As the NRL world prepares for Mal Meninga to be announced as the Perth Bears inaugural head coach, the fallout will likely result in Mal vacating Kangaroos head coaching role which he has held since 2016. For players coming through hoping to represent Australia, fans often look to how they performed in the State or Origin arena to deserve selection for the nation. Using the same logic, which of the recent State of Origin coaches could take the step up to fill the boots left behind by Mal Meninga as Australia’s head coach.

The Current Coaches

Laurie Daley and Billy Slater are the current NSW and QLD coaches respectively. Laurie Daley has only just returned to coaching after spending the last few years in punditry and media roles. Whilst he has had a strong start in his return to coaching by getting this State of Origin series off to a winning start, he is probably a a fair way down the list to take over from Mal Meninga. Billy Slater is still relatively early in his coaching career, he has proven he’s got plenty of potential during his time in charge of Queensland, but there is a sense he needs to get a bit more experience under his belt before he takes the step up.

Recent Queensland Coaches

Kevin Walters is highly respected coach and passionate Australian who would jump at the chance to coach Australia. He won two out of his four series in charge of Queensland, before taking over his beloved Brisbane Broncos and leading them to a grand final. He continues to show interest in returning to coaching and would certainly do the country proud. The only other coach in the modern era since Mal Meninga was Paul Green, who sadly is no longer with us. Wayne Bennet has been thrown around, but he also gets linked with every coaching position that opens up. There’s no doubt he has what it takes to coach Australia once again, and it doesn’t appear that Souths would stand in his way, but it’s probably time to look towards the future.

Recent New South Wales Coaches

Michael Maguire showed his value as a coach during his one year in charge of NSW, which earned him a gig at one of the NRL’s powerhouse clubs. He’s already proven himself at international level during his time coaching New Zealand and would be a strong option for Australia to consider. Brad Fittler feels like the most popular choice, he is incredibly popular and respected up and down the country. He has shown he is capable of coaching players at a high level and he certainly knows what it means to represent Australia. There are few other coaches that would fell the void left behind by Mal Meninga so smoothly. Craig Bellamy and Ricky Stuart have both had their time coaching NSW and would do an admirable job if asked to take over the Australian role, but they are probably more focused on their club teams at the moment.