Former Warrington Wolves man lands top rugby league coaching job as St Helens’ head coach search takes blow

A former Warrington Wolves star has landed one of the biggest coaching jobs in rugby league after a shock change at the helm of the New South Wales State of Origin side.

Despite winning the 2026 series over Queensland, Blues boss Laurie Daley has decided to step down from his role as head coach, bringing an end to his 20-month reign.

The 56-year-old was in his second spell as boss of NSW, and defeat in Game II of this year’s Origin series meant that he now holds the record for the most losses for a head coach in Origin history.

Despite plenty of calls for him to step aside, particularly after that Game II where they were thumped by Queensland, Daley stayed and won his State the series, however, he has now decided to call time and has given a ringing endorsement of his successor.

That man is former Wire centre Matt King, who has reportedly signed a two-year deal to take over the reins from Daley and land his first senior coaching role.

Known for his long, curly hair, King represented the Wolves for four seasons from 2008-2011, and made just over 100 appearances in that time.

Despite this being his first coaching gig, the 45-year-old has worked under Craig Bellamy, Trent Robinson and Michael Maguire in his career post-retirement, so has learned from the best in recent years.

As part of Daley’s announcement speech, he said: “I’ve been lucky enough to have some wonderful coaches on our staff, and they were there with Michael Maguire in 2024, so guys like Matt King, Boyd Cordner, Brett White – they are guys that are first grade coaches in waiting.

“My senior assistant was Matt King, and Matty King is a first-grade coach now, he’s ready to go. I don’t know what NSW Rugby League are going to do, I don’t know who they’re going to appoint, but I would like to see a guy like Matt King take over the role.

“He’s been there, he’s been a servant, he’s had great input into what we’ve been able to do over the last three years.”

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St Helens dealt blow as potential head coach candidate lands new role

Whilst he wasn’t one of the initial frontrunners to take the job, the appointment of King is still somewhat of a blow to St Helens, who remain in search of a head coach.

King was initially priced at 16/1 when the odds were revealed, but from that initial list, Ben Hornby, Kurt Haggerty, Eamon O’Carroll, and now King have either landed new roles or ruled themselves out as options to be Paul Rowley’s successor.

Samoa boss Ben Gardiner remains the favourite, with Jason Demetriou, Lee Briers and Michael Cheika among the others potentially interested.