a bloody reasonable job of that as well. His 58 per cent win record across 105 games as an NRL coach at Manly, including a grand final appearance in 2013 and three top eight finishes, is a record many would kill for.
Critics whisper Toovey's been out of the game too long to be considered for Origin. Really? Brad Fittler hadn’t coached in the NRL for nine years when he was given the keys to the Blues in 2018.
Before him, Laurie Daley had never coached a club side when he landed the job in 2013. Among the contenders for Maguire's position, Matt King, Danny Buderus and Michael Ennis have not coached an NRL game between them.
Phil Gould favours appointing a current NRL coach – namely Craig Bellamy, Ivan Cleary or Ricky Stuart – but that's not going to happen. So why not Toovey? He's kept his hand in by coaching NSW's under-17 invitational team and was assistant coach to the NSW women's team. He also helped out Samoa at the last World Cup.
The 55-year-old remains a keen student of the game through his involvement in Manly's pathways program. Rugby league is still very much in his veins.
Why Geoff Toovey is the perfect candidate for NSW Origin coach
The other knock on Tooves is he doesn't play the media game and would lack the ability to "sell" Origin. The same was said of Maguire and look how that turned out. Madge's "glass houses" comment tormented Queensland coach Billy Slater and an entire state, giving the series the punch it needed.
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Toovey will happily play the villain and won't give a rat's about the fallout. Taking a backward step is not – in rugby league vernacular - his go. He bleeds blue and won’t have any problem picking fights with the Cane Toads.
The NSWRL has not yet reached out to any coach, nor has it been contacted by interested parties. It's not Toovey's style to pick up the phone and demand an audience with Blues powerbrokers. But they should at least invite him in for a word. If not, someone's got to be accountable.
