'Not Laurie's fault': Blues players leap to defence of under-siege Daley after dreadful loss

NSW back-rower Hudson Young was among a host of Blues players who leapt to the defence of under-siege coach Laurie Daley after Wednesday night's appalling defeat.

Young even likened Daley's coaching to that of his Raiders coach, Ricky Stuart, who has the Green Machine sitting atop the NRL ladder and could be on the verge of winning his second title as a coach.

"He reminds me a lot of the way Sticky coaches off the back of how passionate he is, and when you've got a coach passionate like that you want to play for them," Young said in the sheds after the Blues' 24-12 defeat in the decider.

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"Yeah, 100 per cent," Young said when asked if he had Daley's back.

"It's not Laurie's fault; he wasn't out there playing with us.

"You saw what kind of side we are in game one, and we should have locked the series away in game two, but for whatever reason we missed the jump through discipline.

"We just need to take accountability as players. It's got nothing to do with the coach. The prep was outstanding all week and I've got Laurie's back and I think he's a great coach. He had us primed and ready to go, but as players we just didn't turn up."

Daley is contracted as NSW coach for the 2026 series, having signed a two-year deal after Michael Maguire, the man who orchestrated the Blues' triumphant 2024 campaign, vacated the position to take control of the Broncos.

But the NSWRL is facing calls to again sack Daley after his already grim Origin coaching record deteriorated further on Wednesday night.

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The legendary playmaker was dumped by Blues bosses in the post-mortem to the 2017 series, losing his job after overseeing a third unsuccessful campaign in a row.

He's now coached NSW in six series and still only has one series win to show — the triumph in 2014 that ended Queensland's eight years of domination.

Additionally, Daley has coached in four deciders for zero wins.

Despite his dire coaching record, Young, Liam Martin, Brian To'o and Jarome Luai all jumped to Daley's defence in the sheds after Wednesday night's loss.

"Absolutely," Martin said when asked if he supported the coach.

"That's why it's so frustrating as a playing group; we've let them [the coaching group] down. They went above and beyond for us, our preparation was faultless, you would have had every confidence going into this game, and the fault just falls on us as players. We just needed to perform tonight and we didn't."

Martin made a similar comment to Young.

"I loved it [being coached by Daley this year]. His passion for the jersey and just his ability to bring the playing group together, it was awesome. He's someone that you want to play for and I'm hoping that I can play under him again in the future."

To'o said he was "100 per cent" in Daley's corner.

"We all wouldn't be here playing for the jersey if it wasn't for him," said the NSW winger.

"Just his ability to connect with not any one player but collectively as a group, I think that's something special, bringing all the boys together. Coming into these camps I really enjoy it, the comraderie around it ... I've had all different types of coaches, and one thing I like about Loz is his way to connect all the boys."

Luai said when asked if he had Daley's back: "Of course. He's not out there on the field. We've all got a part to play in this loss and this disappointment. We just missed a few moments out there; that's all it was."

Martin is one of the most competitive beasts in rugby league.

"It hurts so much," the back-rower said.

"You invest so much into it, you're representing your family, your community and the whole of New South Wales, and you feel like you've let them down. It hurts so much."