Blair player coach of Wallaroos after illustrious NRL career
From the Panthers, to the Storm to the Titans and the UK, Maryborough’s own Maurice Blair’s journey has come full circle, and after a ‘run-around’ with the Roos last season, he has taken up the reins as player/coach.
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Maurice “Bobby” Blair followed his dreams of playing professional rugby league and now the former Panthers and Melbourne Storm NRL star is back in his hometown of Maryborough helping young players chase theirs.
For as long as he can remember, Blair, 38, always wanted to play rugby league.
With 10 brothers, as a kid there was only really one thing to do, Blair remembered.
“I have been playing footy since I could walk,” he said.
“I have heaps of older brothers and cousins and that’s what we did as kids.
“We just played footy in the backyard or went down to the park.
“I just always had a footy with me, so as soon as I came of age I went straight into the local club and went from there.”
Blair played junior footy for the now defunct Maryborough Rovers before playing for the Wallaroos in Maryborough.
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He won a premiership with the Roos in 2003 and was picked up by Souths Logan which led to a move to the Penrith Panthers, where he played his first NRL game against the Warriors in round 15 of the 2007 season.
It wasn’t a great start for Blair, who played five-eighth as the Panthers lost 54-14.
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But he went on to play 47 more times for the club and said he enjoyed his time at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
“When I made my debut I played alongside Rhys Wesser, brothers Tony and Frank Puletua, Frank Pritchard, Luke Priddis was the hooker and Craig Gower was our captain,” Blair recalled.
“Yeah, it was a pretty good side.
“It was a couple of years after they won the grand final. The place was still buzzing and they still had a good squad.”
Melbourne was Blair’s next port of call. He joined the Storm and played 36 times for the club under renowned coach Craig Bellamy, playing alongside some of the greats of the game in Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.
He played two finals for the Storm but was not in the side when the club won an NRL premiership in 2012.
Blair said he learned a lot both from coach Bellamy and the star players he played with.
“To be there when they won the title was an awesome feeling,” Blair said.
“My job was pretty easy to sort of jump on the back of Cronk, Smith and Slater.
“I just had to do my own job.
“Bellamy was a great coach and loves to work hard. He was hard on us players, but fair. I learned a lot from him.”
A move to the Gold Coast Titans didn’t quite work out as planned for Blair after his years in Victoria, with coach John Cartwright getting sacked halfway through his first year there.
But his career took an upward turn in 2015, when he landed a dream move to the UK with Super League club Hull Kingston Rovers in the north east of England along with fellow Australians Terry Campese and Albert Kelly.
“That was something I always wanted to do,” Blair said of playing in the UK.
“I got a good welcome from the people over there.
“They’ve got a strong, rich history in Hull in rugby league.
“It’s deep-rooted within the community and the fans welcome you with open arms.
“As long as you do your job, have a go and play hard, the fans will love you.”
Blair said he missed his family at times, but said the it was almost a home from home thanks to the fellow Australians who were also playing in the Super League at that time and the club’s supporters.
“In the north of England they are right into their rugby league,” he said.
“The people were great, they just kept asking me questions about Australia and how rugby league back home compared to the Super League in the UK, so it was good to have a chat about that sort of stuff.
“Ben Barba was at St Helens, Tyrone Roberts was at Warrington and I went over there with Campese and Kelly and played in the same team, so that helped me too.”
Blair ended up playing 117 times for Hull KR and was named the club’s player of the year in 2016 before returning home to Queensland in 2018.
A short stint with Northern Pride in Cairns in the Queensland Cup followed before Blair returned home to Maryborough in 2022 to play for his hometown club the Wallaroos in the Bundaberg Rugby League.
Blair’s rugby league journey has come full circle and after a ‘run-around’ with the Roos last season, he took up the reins as player/coach for the 2023 campaign and says he is now ready help others in their bid to succeed in the game he loves.
“This is a good chance to be able to give back to the community,” he said.
“Obviously, I’ve learned a lot of things since I left here as as a young fella, especially in rugby league.
“So if I can pass that knowledge on to the young fellas coming through and help them progress into better footballers and better people, then it will be a job well done.”
The Wallaroos had their first win of the 2023 BRL campaign last week against Wests Panthers and will take on the Hervey Bay Seagulls next weekend looking for a second success.
Blair, who still plays for the A-grade side each week, has already seen something from his young team after what he described as a disappointing season in 2022.
“It’s good to see the young blokes adapt to structured footy,” he said.
“It’s also great to see them get smarter and learning each session.
“Our games are gradually getting better, which has shown in the results.”
Looking back at his career at the top level, Blair said there were some highlights and a few lowlights but being back home in Maryborough with mum Irene and the rest of his family was where he wanted to be.
He has lived his dream for the past 20 years and now it’s all about helping others achieve their goals.
“As a kid I always wanted to play in the NRL and I always wanted to be on the TV, so I ticked those boxes,” Blair said.
“The lowlights were just being away from family. I found that really hard at the start.
“But you do get used to that after a while.
“It was time to come home and now I have done that I am happy.”
On the rugby league field, Blair still has some unfinished business as a player-coach of the Wallaroos, as he aims to complete the circle with a BRL premiership as a mentor to others.
“Just to try to get into the finals and give a bit of a shake,” he said when asked of his hopes for his first season as coach of the Wallaroos.
“Last year we didn’t win too many games and probably the most disappointing part was that we didn’t really improve.
“It was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, so we just want to try and get some more consistency.
“Hopefully, by the time finals come along we are playing well enough to give the better teams a run for their money.
“I won one premiership in 2003 with the Wallaroos when I first played in the comp, so it would be good one day to go full circle and get another one as a coach.”
Blaire’s playing record: Penrith Panthers played 48 games 10 tries, Melbourne Storm played 36 games 13 tries, Hull Kingston Rovers played 117 games scored 21 tries
Originally published as Blair player coach of Wallaroos after illustrious NRL career
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