New South Wales has a new look to its coaching box this year after Laurie Daley returned to the hot seat following Michael Maguire’s foray back into the NRL.
Daley was previously in charge of the Blues for five years but came up against an all-time Queensland side that swept pretty much all before it.
The 55-year-old managed to win just one series while in charge the first time, yet he has been entrusted as the man to continue to build from Maguire’s successful foundations in 2025.
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After several candidates were interviewed for the top position after Maguire’s exit to Red Hill, Daley emerged as the frontrunner.
And he landed the post for the second time during his coaching career with the Blues’ backroom staff remaining mostly intact.
However, Daley has brought a significant new player into the coaching set-up with him, in Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy.
The Storm mentor will be a sounding board for Daley and his staff throughout the State of Origin series.
Bellamy has been there and done it before in the famed rep arena, although he was also at the helm during the Maroons’ extended period of dominance.
Bellamy managed to win just two games while in charge of the Blues during his three-year stint in charge of the state. But after a prolonged absence, Bellamy has returned to the fold via Daley for the 2025 series.
"I’ll just be going in there to help in small areas," Bellamy explained to The Sporting News in April.
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"At the end of the day, I won’t be going in there full-time.
"I’ll be there for a little bit of the time and certainly during the games. Hopefully, I can help Laurie and the assistant coaches out a little bit."
Bellamy admitted that while the allure of Origin helped to bring him back, Daley and his collection of staff played the major role in getting him to commit to the advisor role.
"The main reason is that it’s an honour to be part of Origin," Bellamy said.
"But if Laurie wasn’t the coach and Brett White and Matt King weren’t the two assistants, who are players I’ve coached, [I wouldn’t have said yes].
"I just know what genuine people they are - Laurie, Kingy and Whitey.
"To be able to just work with them, in only a small role, that’s the thing that interested me in going in there."