Sticky Situation: Who should take over over from Brad Fittler as NSW coach?

As the final whistle blew at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night, the chances of Brad Fittler remaining in post beyond the end of this year’s Origin series evaporated into the Brisbane night.

Following three defeats in four series, the departure of the Blues boss is a formality – and inevitably, the chat turned to who might replace Freddie in the hot seat.

It’s too early for the traditional betting market to emerge, but there are certainly options out there who could help stop the slide that has seen NSW lose so frequently to their cousins north of the Tweed. 

Some are sensible, others are off the wall – but all are worth discussing. Let’s run the rule over who the next NSW Blues coach could be.

Ricky Stuart

Sticky would be the most entertaining candidate by a long chalk. The Canberra coach has done the job before, delivering a series win in 2005 and and losing two in 2011 and 2012, admittedly at the absolute peak of the Queensland dynasty. 

If the NSWRL want a candidate who shows all the fire and brimstone that the Maroons show, and who would be his own man at the selection table, then it has to be Stuart. 

On top of that, there’d be no punches pulled in the media, either. Sticky is consistently the one of the most emotionally engaged coaches in the NRL, going into bat for his players and seemingly living in a permanently fired up state. 

Pros: Experienced, been there and done it all in Origin. Genuinely terrifies Queenslanders. No nonsense with players or media. Would be nothing but entertainment for fans.

Cons: Would he want to leave the Raiders? Is his confrontational style what they actually want?

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images for RLWC)

Michael Maguire

A Premiership winner, currently juggling an assistant’s role at Canberra with the part-time job as boss of the New Zealand. Madge is famously demanding, which does often make his players hate him after a while, but for three games a year could be ideal.

He’s got recent experience in the rep arena, having taken the Kiwis to the World Cup semis and forced the Kangaroos all the way, and would excel at all the motivational aspects of Origin.

The media, however, could be an issue. Maguire was famously prickly in his late stage Wests Tigers career and became a bit of a joke figure, which turned sour pretty quickly. That might have just been the Tigers, though, who are likely to do that to anyone.

Pros: A good motivator, a Premiership winner, experienced in the rep environment. Great for players (in small doses).

Cons: Not great under the media pressure of the Tigers, so how would he deal with NSW? Would he leave the Kiwis?

Geoff Toovey

Tooves was slayer of Queenslanders as a player, with 11 wins from 15 games and just one series defeat across the six in which he participated, all while taking souls with his defence. 

His coaching career began brightly, with three excellent seasons between 2012-2014, before a dreadful one in 2015 that saw him depart Manly. A later stint at Bradford was less successful, though they had just gone bust when he took over, so perhaps not one too read too much into.

Toovey is currently on staff at Manly in their pathways system, but most relevantly for NSW, was part of the Samoa set-up that took them to the World Cup Final last year and an assistant in the Blues’ women’s team. Rep footy will be second nature to him by now.

Pros: A fresh voice, a brilliant Origin record, the toughest bugger to stick on a Blues jersey. Instant respect. Well-versed in the differing demands of the rep arena. Would happily take the gig and continue his day job at Manly.

Cons: Is that respect for him, or his coaching? Fittler had plenty of respect as player too, and look how that turned out.

Matthew and Andrew Johns with Blues selector Greg Alexander at a training session in 2018. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Andrew and Matty Johns

Look, this isn’t entirely serious, but the NSWRL have often treated the job of coaching their flagship rep team unseriously, so let’s hear it out. 

They picked Laurie Daley, with little to no coaching experience, but who sounded good on the telly, then replaced him Brad Fittler, who had an actively bad coaching record, but sounded good on the telly.

Continuing that theme, Joey Johns has to be a standout candidate. He’s on Fittler’s backroom staff right now, though where the line between assistant coach and Channel 9 commentator currently stands is quite unknown. Cameron Smith does it too, mind, and Queensland just won.

As for Matty, he’s got no coaching experience at all, but does speak well on the game and knows all the players. They all like him. It’s a vibes train, right? 

Given the current detente they probably couldn’t do it together, but they did want to coach Samoa as a pair and could probably be convinced.

Pros: Players would love it, TV would love it, the media would love it

Cons: NSW would almost certainly lose (again)

Paul McGregor

A member of the backroom staff at the moment, so something of a continuity candidate but with a great emphasis on coaching. Mary’s period at St George Illawarra didn’t end well, but given where the club has gone afterwards, it looks better and better by the day.

It’s rare to get 150 games of first grade coaching if you can’t coach, however, and McGregor got that far with the Dragons. If they want to continue the current vibes but with a more established figure at the top, he’s not a bad shout.

For what it’s worth, Mary was also a gun NSW player, with 14 appearances and nine wins at a time when the series was, perhaps, at its height. He ‘gets’ Origin. 

Pros: Can coach and is already in the system. Excellent Origin pedigree

Cons: Continuity from what? His Dragons also made the finals in one of his five seasons in charge

(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Trent Barrett

Bazball is all the rage, right? T-Baz might have torched most of his career as an NRL head coach, but Origin is a different beast.

When he was an assistant at the Panthers, and now at Parramatta, he exponentially improved the best players in the team, especially the halves, proving something of a superstar whisperer.

The big knock on Barrett at Manly and the Bulldogs was that he failed to translate his messaging to the worst player on the roster, but that isn’t an issue at Origin, where everyone is good.

Even at the worse points of his Dogs reign, the players still liked him and played for him. His style, too, might translate better to Origin, which is generally more attritional, than it ever did in the NRL, where he frequently struggled to score enough points.

Pros: Has done his best coaching work with better players

Cons: Flamed out at his two NRL head coaching gigs

Other runners

Phil Gould – The greatest coach in NSW history is likely to float the idea that he has been approached, only to knock it back and say he’s perfectly happy in his Bulldogs role and sniping from the sidelines on Channel 9

Paul Gallen – The next cab off the rank from the Sunday Footy Show to the Blues’ hotseat, Gallen is a legit Origin legend and would bring all the fire in the world to the job. Has no coaching experience, but that’s never stopped anyone before.
Tim Sheens – As experienced as they come, Sheens could be a collective grandfather to this squad and provide some much needed attacking impetus. He’s got a job at the Wests Tigers, but that doesn’t seem long for this world.