Stuart lands NSW job

Former Cronulla and Sydney boss Ricky Stuart has been chosen as the man to coach the New South Wales Origin side.

Stuart, who left the Sharks in May after a horror run of results, will take charge of the Blues for the next two years.

He will be charged with attempting to end Queenslands dominance in the State of Origin competition, which has seen them undefeated since 2006.

This year they inflicted a humiliating 3-0 series defeat on New South Wales.

NSWRL Chairman Mr. Colin Love, AM, said Stuart was ideally qualified to inspire in players the pride, passion and respect which comes from being handed a NSW jersey.

“Ricky was our coach when we last won Origin in 2005. Having a coach who has excelled in the cauldron of Origin football is a terrific asset for us,” he said.

“In this new ground-breaking role, Ricky will become the face of rugby league in this state and I’ve assured him he will have the full and unconditional support of our administration”.

Stuart said today that returning to representative coaching offered significant challenges especially in view of NSW’s lack of success in the last five Harvey Norman Origin series.

“We will be approaching the 2011 Origin series with an extremely positive attitude built around the passion and commitment to the blue jersey,” he said.

“Importantly, we will be choosing only players whom we believe are fully equipped and conditioned for Origin football”.