Laurie Daley will confirm on Monday he won’t coach NSW. His replacement could be known by Wednesday

Laurie Daley will confirm on Monday he is finishing up as NSW coach – and his Blues successor could be locked in as early as Wednesday.

Daley was not expected to renew his deal after coaching the Blues to an unlikely series triumph this season.

He became frustrated last week when News Corp reported he had quit due to health concerns, which he quickly denied, but only after several family members became concerned and contacted him to ensure he was OK.

Daley has repeatedly said he has made up his mind and is happy with his decision – and now it will be official when he announces it on his Sky Sport’s Big Sports Breakfast radio program.

The big question will be who replaces Daley. Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly have confirmed NSWRL officials have already spoken with several candidates.

The negotiations are well advanced, with the same sources confirming a decision could be made as early as Wednesday, and certainly by the end of the week.

Two of Daley’s assistants, Matt King and Boyd Cordner, who both work at the Sydney Roosters under Trent Robinson, are the favourites.

King, in particular, has excellent communication skills, is popular with the players and has been a part of the Blues’ coaching set-up since being brought on board by Michael Maguire for the 2024 series.

Daley endorsed the pair, along with a third assistant, Brett White, and told Channel Nine last month: “I think there’s a lot of people out there who could do it, but a lot of people don’t understand the scrutiny that comes with a position like that.”

Penrith’s Ivan Cleary will finish at the Panthers at the end of 2027 and has spoken about his desire to move into coaching representative teams, but he has already ruled himself out of the NSW job for next year. It also remains to be seen if Cleary is ready to jump straight into the Origin cauldron in 2028, or opts for a break from coaching.

Andrew Johns is another name that has been floated, with brother Matthew Johns joking before Origin III that he would happily help out if Andrew was serious about the role.

Phil Gould said of Andrew Johns taking charge: “He probably should do it, because he’s going to get to some stage in his life where he probably wished he did.”

Daley added, when he sat opposite Johns on the Freddy and the Eighth podcast: “You’d be able to do it easily if you had the right people around you.

“The one thing I love about Joey is he’s passionate. Even throughout the series we would speak, and he’d send me clips, and when you’ve got someone like Andrew Johns showing you stuff, you take it on board.”

Maguire was rumoured to have put his name forward, despite still being contracted to the Broncos, but NSWRL officials confirmed there had been no contact from the man who led the Blues to a come-from-behind series triumph two years ago.

The Origin series will feature a game in New Zealand for the first time in 2027.