‘You feel like a failure’: Laurie Daley’s heartache, contract proviso in return as NSW coach

Laurie Daley says he felt like a failure after his first stint as NSW State of Origin coach and thought he would never get another chance to coach the Blues.

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A champion player for NSW, Daley won just one series from five as coach, albeit against an incredible Queensland team that had claimed eight consecutive triumphs until the Blues’ historic 2014 breakthrough.

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Daley was axed in 2017 after three consecutive defeats yet the desire to atone burned bright.

“Oh, there’s no doubt that you feel like you let a lot of people down. And you feel like a failure,” Daley told the Big Sports Breakfast on Thursday.

“Because that’s what happens in big positions, when you don’t have the success that you want to have. But you’re also realistic at the same time. And looking back over the period that I coached, were there things that I would do differently? Yes, there would be. But sometimes, you learn and make mistakes on the run.

“And no one’s ever perfect. And no one will always ever coach the perfect game. No one will ever play the perfect game. But I think you analyse yourself harder than anyone else.

“To be perfectly honest, when I was sacked, I never thought I’d get another opportunity. And just the circumstances surrounding how it’s all unfolded, just I happened to be right place, right time. And to be able to be back doing it is something that I feel very privileged and honoured to be a part of.”

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Daley said the prospect of working with the NSW team again under Brad Fittler, which ultimately came to nothing, had reignited his passion for the role.

“I must say, it was the start of 2023. And Freddie was in discussions with extending his contract. And I sat down with Freddie, and Freddie wanted me to come and be a part of his coaching set-up,” Daley revealed.

“And I sort of said, right, what do you want me to do? So we discussed what we were about to do. And I think from that conversation, it actually lit the fire inside me again. And then as it turned out, Freddie pulled out and we never got to the situation of being able to go ahead with it.

“But I was quite excited to be back being involved. And then I sort of thought about it, but not actually thinking there would be another opportunity. But I just thought, yeah, I’d love to stay a part. I want to get back into coaching. I think I’ve got something to offer. And then Madge got the job.”

Maguire had Daley speak to the Blues players twice during 2024, before they scored an upset series victory. The door opened when Maguire left to coach the Brisbane Broncos, though Daley revealed that he had taken the job on the proviso that he could continue in his Sky Sports Radio role. He said he had been blocked from other coaching roles due to his affiliation with betting giant TAB.

“I’ve always had that barrier because I haven’t been able to do it because I’ve been approached by clubs to get involved in a consultancy role. But because of my relationship with work and TAB, I haven’t been allowed to do it,” he said.

“But this time around with my involvement, I’ve had to stand down from part of my role, but I’m still allowed to do the radio. And again, I wouldn’t have taken on the position if I had to stand down from radio. Yeah, I made that clear that obviously I’ll take time off once the campaign starts to be involved in Origin, but I’m still able to continue on in this role, which is a non-negotiable.”

Daley also revealed how Craig Bellamy, Melbourne Storm supercoach and a fellow former NSW mentor, reacted to an offer to return to the Blues staff as an advisor, having gone winless during his three-year Origin reign (2008-10).

“I’ve got a great relationship with Craig, and he’s a mate of mine. I’ve known him since my playing days at Canberra, and he was one of the first people I rang when I started to get into the nitty-gritty of whether I wanted to do it or not,” Daley said.

“And when I asked him, he said he’d have a think about it, and I left him to his own devices. And then he came back and said, ‘Yeah, I want in’.

“And one thing I know with Craig Bellamy is when he puts his mind to something, he usually has success, and he gives it his all. And we’ve already had a couple of meetings, and he’ll be invaluable to us young coaches and the assistant coaches that will be on the team.

“You know, we’ll be running everything by him. He set up a wonderful high performance culture and performance level at the Melbourne Storm for a number of years, so it would be great for us to actually see how it all operates and how he brings it all together. And he’ll have direct input in to us.

“He’ll look at how we’re talking to the team, how we’re structuring a training session, and what we’ve got in those training sessions, whether it’s good, whether it’s bad, where we can improve, what we can do better in. He’ll also help in selecting the team, what he’s looking for in players, so he’s pretty serious about it, as we all are. And we all want to have success.”