With Mal Meninga all but confirmed as head coach of the new Perth Bears franchise, the ARL will need to act quickly to replace him as Australian coach given that the first Test of the 2025 tour will kick off in just under five months.

The names of many contenders for the role have already been thrown about and if the ARL are true to form, they’ll be looking to appoint the right man for the long term rather than as a stopgap.

To gain an insight into who might win this prestigious role, let’s take a brief look at those who have done the job since Bobby Fulton, Australia’s greatest Test coach, last held the green and gold clipboard back in April 1998.

• Wayne Bennett (17 games -1998, and 2004 to 2005)
• Chris Anderson (28 games – 1999 to 2003)
• Ricky Stuart (14 games – 2006 to 2008)
• Tim Sheens (31 games – 2009 to 2015)
• Mal Meninga (28 games – 2016 to present)

Only five national coaches in over a quarter of a century says it all: every one of them had a very distinguished track record both on and off the field, and they gave the Kangaroos an overall winning percentage of just under 86 per cent during their tenure.

Clearly, this isn’t an appointment to be taken lightly, and whoever gets the gig will be expected to maintain the high standards and winning ways of their predecessors.

So what will the successful candidate look like? Well, for a start, he must be someone capable of taking the role for the foreseeable future and be up to the challenge that will be presented to the Kangaroos by the likes of a resurgent NZ and the rapidly improving Samoa.

They’ll also need a solid coaching pedigree, with some experience at the elite level, and can’t currently be an NRL head coach, as the Australian job is a full-time role and the ARL won’t want to return to the bad old days of conflicting interests and part-time coaches.

Finally, the coach should have both an exemplary playing career and a good collection of Kangaroo jerseys in his pool room. After all, a big part of the job is about profile and credibility.

Here’s who I believe to be the four main contenders.

Brad Fittler (Age 53)

Fittler had an outstanding career as a player, winning premierships with both the Panthers and the Roosters, and he captained both NSW and Australia with distinction over many years. He coached NSW to victory in the 2018, 2019 and 2021 Origin series and was at the helm of the Sydney Roosters across the 2007 to 2009 seasons, taking them to the finals in 2008 before being punted after the Roosters picked up the wooden spoon the following year.

Fittler’s known to be somewhat unconventional in his approach, some might even say “wacky”, but he’s as good a communicator and popular with players and the NRL hierarchy alike, and despite some of his offerings on the Nine commentary team, he’ll be strong contender if he’s interested.

Brad Fittler. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Kevin Walters (Age 57)

Walters was a Broncos great, winning five premierships with the club including one as captain, and he was also part of Canberra’s 1989 premiership win under coach Tim Sheens. He’s had a long coaching apprenticeship, both here and overseas, and famously took the Broncos to the grand final in 2023 only to lose with victory in their grasp thanks to a Nathan Cleary masterclass as full-time approached.

He was sacked by the Broncos the following year when they missed the finals altogether. His QLD Origin coaching experience began with several years as an assistant to Wayne Bennett before taking the reins himself in 2016, going on to win two of the four series he contested.

Walters is amiable and a popular figure, except perhaps with the toxic Broncos’ old boy network, and he surely must be a better communicator with his players than he is as a commentator on Fox.

Billy Slater (Age 41)

Billy Slater is one of the greats of the modern game, with two Storm premierships, 30 games for Australia, 31 Origins for QLD, 230 career tries, and a host of personal awards to his name. There’s been no better fullback in the modern era, and that plus his QLD Origin pedigree saw him appointed as Maroons’ coach in 2022 with immediate effect, as they finished on top in both 2022 and 2023.

While he has no club coaching experience Slater is a very popular and well respected figure in the game everywhere on the east coast, he presents well and has a playing reputation second to none.

Apart from a lack of club coaching experience and his relatively young age, he ticks all the boxes and could come under serious consideration if he’s prepared to swap the QLD role for Australia’s top job.

QLD Maroons coach Billy Slater shakes hands with Reece Walsh (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Laurie Daley (Age 55)

Daley is a Canberra Raiders’ legend with three premierships to his name. He captained both NSW and Australia during his career playing 26 Origins for the Blues and just as many Test matches for the Kangaroos, and no one competed harder than Daley once the whistle blew.

Never an NRL club coach, he did gain valuable representative experience with both NSW Country and the Indigenous All Stars, before being appointed as NSW Origin coach in 2013. He went on to break QLD’s stranglehold on the series in 2014, and in the process became only the second man after NSW great Wayne Pearce to play, captain and coach a Blues side to an Origin series win.

Now in his second coming as NSW coach he’s already proved that he’s got what it takes to coach at the elite level, and like Slater, could be a contender for the Australian job once this Origin series is over.

Both Cameron Smith and Wayne Bennett have also been mentioned in some circles for this job but they’re merely a distraction.

Smith has zero coaching experience, and good player that he was, the ARL aren’t going to take a punt with a Kangaroo Tour looming. Bennett, on the other hand, has more coaching experience than anyone else, but as he’ll be 76 next birthday and is contracted to Souths until the end of 2027, he won’t be reprising his role as Australian coach.

If I had to choose one of the four contenders mentioned above it would be Brad Fittler.

Who would you choose?

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