State of Origin 2023: Will Brad Fittler stay on as NSW Blues coach? Dean Ritchie, Fatima Kdouh debate

NSW won the dead rubber but lost the series, so has Brad Fittler done enough to stay on as the Blues coach? DEAN RITCHIE and FATIMA KDOUH go head-to-head.

Brad Fittler head coach of the Blues presents the Player of the Match award to Cody Walker of the Blues following game three.

NSW restored some pride in the Blues jersey on Wednesday night but what can’t be undone is the harsh reality that coach Brad Fittler is facing over his future.

Rugby league scribes Dean ‘Bulldog’ Ritchie and Fatima Kdouh have covered Fittler throughout his NSW coaching career and now go head-to-head on whether the NSWRL should move on from the ‘Freddy era’.

FATIMA: Yes, the Blues have lost another series but I don‘t think the NSWRL should rush to put Brad Fittler to the sword. Every single Blues player gave it their all in a dead rubber, if they didn’t have the right culture or didn’t believe in Freddy that would not have been the case. Surely there’s enough positive signs out of Wednesday night to show he should get another shot?

BULLDOG: I’m not going to become a sheep and join the ravenous queue to kick Freddy. He has done a solid job – nine wins, nine losses – but it’s probably time for a fresh start. No other NSW coach has ever completed six straight series. Gus did five during one stint and Lozza also did five. It takes an excruciating toll professionally and personally. Freddy appeared emotionally wounded in this series. He looked drained. I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked away. He’s done his time. He doesn‘t need to prove anything to anyone.

Is it time for NSW to part ways with Blues coach Brad Fittler? Our experts go head-to-head. Picture: Getty Images.

FATIMA: But being drained after losing a series where the knives were out to get him, is expected. I don‘t think that’s a good enough yardstick to write him off as a coach. I hope he doesn’t walk away, Freddy loves NSW and he ‘gets Origin’ when it comes to the passion it takes to put on that Blues jumper. He’s also won three out of six series, that’s better than others before him. The problem for me is simple, I don’t see a better alternative. Do you, Bulldog?

BULLDOG: There are plenty of candidates who could do the job. Personally, I’d love Ricky Stuart to get a crack. He would bring a different approach than Freddy. Fittler is relaxed and laid back, Ricky ultra-intense and competitive. Maybe Freddy could remain as a NSW ambassador. I wouldn’t want to lose him completely but the players need a different voice after six years. Ricky would certainly shake things up.

FATIMA: I think the fact that Freddy was able to motivate the side to get the job in a dead rubber shows his laid-back approach has a place in the Blues. Origin is now a fulltime job during that period, to expect that an NRL coach, one that is fair dinkum about winning premiership, can do both jobs to the best of their ability is a bit far-fetched. It needs a person that can give the Blues their undivided attention. When you look at the blokes available at the moment like Michael Ennis and Jason Ryles, they don‘t have the same Origin pedigree as Freddy. Maybe having Ivan Cleary, like he did on Wednesday, as his right hand man is a better solution. That’s been a problem too, has Freddy surrounded himself with the right people?

The Blues should stick with Freddy since there aren’t any better alternatives, argues Fatima Kdouh. Picture: Richard Dobson.

BULLDOG: Garbage, Fatima. An NRL coach can do the job provided he surrounds himself with the right people at club and Origin level. You saying Ricky wouldn‘t have the drive and capacity to do two jobs? I’ not saying sack Freddy based on results, effort or commitment. I’m saying it’s time for a change. I know for a fact this series impacted on Freddy and those close to him. They all felt the condemnation. NSWRL board members were also aware. Six consecutive series is one hell of an innings but the time is right for Freddy to go enjoy a beer and reflect on his three series wins. And some of his selections this year were incredibly confusing.

FATIMA: OK, so I’ll concede some ground on that. Some selections felt like they didn’t make sense. But he made the calls that needed to be made in game three knowing he’d get slammed for it. Cody Walker would have been there in game two if it wasn’t for a calf injury. Bradman Best’s selection was canned from pillar to post but it was the right call, so to Keaon Koloamatangi. To me those calls not only showed he has the guts to pull the trigger but maybe Freddy isn’t fresh out of ideas like some of his harshest critics have suggested.

BULLDOG: You get judged on your career, not a single game which doubled as a dead rubber. The Nicho Hynes drama was difficult to digest, along with Stefano Utoikamanu’s demise after 12 minutes. There were other selection surprises too. I just felt Freddy was second-guessing himself. He got his squad, starting side and bench right for game three but, sadly, it was too late.

The biggest difference between Billy Slater and Brad Fittler is the Maroons are winning, argues Dean Ritchie. Picture: Getty Images.

