Another Canberra Raiders reunion? A NSW Blues State of Origin-winning captain? A former Origin teammate?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Who's available to be Raiders coach Ricky Stuart's assistant if, as expected, Michael Maguire becomes the next NSW Blues Origin coach?
Maguire, who's also the New Zealand Kiwis coach, has put talks with the NSWRL on hold until after the Pacific Championships to ensure his sole focus was on the Test series against Australia and Samoa.
But that's put the Green Machine in limbo - unsure whether they need to recruit another assistant until Maguire's made up his mind.
If Maguire takes the role then he'd have three jobs.
But the Raiders board won't allow Maguire to switch his time mid-season between the NRL club and the Blues as they'll want their coaches' full attention on developing their young guns next year.
A quick glance across the rugby league landscape has thrown up a few familiar faces, and a few long shots as well.
Perhaps Maguire's expected acceptance of the Blues job could lead to a few more hats getting thrown in the ring as well, given how fluid rugby league is.
David Furner and Paul McGregor are the two names that immediately jump out.
Furner, the former Raiders coach, recently parted ways with the Wests Tigers, but the fact Stuart replaced Furner as Canberra coach could make things awkward -, but there's no doubting Furner bleeds lime green.
McGregor was part of Brad Fittler's Blues coaching staff, but he stepped away from the Origin role when Fittler did and, like Maguire, he'd bring experience as an NRL senior coach.
Former Blues captain Paul Gallen was linked with the Blues job and he's good mates with Stuart.
Whether he'd pull up stumps from his media commitments to make the move to Canberra would be another thing.
Plus, given Stuart would be losing a highly experienced coach in Maguire, maybe he's looking for a like-for-like replacement - rather than the relatively rookie coach that Gallen would be.
In terms of experience, Dean Pay would be a blast from the past and Anthony Griffin's another former head coach looking for an opportunity.
Pay was Stuart's right-hand man at the Raiders until he took the Canterbury Bulldogs job in 2018 where he lasted two-and-a-half seasons before being replaced.
He's not only previously worked at the Green Machine with Stuart, but Raiders assistant Mick Crawley as well.
Griffin's another who'd bring plenty of experience from his time in charge of Penrith, Brisbane and St George Illawarra.
Maybe ex-Raider Brett White could be prised out of the Gold Coast where he's set to work under new boss Des Hassler?
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
Jim Dymock's another old colleague of Stuart's, having worked together at the Sydney Roosters and Cronulla, although he's currently an assistant at Manly.
Former Raiders captain Terry Campese was a less-experienced option, but he's only just signed as the Townsville Blackhawks' Queensland Cup coach.
Then there's Sam Williams, who coached the Queanbeyan Kangaroos to the Canberra Raiders Cup premiership this year, and recently retired captain Jarrod Croker as other rookie options.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.