‘Doesn’t feel like a job’: Slater to keep coaching Queensland as long as state will have him

Billy Slater has declared he doesn’t even need a contract to keep coaching the Maroons, and is eager to lead Queensland’s State of Origin team for as long as the state powerbrokers and all the northern fans want him in the top job.

Slater has unquestionably been one of the best Origin appointments in modern history, leading the Maroons to three series wins in four, including a 2-1 comeback last year. The 42-year-old helmsman’s QLD deal technically wraps up after this year’s series, but it’s unlikely he’s going anywhere ⁠— and if he had his way, he probably never would.

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“Yep [I plan to stay]. I don’t need a contract for this job,” Slater said this week.

“To be honest, I don’t even see it as a job. It’s something that is important to me, and whilst I can contribute to the footy team and help them play their best footy and be the best team they can possibly be for the people of our state, that’s why I am there.”

“Whilst it still works in that aspect, and it is feasible for me to give up my time away from family, I’m happy to help this group.

“At the end of the day, [the contract] is the least important thing,” he continued. “To have a bit of pen on a piece of paper to say I’m going to coach. I’m a Queenslander anyway. If I’m not coaching this team, I’m still right behind the team, helping them.

“A contract is not that important to me. It’s not a throwaway line. It honestly doesn’t bother me.”

The revelatory Origin coach also seemed to close the door on full-time NRL coaching sometime in his career, though he’s still pretty likely to get linked to every job from the Manly Sea Eagles to the St George Illawarra Dragons in the next few months.

“I never say never, but I don’t see myself doing it,” he said.

“That’s literally how I feel right now. I would never say never because I never thought I would be the Queensland coach either.

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“It’s got nothing to do with pressure or commitment for me. It’s to do with where I’m at in my life and the commitments I have in my life and how I see my life. That’s purely why I feel that way.

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“The one thing we all have control of is what we do with the time we have, and it’s important to think about that and what you want to do with your life and go and chase that. I have a fair few different things that make up my time.

“With NRL coaching, you have to give 95% of your time to doing that, and that’s why I don’t see myself in that space in the near future.”