You can set your watch to it—by this time of the NRL season there’s always plenty of rumour, drama and speculation.
Yet as the NRL powers full-steam into the month of July, every head coach who began the current campaign remains in place for the first time in six years.
At the same stage in 2024, both Jason Demetriou (Rabbitohs) and Brad Arthur (Eels) had already been gone for over two months.
A year earlier Anthony Griffin had long since parted ways with the St. George Illawarra Dragons after a two-and-a-half season stint with the joint venture club.
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The 2022 NRL season was especially grim for head coaches, claiming Trent Barrett (Bulldogs), Michael Maguire (Wests Tigers) and Nathan Brown (New Zealand Warriors) in the space of a month.
In fact, you need to look back to 2019 to find the last time all 17 NRL head coaches held their jobs into the month of July—and even then it didn’t last with Garth Brennan sacked by the Gold the Coast Titans on July 14.
Of course, the lack of movement on the coaching front in 2025 is not to say all men would be feeling comfortable right now, nor that axes aren’t being sharpened.
So, how safe are the current NRL coaches?
Ricky Stuart, Canberra Raiders
10/10
At the helm in Canberra since 2014 and travelling better than ever in 2025. Ricky’s not going anywhere any time soon.
Cameron Ciraldo, Canterbury Bulldogs
9/10
With a three-year rebuild beginning to reap handsome rewards, Ciraldo has the Bulldogs humming along nicely. Perhaps not quite ready to challenge for a premiership, but they’re close.
Craig Bellamy, Melbourne Storm
10/10
Craig Bellamy, 65, will coach the Storm for as long as he wishes to continue. When the time comes to depart it will be entirely of his own making.
Andrew Webster, New Zealand Warriors
8/10
Webster had the Warriors flying for the first half of the season before injuries began to bite. Even without star half Luke Metcalf they should play finals in 2025 and it’s hard to see Webster not being in Auckland for a while yet.
Michael Maguire, Brisbane Broncos
8/10
Things were looking a little shaky for the first-year Brisbane coach, but with the club’s mid-season wobbles appearing to be behind them, Maguire seems in little danger.
Ivan Cleary, Penrith Panthers
10/10
Four consecutive premierships. Five consecutive grand finals. Cleary is a Panthers legend and will likely remain in charge as long as he chooses.
Kristian Woolf, Dolphins
7/10
The Dolphins are coming along nicely despite a horrendous injury list. Defence still needs work, but Woolf is overseeing the NRL’s best attack and is safe for this season at the very least.
Trent Robinson, Sydney Roosters
7/10
Robinson is the longest serving first-grade coach in Roosters history—a tenure that includes three NRL premierships. In recent seasons the Sydney glamour club has been competitive, yet inconsistent. Robinson’s job is safe for now, but a sustained run of poor results could change things in coming seasons.
Craig Fitzgibbon, Cronulla Sharks
6/10
The Sharks entered 2025 with high hopes, but things have headed south for Fitzgibbon’s men in the past month and the pressure is increasing. Is he safe for 2025? Probably, but 2026 could be a different story.
Anthony Seibold, Manly Sea Eagles
5/10
The Sea Eagles have looked like world beaters at times in 2025 and potential wooden spooners at others. Rumours about Seibold’s job began swirling several weeks ago and will only grow louder should Manly miss the finals.
Shane Flanagan, St. George Illawarra Dragons
5/10
Flanagan has found himself in the headlines pretty much constantly in 2025, often for the wrong reasons. Inconsistency on the field and plenty of tension off it. If he left the Dragons before 2026 it would be a surprise, but not a major one.
Todd Payten, North Queensland Cowboys
4/10
The wolves have been gathering at Payten’s door for much of the season, however last weekend’s win over the Titans has likely bought him some breathing space. Far from safe, on-field results will decide his fate.
MORE: Fans call for Payten’s head after Cowboys humiliated by Roosters
Adam O’Brien, Newcastle Knights
4/10
It’s been a frustrating season for Newcastle with plenty of responsibility placed at O’Brien’s feet. The fifth-year Knights coach has seemed like a dead man walking at times, but he’s still there. Season-ending injuries to key players haven’t helped his situation.
Jason Ryles, Parramatta Eels
6/10
It’s been a baptism of fire for the rookie head coach, but green shoots have started to appear, suggesting brighter days are on the way for the Eels. It would be a brutal call to remove him less than one-year into his NRL coaching career.
Benji Marshall, Wests Tigers
2/10
While on-field performances have been an improvement on last season, Marshall’s Tigers have lurched from crisis to crisis in 2025. Barring a major change in fortunes, quickly, you get the feeling Benji could be on borrowed time at Concord.
Wayne Bennett, South Sydney Rabbitohs
8/10
Bennett has never coached a team to wooden spoon. Even if it happens in 2025, it would be a brave club to sack the super coach—it would also be very expensive.
Des Hasler, Gold Coast Titans
2/10
After finishing third-last in 2024, the Titans now find themselves anchored to the bottom of the NRL ladder. Last weekend’s home loss to the struggling Cowboys seemed a potentially fatal blow and Hasler may have only been saved by the bye. Long odds to survive the season.