FATIMA: I’m by means saying hand Freddy a five-year extension but that win at least gives him a fighting chance to retain his job. The Hynes drama was fascinating, especially the way Freddy handled it with the media after he axed him. If there’s been on real banana peel for Freddy this series it’s the way he’s handled the media. If he keeps the job, he’ll need to reassess his approach, what do you think Bulldog?

BULLDOG: Freddy understands the media. He knows how it works but there have been moments this year when Freddy hasn’t quite understood why the media has attacked him so vigorously. Freddy has a unique personality. He floats along inside life perimeters that are different to most. He had pet llamas. Nothing wrong with that but most people have a dog or cat. I often wonder whether Freddy gets confused by people who have a more cynical and hardened view on a life he chooses to live in such a carefree way.

FATIMA: Well the fact Hynes, and Junior Paulo, were part of the inner sanctum on Wednesday night shows the talk he has a rocky relationship with guys he axes is rubbish. It’s hard to see the Queensland media ever go after Billy Slater, like NSW media did Freddy.

BULLDOG: There is a massive difference between Billy and Freddy. Billy is winning.

FATIMA: Touché. #InFreddyWeTrust

CLEARY COACH TWIST AS BLUES PUT DEADLINE ON FITTLER CALL

—Brent Read

Brad Fittler has been shown the way forward and once again, it revolves around Penrith.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was a notable addition to the Blues’ brain’s trust for the final game of the State of Origin series and it had the desired effect on Wednesday night.

NSW played as well as they have all series as they salvaged some pride before a sea of sky blue on home turf.

Suddenly, the Blues have more food for thought. The NSW Rugby League are expected to take at least a month to make a call on the future of Fittler and chair Paul Conlon has revealed they won’t rule out pursuing a club boss should they decide to head in a different direction.

Brad Fittler’s future as NSW coach has dominated the State of Origin discussion all series.

A club coach may yet be the key to Fittler retaining the job after he finished his sixth series in charge of the Blues on Wednesday night with a win, albeit after suffering the ultimate insult – Queensland lifting the shield in front of a legion of sky blue supporters.

The series has been largely dominated by talk over Fittler’s future given he is at the end of his contract and under serious pressure, having lost two of his past three series after a flying start to his NSW career.

Fittler was noncommittal on Wednesday night but if he does decide to return, he needs to push for Cleary to work with him. Asked about the role Cleary played for the Blues, Fittler said: “I just asked him to come and sit in the box. Impressed with him and the way handles games and I thought he might be able to help tonight.

Pushed on the role Cleary played, Fittler said: “I asked him a lot of questions, and he came up with pretty good answers.”

Could Ivan Cleary be the key to Brad Fittler saving his job?

Conlon and the Blues hierarchy won’t be rushed into a decision on Fittler and despite reports to the contrary, haven’t ruled out making a play for an NRL coach should they decide it is time for a change.

That stance could open the door for the likes of Canberra coach Ricky Stuart, Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy, Penrith’s Ivan Cleary and possibly Cronulla boss Craig Fitzgibbon, who was Fittler’s right-hand man when he enjoyed success early in his Origin career.

Cleary may be another solution – perhaps as an assistant – after he was a surprise addition to Fittler’s coaching staff for Origin III.

“In no way would I ever say we wouldn’t be looking at NRL coaches,” Conlon said.

“Let’s say if we have to look at another coach for next year and there is no-one around who is suitable, and our most suitable people we believe are NRL coaches.

“Why wouldn’t we do it? If we were looking at that and aware that coaches would put their hand up, of course we would look at it.

“We wouldn’t rule that out.”

Conlon also confirmed there would be no rush to determine Fittler’s future and hit back at suggestions the NSWRL needed to conduct an independent review of the Blues’ State of Origin set-up given their recent history.

NSW won their first two series under Fittler but the four years since have been dogged by defeat, some confounding selection calls and recent claims of an agenda aimed at destabilising the Blues under their coach.

Could Ricky Stuart return as Blues boss?

Craig Bellamy is another former Blues coach who has been linked with the role.

Fittler insisted in the lead-up to Origin III that he wouldn’t be driven away by the criticism or conjecture over his future at the helm of NSW.

Conlon said Blues powerbrokers would take a breath before making a call on their coaching future and insisted there was no need to look outside the organisation for someone capable of conducting a review.

“Every year they conduct a review of the State of Origin series – all aspects of it,” Conlon said.

“There would be no-one outside who would have more of an intricate understanding of this process and the lead-up than the people who are here at the moment.

“The review will be undertaken by the board. (A decision) won’t be much before four or five or six weeks after (Origin III). We haven’t said when but all we have said is we are not going to immediately jump in there and do it.

“We will let the dust settle and let some weak pass by, and then we will turn our mind to it.”

Originally published as State of Origin 2023: Will Brad Fittler stay on as NSW Blues coach? Dean Ritchie, Fatima Kdouh debate