Laurie Daley
Junee, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Five-eighth, Centre, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz",[4] is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a centre and five-eighth in the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.
He represented
Early life
Daley was born in
Playing career
Daley was playing representative rugby league before his 19th birthday in 1988 when he was selected to represent NSW Country in the annual City vs Country Origin game. He was the second highest try-scorer in the 1989 NSWRL season with sixteen tries, only one less than teammate Gary Belcher. He tasted premiership success with the Raiders 1989 in an extra-time game which saw Canberra defeat the Balmain Tigers 19–14, and in the ensuing celebrations the Winfield Cup was smashed, not by Daley dropping it as was reported by the press, but when it fell from the rear tray of Ford T bucket hot rod both were riding in when the hot rod hit a bump in the road.[5] In the post season he travelled with the Raiders to England for the 1989 World Club Challenge, playing at centre in Canberra's 18–30 loss to Widnes at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester.
Daley played his first games for New South Wales in the 1989 State of Origin series.
1990s
Part way through the
During the 1990 season, Canberra coach
During the
Daley recovered from injury to captain Australia in the absence of suspended captain Meninga in the first Test against New Zealand in
Following the Grand Final win, Daley was selected, along with six of his Canberra team-mates (Kangaroo captain Meninga, Ricky Stuart,
In 1995,
In 1996, Super League players were once again allowed to compete in representative fixtures sanctioned by the ARL, allowing Daley to compete in State of Origin. Even though Daley was the incumbent New South Wales captain from 1992 to 1994, Brad Fittler, who had also been appointed Australian captain in 1995, was retained as NSW captain. The following year, the Super League competition was launched, and Daley was appointed to captain the Super League representative teams of both New South Wales[11] and Australia, winning their respective competitions. It was also this year Daley became a father, welcoming daughter Jaimee Frances Daley into the world on 27 May. In the opening match of the Super League Test series against Great Britain at the end of the 1997 season, The Australian side wore black armbands in memory of Daley's grandmother who'd died two days before. He captained the side and scored a hat-trick that match in The Kangaroos' emphatic victory.[12] Daley alo scored a try in Australia's victory in the third and deciding match.
In 1998, Super League and the Australian Rugby League agreed to combine to launch the National Rugby League competition. Daley took over the Canberra captaincy on a full-time basis after Stuart signed with Canterbury in 1999 and was once again named the Raiders' player of the year. This was also the year Laurie married his wife Michelle and welcomed their first daughter, Caitlin Rose Daley, on 17 December 1999.[13] Although Daley continued to make representative appearances, injuries began to limit his opportunities; and he was forced into retirement in 2000. In September of that year, his book, Laurie: Always a Winner was published.
Post-playing
From 2008 to 2012, he was the coach of the NSW Country Origin team.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Laurie_Daley_%2810_August_2008%29.jpg/220px-Laurie_Daley_%2810_August_2008%29.jpg)
In September 2007, Daley left his commentary position with
In 2010, after New South Wales suffered their fifth (of eight) consecutive series defeat and their first Origin whitewash (a series lost 0–3) since 2000, he was sacked as the state's team selector.
However, on 21 August 2012 Daley was appointed the NSW State of Origin coach from 2013, taking over from former Canberra teammate Ricky Stuart who, under NSW policy of their Origin coach not being a current NRL club coach, was ruled out after agreeing to coach the Parramatta Eels in 2013. Daley got the job in preference to other candidates including Trent Barrett, Brad Fittler and Daniel Anderson.[15] Daley led the Blues to their first series win in 2014, finally breaking the QLD dynasty and delivering the Blues their first series win since 2005.
In 2014, Daley became only the second man after Wayne Pearce to play, captain and coach a Blues side to a series win over Queensland.[16]
In 2015, Daley coached New South Wales to a game 3 decider against Queensland after a spirited comeback in Game 2 but The Blues were defeated 52–6 in a record breaking Origin loss. In 2016, New South Wales were once again defeated by Queensland but the NSWRL board still backed Daley as the man to take the side forward. In 2017, NSW were widely tipped to win the series due to Queensland having suffered injuries to star players and won the first game with an emphatic 28–4 victory in Brisbane. In game 2, New South Wales surrendered a 16-6 halftime lead to lose 18–16. In game 3, NSW lost the series to Queensland after being defeated 22–6 in Brisbane. On 25 August 2017, Daley was terminated as New South Wales coach after only winning 6 out of 15 games and winning only 1 out of 5 series. His replacement was Brad Fittler who has since coached NSW to three out of four series victories over the Queensland Maroons (2018, 2019 & 2021)[17][18]
Since February 2018, Daley has co-hosted the Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio in Sydney.[19]
In March 2018, Daley returned to commentating with NRL Nation, a syndicated Rugby League Radio call owned and run by
Since July 2018, he joined CBS Sports as co-host of Sports Tonight on Network 10.[citation needed]
In 2022, he coached the Kangaroo alumni vs. Kiwis alumni Match Fit squad.[20]
In February 2024, he was appointed to the International Rugby League Board as an independent director.[21]
Accolades
In February 2008, Daley was named in the list of Australia's
In August 2008, Daley was named at five-eighth in the Indigenous Team of the Century.[23]
On 11 January 2013, the local football ground in his home town of Junee was renamed Laurie Daley Oval.[24]
References
- ^ "Laurie Daley - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Parked Domain". www.yesterdayshero.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Laurie Daley - Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Loz and Dog Show: Inside NSW Blues State of Origin camp with Laurie Daley and Dean Ritchie". news.com.au. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ Mike Seccombe (26 September 1989). "Raiders rejoice (pity about the handling errors)". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1.
- ISBN 0-7022-2370-0.
- ^ "Kangaroos Tour 1990 - Australia - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Clarkson, Alan (12 September 1992). "Vital week for Daley's knee". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Digital. p. 72. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
- ^ Magnay, Jacquelin; Mascord, Steve (6 July 1994). "Injuries limit Saints' options". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 54.
The club's depth is already severely depleted with star five-eighth Laurie Daley due for a knee operation tomorrow
- ^ "Kangaroos Tour 1994 - Australia - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Mascord, Steve (14 May 1997). "Try, try and try again, but Kiwis denied by ref". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax. p. 50. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ Hadfield, Dave (2 November 1997). "Rugby League: Daley in a different league". The Independent. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- ISBN 9780732269067.
- ^ "Laurie Daley | FOX SPORTS PR". Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Laurie Daley named NSW Origin coach". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ McCullough, Ian (19 June 2014). "Daley hails NSW Origin win as finest hour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Laurie Daley sacked: NSW Blues Origin coach, squad changes in 2018". 25 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Laurie Daley dumped as NSW Origin coach". www.abc.net.au. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- Daily Telegraph22 February 2018
- ^ "Match Fit Season 3 Ep 5 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ Walter, Brad (21 February 2024). "'We have to keep building': Daley joins IRL Board". NRL.com.
- ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the originalon 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Modern stars join greats in Indigenous Team of Century". ABC News. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
- ^ Whaley, Pamela (12 January 2013). "Emotion high at ceremony for Daley". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
Further reading
- Taylor, Gail (1998). Livewire Real Lives: Laurie Daley. Sydney, N.S.W.: Hodder Education. ISBN 978-0-7336-0708-0.
- Daley, Laurie; Middleton, David (2000). Laurie: always a winner. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-7322-6906-7.
External links
Media related to Laurie Daley at Wikimedia Commons
- Laurie Daley at stateoforigin.com.au
- Laurie Daley at rl1908.com