Now is not the time to be calling for Laurie Daley’s head.

I’m not saying Daley should be guaranteed the NSW coaching job next year even though he has a contract in place.

FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.

But before that decision is made, first the entire Blues’ State of Origin set-up needs to take a good hard look in the mirror and do a fair dinkum full-blown autopsy into what went so horribly wrong this series.

And collectively they all need to take some ownership of how/why it all went so pear-shaped after the game one win on Queensland’s home turf.

That goes from the management who appointed Daley in the first place, through to the coach and support staff for decisions they made throughout the series.

But most importantly it’s the players who really need to sit down and think about what they could have done differently.

Because it’s the players who let Daley down every bit as much as Daley was out-coached by Billy Slater this series.

DALEY’S USE OF BENCH ‘MIND-BOGGLING’

There is no doubt Daley should cop criticism for some of his selections.

The decision to carry injured players into matches needs to be dissected.

The use of the interchange bench in the decider was also mind-boggling.

Why pick Max King if you are only going to give him one stint in game two and three?

How do you send Stefano Utoikamanu out ahead of Spencer Leniu in the first half?

Why wasn’t Hudson Young injected earlier instead of leaving it until the almost midway through the second half to get him on when the game was as good as dead?

Ditto Connor Watson.

Why wasn’t Payne Haas brought back earlier after his first stint?

And let’s go back to the failure to come up with a Plan B in attack when Plan A clearly wasn’t working due to Queensland’s rushing defence.

Does that go back on the coach or was it Cleary’s fault they didn’t adjust on the run?

There is no doubt if Cleary had his time again he would have done things very differently.

But again, blaming Cleary is just missing the point on why the Blues were beaten in this series.

Because what we saw on Wednesday has been 45 years in the making.

MORE ORIGIN NEWS

HOOPS: How Billy ‘twisted Daley into knots’ as Blues’ Origin ‘shemozzle’ laid bare

TALKING POINTS: Slater masterstrokes that decided Origin; Blues blow it with no plan B

‘SHELLSHOCKED’: QLD stun NSW in incredible 12-year first as Billy’s call pays off

QLD PLAYER RATINGS: Billy’s Origin rookies shine as Dearden records perfect 10

MUNSTER: Billy in tears in emotional embrace as skipper reveals touching act

BLUES DON’T GET ORIGIN LIKE QUEENSLAND DO

NSW can deny it until they are blue in the face.

But they clearly just don’t get Origin like Queensland do.

For years’ I’ve heard former NSW players tell me it’s a myth that Queensland want it more.

Wednesday night proved once again why it is the undeniable truth.

Once again, NSW had a team on paper that looked unbeatable.

But Queensland won on the back of selflessness and a team-first attitude.

Putting egos in the back pocket and wanting to win for the entire state of Queensland as much as themselves.

Cameron Munster’s courage to play after the death of his father summed that up.

While playing with patience instead of wanting to be the hero was the cornerstone of their victory.

I can’t stop going back to Luai’s kick early in the game when he gave up a seven-tackle set that completely changed the momentum of the match.

It was the little moments like that made such a huge difference.

Players falling to sleep when the Queenslanders never stopped moving.

Like when Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow sent Tom Dearden charging away for Dearden’s first try that opened a 14-0 lead, and the wave of NSW players who just switched off for a split second to open the gap.

Queensland’s commitment to not turning over cheap possession or going for the all-or-nothing plays, like when Zac Lomax shot out of the line and Gehamat Shibasaski strolled straight past him.

Dearden’s effort to bowl Brian To’o into touch and stop what looked a certain try was one of the great Origin moments Queensland will celebrate for years to come.

As will Reuben Cotter’s nonstop effort despite his form for the Cowboys this year suggesting he was lucky to keep his spot after the Maroons’ game one defeat.

But that’s not to say Slater didn’t make the tough decisions throughout the series, like dropping his captain Daly Cherry-Evans to bring in Dearden for game two.

Josh Papalii’s call-up out of representative retirement for the decider was a huge gamble.

As was trusting Shibasaki when Slater made the decision to move The Hammer to fullback instead of bringing in Reece Walsh when Kalyn Ponga was injured.

On the flip side Daley rewarded loyalty despite NSW’s poor performance in game two in Perth.

You go back to game one and as dominant as the Blues were, their attack was clunky at Suncorp.

Most expected it would improve throughout the series.

Instead, they got worse.

IF IT’S NOT DALEY, WHO COACHES NSW NEXT?

So many questions need to be answered before the Blues decide if Daley should/can stay on as coach next year.

Daley of course has a contract and he indicated after the game that he firmly believes he is the right man to lead NSW forward.

The one thing you know about Laurie Daley is that he is not a quitter.

But it’s a decision both Daley and the NSW management need to really sit down and be honest about.

Because this is now about putting the state first.

Although the other issue is if Daley doesn’t want to continue who is the next man up?

Daley had Craig Bellamy in his corner for this series and it didn’t change a thing.

Ricky Stuart wanted the job last year but Canberra wanted him to focus on the Raiders.

Will that change on the back of Canberra’s success this year? I’d think not.

Or do the Blues go back to Michael Maguire cap in hand and tell him that he can coach Brisbane and Origin?

Would Ivan Cleary be the answer? Would Penrith want him to coach?

It’s no use sacking Daley unless there is a better option to replace him.

And at this very minute I can’t see one.

If the Raiders were willing to allow Stuart to coach the Blues, he’d be my first choice if Daley was to stand down.

But I maintain the reason we lost this series was not because one man let the team down, be that Daley or Cleary or anyone else.

They were beaten yet again by the Queensland spirit.

And that’s the thing NSW needs to address first and foremost with this current playing squad.

Because NSW can’t blame Ashley Klein this time.

All Klein did with the 8-0 first half penalty count in game two was expose the Blues’ cockiness and poor discipline.

Yet instead of cop the tip they went out this time and lost it on their own accord.

If anything Klein gave them the rub of the green in the decider.

But they couldn’t take advantage of it because Queensland didn’t allow them to.