It has taken Laurie Daley less than 48 hours to name another member to his coaching staff for the 2025 State of Origin series after being named as the new head coach of the NSW Blues.
Taking over from Michael Maguire for the next two series, Daley returns to the NSW Blues set-up for the first time since 2017, where he oversaw a drought-breaking series win in 2014 but was only able to win four other matches during his tenure.
The famous 2014 win saw Daley'sย Bluesย snap an eight-year series losing streak, where Queensland had a team stacked with likely future Immortals that had dominated since their first win in 2006.
Already announced that Brett White and Matt King will be his assistants for next year, it has now been revealed that St George Illawarra Dragons assistant Dean Young will also join the coaching staff, replacing John Cartwright.
โIt's a privilege to be able to work with the NSW Blues and I won't be taking it for granted,โ Young said.
โThe staff and players did an incredible job in beating Queensland in this year's series and I'm looking forward to working with everyone involved in the upcoming series.
โI have worked with Laurie before and I know what he's capable of and I'm grateful that he has asked me to come on board.
โIt's a great opportunity to work with the game's elite players and I just want to play my part in making sure they are well prepared and have the opportunity to be at their best.โ
Considered an option to replace Michael Maguire before Daley's appointment, Young is widely rated as one of the best assistant coaches in the competition and is currently working under Shane Flanagan after a stint with the Cowboys under Todd Payten.
He has also been an assistant coach of the Tongan national team since 2019.
The premiership player is no stranger to the State of Origin arena, having played one match for the Blues in 2011 after being a key piece to the Dragons winning the 2010 NRL Grand Final.
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy - a former Blues coach from 2008 and 2010 - has also been named as an advisor, while Frank Ponissi retains his role as the state's team performance manager.
โDean Young is a highly credentialled Assistant Coach with NRL experience as the Cowboys and Dragons to call on," NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden added.
โHe is a great addition to the High-Performance team.โ
