The NSW Blues have confirmed that premiership-winning NRL coach Michael Maguire has been appointed head coach for the 2024 State of Origin Series.
Maguire joins as the new NSW Blues coach after guiding New Zealand to a historic 30-0 victory against Australia Kangaroos to win the Pacific Championships.
A former premiership-winning NRL coach with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Maguire will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the coaching position.
NSWRL has also announced that Maguire's High-Performance team will consist of John Cartwright (Brisbane Broncos), Matt King (Sydney Roosters), and Brett White (Gold Coast Titans). All three are current NRL assistant coaches and are premiership-winning players.
Other appointments include Melbourne Storm Football Manager Frank Ponissi will be the Blues Team Performance Manager, while Andrew Gray (Physical Performance Manager) and Sean Edwards (Strength and Conditioning) have also been brought on.
Maguire amassed 303 first-grade games of coaching experience for the Wigan Warriors (2010-2011), South Sydney Rabbitohs (2012-17) and Wests Tigers (2019-22). Along with this, he has won the 2010 Super League title, the 2011 Challenge Cup, and the 2014 NRL premiership with the Rabbitohs.
โOn behalf of the NSWRL Chairman Paul Conlon and the Board, it gives me great pleasure to announce Michael Maguire has agreed to a multi-year appointment as the head coach of the Westpac NSW Blues, starting from 2024," NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden said in a media statement.
โIn recent years we have been blessed with the stability of long-term coaching tenures with Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart and we are looking forward to this engagement following the same pattern.
โWe all have expectations of immediate success in 2024 together with the opportunity to build a structure that will provide for sustained long-term success.โ
โMichael is a multiple premiership-winning coach in two hemispheres and has been successful in the international arena as head coach of the New Zealand team,โ he added.
โTogether with Michael's recent experience at the Raiders, they all bring strong current NRL experience to the Blues as assistant coaches - with John working alongside Kevin Walters at the Broncos, Matt with Trent Robinson at the Roosters, and Brett with Des Hasler at the Titans.
โAlong with Frank Ponissi's involvement with the Storm, we now have a High Performance team that is not only impeccably credentialled but also has the breadth and depth of current experience across four NRL clubs.โ
With Maguire and the staff coming together in the near future (February, 2024) to start planning for the 2024 State of Origin series, he admitted he was extremely humbled to earn the role and is excited about the opportunity.
โThe Blues jersey is everything and we will ensure that we foster an environment that allows everyone to perform at their very best. Leadership and culture will be critical to do this,โ he said.
โJust as important will be bringing everyone along the journey with us, and by that I literally mean everyone, from the front office to the volunteer in Bourke and the thousands of junior footy players who idolise the Blues and are passionate about Origin.
โEveryone has a part to play and I want everyone across the state to feel a part of the Blues Origin campaign.โ
