New South Wales has made the right call.
The appointment of Matt King as the next Blues coach has already been met with the predictable criticism that follows almost every coaching announcement in rugby league.
One of the loudest complaints? He has never been a senior coach in the NRL. Apparently, in some people’s eyes, that is enough to dismiss him before he has even picked a squad.
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However, I think it’s a remarkably narrow way to judge a coach.
State of Origin is not an NRL season. It is not about managing a roster for 27 rounds or navigating salary cap headaches amongst the weekly grind of club football. Origin is a high performance environment built on big decisions, clarity, trust and relationships.
King has spent years immersed in exactly that environment, serving as a key assistant for the Blues under Michael Maguire and Laurie Daley while also learning under some of the best coaches in the game, including Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy.
This is not a man who has skipped the apprenticeship. It is a man who has completed it on multiple occasions.
King has been part of the NSW system that has rebuilt belief within the Blues camp. Laurie Daley himself made it clear that King was heavily involved in the football side of the operation and was ready for the top job. That endorsement should carry weight.
Daley had every reason to protect his own legacy, yet he publicly backed King as his successor because he has seen first hand what he brings behind closed doors. Success for his state means more to Daley than his own ego.
The criticism over King lacking senior coaching experience also ignores a broader truth that some of the best coaches in sport were considered risks before they were considered visionaries.
Every successful head coach was once a first time head coach. Experience matters, but so does timing, respect from the squad and the ability to connect with elite athletes.
By all reports, King excels in those areas.
Players respect him. They listen to him and they understand what he expects. In representative football, where coaches have limited time with their squads, those qualities can be far more valuable than a decade of club head coaching experience.
What New South Wales cannot afford now is another cycle of doubt.
The treatment of Daley should be a warning. Before a ball was kicked this year, many Blues supporters and commentators questioned whether he was the right man for the job. They criticised his selections, his tactics, his history and even the decision to bring him back in the first place. Then he went to Brisbane and won a decider. Suddenly, the narrative changed.
It was a reminder that the loudest opinions in rugby league are not always the most accurate.
The Blues have spent too much time in recent years tearing down their own. I’m all for allowing everyone to have an opinion but it felt like it became more toxic than that. Every selection became a referendum. Every loss became proof that the coach should never have been hired. Queensland, by contrast, has often thrived because it rallies around a united message.
That is what NSW needs now.
I’m not saying King doesn’t deserve scrutiny. It’s a high pressure role and every Origin coach understands it comes hand in hand with having a whole country voicing an opinion on your every move. But King also deserves support from the very people who spent months defending Daley once the results arrived. You cannot criticise the constant negativity surrounding one coach and then immediately begin undermining the next one.
King inherits a strong playing group and a system he helped build. He understands the culture, the standards and the pressure that comes with the sky blue jersey. He has earned this opportunity through years of work behind the scenes, not through profile or politics.
NSW has chosen continuity, relationships and football intelligence over headlines.
That is not a gamble. It is a smart appointment.
If the Blues genuinely want sustained success, the first thing they should do is stop trying to beat their own coach before Queensland gets the chance.
