Laurie Daley has stepped down as coach of the NSW Blues, ending his second stint in the role days after guiding New South Wales to a 2-1 State of Origin series win over Queensland.

The victory in the decider at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane made NSW only the fourth team in Origin history to win a series-deciding match at the Maroons' spiritual home. For Daley, it added a coaching chapter to a story he first wrote as a player: he is now the only NSW representative to win a series decider in Brisbane both as a captain and as a coach.

State of Origin is rugby league's annual best-of-three series between New South Wales and Queensland, dating back to 1980 and widely regarded as the sport's fiercest rivalry.

Daley, born in Junee, NSW, and nicknamed "Lozza", first captained the Blues as a player in the early 1990s. He led NSW to three consecutive series wins from 1992 to 1994 — a feat no NSW captain had achieved before. Decades later, in 2026, he replicated the Brisbane decider success from the coach's box.

His coaching record with the Blues was mixed. Across two stints totalling seven series, he won two — first in 2014, when he ended Queensland's eight-year stranglehold on the Origin shield, and again in 2026. Overall, his Blues coaching record stood at seven wins and ten losses, a 41% win rate, according to the NSWRL.

Daley was off contract at the end of 2026 and had hinted in a Channel 9 interview that he had already made up his mind about his future. Health issues throughout the Origin series were also a factor in his decision to step down, as reported by 7NEWS Sydney.

NSWRL chief executive David Trodden paid tribute to Daley, calling him one of the greatest players to have worn the sky blue jersey. The NSWRL published its own tribute on August 3, describing Daley as a "True Blue" after confirming his departure.

Daley endorsed his assistant coach, Matt King, as the man to succeed him, telling News Corp that King was ready for the top job. The NSWRL has not yet confirmed an appointment.

What makes Daley's exit notable is the timing. He walks away immediately after delivering NSW's first Origin series win since 2014 — and the manner of it, a decider won in Brisbane, makes the achievement rarer still. Only three other NSW teams have done that in the 46-year history of Origin.

Daley had been appointed to the role ahead of the 2025 season, returning after the previous coach left to join the Brisbane Broncos, according to the NRL. Ahead of the decider, he reportedly challenged his players to "write their names in history" — a challenge they met on the night that mattered most.

His overall coaching record may invite debate, but the 2026 series will be the abiding memory: a Blues side winning where few do, led by a man who first conquered the same ground as a player more than three decades earlier.