‘Totally insulting’ narrative ripped as NSWRL CEO unloads

As Laurie Daley blasted the critics who had come for him and his Blues team for weeks on end in his post-game press conference on Wednesday night, the boss of the NSWRL watched and listened from one wing of the room.

CEO Dave Trodden hung off every word Daley had to say after NSW’s 30-12 demolition of Queensland in the decider, smiling and nodding in approval as the Blues icon took aim at “personal” jabs, “hidden agendas”, faceless reporters and the obsession with tearing down champions.

Then, once the press conference had rumbled to an end and photos with Daley and the State of Origin shield had been taken, Trodden leaned into his own tirade.

He said Daley was 10 times the person any of his critics would ever be, labelled as “totally insulting” the narrative that the legendary playmaker had only been re-appointed as Blues coach because of their friendship, and said the naysayers were left with egg on their faces.

Notably, Daley didn’t name names in his takedown of certain media coverage. In Trodden’s mind, it spoke volumes of the coach’s character.

“In the context of what has been said about Laurie, I thought he was very dignified in his response,” Trodden told nine.com.au in the NSW sheds.

“He could have taken the same approach that some journalists took toward him by personalising the criticism.

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“If he had, there would be some people and their families feeling exactly what Laurie has been feeling over the last couple of weeks.

“Some of it has been way beyond what is acceptable, in my view.

“I mean, criticise selections, criticise tactics – criticise all of those things – but a lot of what has been written about ‘Loz’ has gone way beyond that. It is personal, he doesn’t deserve it and, frankly, New South Wales doesn’t deserve it either.

“So, I thought he made the points he needed to make, but he did it in a really dignified way and was a lot kinder to some people in the press than they have been to him. It says everything you need to know about Laurie Daley the man.

“He is 10 times the person that any of those people who criticise him will ever be.”

Perhaps the most stinging piece of media coverage aimed at Daley during the series was a report in Brisbane’s The Courier-Mail published on the eve of game two.

The report claimed multiple anonymous sources had confirmed NSW players were uninspired by Daley’s pre-game speeches, and said his addresses had been “putting the Blues to sleep”.

It followed three consecutive disastrous starts by NSW, who had been outscored 66-12 in the first halves across games two and three of the 2025 series and this year’s series opener.

Trodden went his hardest in the interview with nine.com.au when asked about Daley’s return to the Blues coaching job.

One narrative peddled on Fox League’s NRL 360 during the series was Daley had only scored the job as Michael Maguire’s replacement in December 2024 because he was mates with Trodden.

It’s a narrative that undersells Daley’s pedigree as a coach and leader, and tarnishes the integrity of Trodden and the rest of the NSWRL decision-makers.

“That is just totally insulting. We are an organisation that turns over $50 million a year – does anybody seriously think for a second that is how jobs are handed out?” Trodden said.

“There was a strict process for those appointments. It was actually two coaches who were appointed: one was John Strange (as the women’s coach) and the other was Laurie Daley. People expressed interest, they were graded against a board-agreed criteria, there were then interviews conducted by a subcommittee which oversaw the whole process, consisting of two board members, and then that subcommittee reported to the board, and the appointment was made.

“People also forget that it wasn’t just the appointment of Laurie Daley; it was the appointment of Laurie Daley with Craig Bellamy as his principal advisor. There weren’t too many people at the time saying that’s a silly decision. They were all saying, ‘How on earth did they manage to recruit Craig Bellamy?’ People love to revisit history and put their own spin on it to suit their own narrative.”

Trodden said that narrative was “untrue”, and “so far from being true it wasn’t even funny”.

“We are a very well-run, process-driven organisation,” Trodden added.

“You just don’t do things like that in our organisation.”

Asked if the critics had egg on their faces, Trodden replied: “Well, I think they do, but it would be interesting to know whether they think they do.

“It is difficult sometimes to convince those people that they are wrong.

“They will have all the reasons and all the excuses about why we shouldn’t have won when they thought we couldn’t win. But who cares?”