For new Sky Blues coach John Strange it was a case of now or never before the demands of a full NRLW season make it too hard to do the Origin job as well.
However, Strange plans to use his tenure with the NSWRL to help develop female coaches who can eventually succeed him in the position.
Strange will combine the NSW role with his job as Sydney Roosters coach as the 2025 Origin series is played before the NRLW season kicks off and is finalising his coaching staff.
Former Jillaroos captain turned media commentator Ruan Sims will remain involved, and Strange said he wants his other assistant coaches to also be women.
“It’s really important to me that the assistant coaches are female coaches, because I really do want to mentor coaches in this space,” Strange said.
“I’m looking for female coaches to take over from me. I’m doing something similar at the Roosters, where I’m getting current players to coach at our junior rep levels.”
Of the team which won this year’s NRLW premiership, Keeley Davis is coaching the U19s Tarsha Gale Cup team with Corban Baxter, while Jayme Fressard and Isabelle Kelly coach the U17s Lisa Fiaola Cup team.
“I want to set the girls up post footy so they can have careers if they’re passionate about coaching, which those girls are,” Strange said. “In this role, I want to do the same.
“I want to have some female assistant coaches that I can hopefully work with and help them on their journey to become a head coach of this team one day.”
The NRLW season kicks off on July 3 and comprises of 11 rounds plus finals, but it is eventually expected to parallel the NRL, making it almost impossible to coach Origin as well.
For now, there is little overlap, as Origin begins at Suncorp Stadium on May 1, with Game II at Allianz Stadium on May 15 and the third match at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium on May 29.
Both NSW and Queensland will select 30-player Origin squads for a six-week camp prior to the opening match and after losing this year’s historic series 2-1, Strange said no players were guaranteed spots in his squad.
“There’s a saying I have at the start of every season with the girls that ‘I don’t pick the team, I just read the names out’, and I tell them ‘you girls pick the team based on how you put yourself forward’,” he said.
“Obviously the squad of 30 will be picked on experience of what they’ve done in the past, at NRLW level and Origin.
“Whether you’ve played the last five years for NSW or not, it doesn’t matter. There’ll be girls that are in this top 30 that haven’t played Origin, who are picked on their recent form from this year’s NRLW.”
Strange admitted it would be a challenge to coach against Roosters playmaker Tarryn Aiken, the Maroons and Jillaroos halfback, who was player of the match in the grand final and Pacific Cup final and is shortlisted for the IRL Golden Boot.
However, he said Queensland had other key players NSW would need to be wary of – headed by superstar fullback Tamika Upton.
“They are probably the best two players in the world, or in the top five, at least,” Strange said.
“Tamika is someone that you need to work out how to pull apart at club level, but she’s probably going to play a different style [in Origin].
“I know how Tarryn plays. I’ve coached against her before she signed with the Roosters, but the one thing with Tarryn, she’s really good when everyone around her is on the same page.
“At the Roosters, our focus is on everyone knowing their role and that makes her do what she does for us.
