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Slater joins list of rookie Origin coaches

By AAP
Queensland Coach Billy Slater and Daly Cherry-Evans during a Queensland Maroons State of Origin training session at Sanctuary Cove on June 04, 2022 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Queensland mentor Billy Slater will become the fourth man to lead a State of Origin side without prior first-grade head-coaching experience in Australia.

STATE OF ORIGIN’S ROOKIE COACHES:

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 10: Paul Vautin, coach of the Maroons addresses his players during a QLD Maroons training session June 10, 1995 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Getty Images)

PAUL VAUTIN (Queensland)

Arguably the most famous tale of any State of Origin coaching career came without any experience at club level. Vautin was thrown into the deep end when the Super League war robbed the Maroons of several Brisbane and Canberra stars as well as coach Wayne Bennett. Vautin helped inspire Queensland to a shock 3-0 whitewash, forever etching his name in Origin history. However Queensland were beaten 3-0 the following year and 2-1 in 1997, ending his tenure as coach.

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Blues head coach Laurey Daley poses during a New South Wales Blues NRL State of Origin team photo session at The Novatel on May 24, 2016 in Coffs Harbour, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

LAURIE DALEY (NSW)

Had the unenviable task of tackling a Queensland side at the height of their dominance when he took over from Ricky Stuart in 2013. With his only coaching experience with Country Origin previously, Daley had NSW within two points of ending Queensland’s run in the 2013 decider. He famously helped break the Blues’ drought with the 2014 series victory, but normal service was resumed in 2015 with a Maroons win. NSW lost again in 2016 and when they let a 1-0 advantage and 16-6 lead slip in Game II in 2017, Daley was axed after the series with a 6-9 record.

Coach Kevin Walters watches on during a Queensland Maroons State of Origin training session at Langlands Park on July 05, 2019 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

KEVIN WALTERS (Queensland)

Took over from Mal Meninga in 2016 after years of serving as an assistant at both State of Origin and NRL level as well as with a brief stint in charge of Catalans in the English Super League. Had immediate success when Queensland grinded their way to a win in Game I in Sydney, before wrapping up the shield three weeks later in Brisbane. Made it two series wins from two attempts the following year, before being forced to deal with the end of an era as the likes of Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater all exited. Series losses followed in 2018 and 2019, before Walters left to take up the top job at Brisbane just weeks before the end-of-season 2020 series.

Maroons coach Billy Slater during a Queensland Maroons State of Origin training session at Sanctuary Cove on June 06, 2022 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

BILLY SLATER (Queensland)

Will take on the job with extremely limited coaching experience, having only previously assisted as a specialist coach with Melbourne at club level. Instead, the Maroons’ staff is built on winning experience rather than coaching history. Slater has brought the likes of Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston into the fold, while retaining Josh Hannay, Nate Myles and Allan Langer in the camp. Players have responded too, praising Slater’s all-round knowledge rather than just in the fullback position.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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