Craig O’Donoghue: Dean Cox and Chris Scott as State of Origin coaches gives clash instant credibility

The AFL has nailed their first job when it comes to appointing coaches for February’s State of Origin match at Optus Stadium because they’ve selected people who are already in charge at clubs. The league had multiple options for those positions. They could have chosen figureheads as coach. They would have been people of high standing within the game who only had to focus on that day. That’s the way the NRL does it with Laurie Daly and Billy Slater in charge of New South Wales and Queensland. Think of people such as Jonathan Brown and Glen Jakovich. Passionate men who had epic careers and could both inspire players and promote the game. They could have chosen some of the game’s leading assistant coaches to give them exposure and experience. Xavier Clarke was in that position during the Indigenous All Stars game earlier this year. That was a unique job given there were no Indigenous head coaches in the AFL. They could have gone down the path of hiring former coaches. Adam Simpson is an example of that. But when you’re looking for credibility, hiring a current coach is vital. The old International Rules series changed once the league appointed a current coach to lead that group of stars. It changed the way the game was perceived. It’s hard for players to say no when a current coach asks them to play. It’s also hard for other clubs to say no to players when they have total trust in the man who is in charge. WA’s options came down to Cox, Fremantle’s Justin Longmuir and Port Adelaide’s Josh Carr. But Carr hasn’t even coached his first game yet, so it was really Cox v Longmuir. The Docker has way more coaching experience. Cox is in the Australian Football Hall of Fame as recognition of his epic playing career. Both men would have done a great job. There is a romanticism around Cox flying back to WA after moving his life to Sydney to lead his state, not long after knocking back the chance to coach West Coast. He also represented the All-Stars against Victoria in the 2008 Hall of Fame Tribute Match. It’s highly likely that Longmuir will work alongside Cox, once the full coaching teams are announced. There were plenty of experienced options for Victoria. Chris Scott, Damien Hardwick, Alastair Clarkson and Luke Beveridge are all premiership coaches from Victoria. Hardwick coached the Big V when they played in the Bushfire Tribute match in 2020. Clarkson and Scott both coached Australia during International Rules matches. Scott is a wonderful choice. He’s had an incredible career with two flags, two losing grand finals and another six preliminary finals. He commands respect everywhere he goes. Now the key task is to get the biggest names in the game to play, just as they did for the Indigenous All-Stars. This is an opportunity to put Origin footy back on the map. The league has made a good start with its selection of coaches.