Laurie Daley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Laurie Daley

Daley at rugby league centenary celebrations in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Laurie William Daley
Born	(1969-10-20) 20 October 1969 (age 55) Junee, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Position	Five-eighth, Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1987–00 Canberra Raiders 246 87 44 9 445 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1988–96 NSW Country 7 3 0 0 12 1989–99 New South Wales 23 6 1 0 26 1990–99 Australia 21 11 0 2 46 1997 NSW (SL) 3 0 0 0 0 1997 Australia (SL) 5 4 0 0 16
Coaching information
Representative Years Team Gms W D L W% 2008–12 NSW Country 5 2 1 2 40 2011–22 Indigenous All Stars 10 4 1 5 40 2013–17 New South Wales 15 6 0 9 40 2013–14 Prime Ministers XIII 2 2 0 0 100 2025– New South Wales 3 1 0 2 33

Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known as "Loz", is a famous Australian rugby league coach and former player. He played as a centre and five-eighth from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Laurie Daley played for the Canberra Raiders during their most successful years in the 1990s. He also played for Australia 26 times. He is considered one of Australia's best rugby league players of the 20th century.

Early Life and First Steps in Rugby League

Laurie Daley was born in Junee, New South Wales, Australia. He is the third youngest of eight children and the only boy among seven sisters. His father was from Nangus, New South Wales and his mother was Aboriginal from the Wantabadgery Mission.

He first played Australian rules football at school. Later, he switched to rugby league and played for the Junee Diesels. He loved the sport and was so good that he joined the first-grade team at just 15 years old.

Playing Career Highlights

Laurie Daley started playing representative rugby league at 18. In 1988, he was chosen for the NSW Country team in the annual City vs Country Origin game.

Winning Championships with the Raiders

In 1989, Daley was the second-highest try-scorer in the 1989 NSWRL season with 16 tries. He helped the Canberra Raiders win their first championship in 1989. They beat the Balmain Tigers 19–14 in an exciting extra-time game. After this win, he traveled with the Raiders to England for the 1989 World Club Challenge. He played as a centre in their game against Widnes.

Daley also played his first games for New South Wales in the 1989 State of Origin series.

Becoming an Australian Star

In 1990, at age 20, Daley played his first game for Australia as a five-eighth against France. He scored a try in his very first game! The Raiders won their second championship in a row that year. Daley was named the Raiders' player of the year. He was then chosen for the 1990 Kangaroo Tour to England and France.

Canberra's coach, Tim Sheens, moved Daley from centre to five-eighth. Many thought he was being prepared to take over the Test five-eighth role for Australia.

Leading New South Wales

In 1992, Daley became the captain of the NSW Origin team. Even though he got injured in the first game, he led the Blues to a 2–1 series win over Queensland.

In 1993, Daley captained Australia for the first time. He kicked a field goal that saved Australia from losing to New Zealand. In 1994, he captained NSW to another Origin series win. He then helped the Raiders win the Grand Final easily against Canterbury-Bankstown with a score of 36–12. He even scored a 50-meter try in that game!

After the Grand Final, Daley was chosen for the successful 1994 Kangaroo Tour. He was the vice-captain and played in all four test matches.

Super League Era and Later Career

In 1995, a big change happened in rugby league called the Super League War. Because Daley supported the new Super League, he was not allowed to play in representative games that year. However, he was still named the Raiders' player of the year in 1995, 1996, and 1997.

In 1996, Super League players could play in representative games again. Daley played in State of Origin. In 1997, the Super League competition started. Daley became the captain for both the New South Wales and Australia Super League teams. He led Australia to a big win against Great Britain, scoring three tries in one match.

In 1998, the Super League and Australian Rugby League joined to create the National Rugby League (NRL). Daley became the full-time captain for the Canberra Raiders. He was again named the Raiders' player of the year. Injuries started to limit his playing time, and he retired in 2000.

Life After Playing Rugby League

After retiring, Laurie Daley became a coach. From 2008 to 2012, he coached the NSW Country Origin team.

Laurie Daley working for the Nine Network

In September 2007, Daley started working for the Nine Network. He appeared on The Footy Show and commentated on rugby league games.

In 2012, Laurie Daley was chosen as the NSW State of Origin coach, starting in 2013. He led the Blues to their first series win in 2014 since 2005, ending a long winning streak by Queensland. He became only the second person to play, captain, and coach a Blues side to an Origin series win.

Daley coached New South Wales until 2017. He won 6 out of 15 games and one series out of five. He was replaced by Brad Fittler.

Since February 2018, Daley has co-hosted the Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio in Sydney. He also returned to commentating with NRL Nation radio. In July 2018, he joined CBS Sports as a co-host for Sports Tonight on Network 10.

In February 2024, he joined the International Rugby League Board as an independent director. On 2 December 2024, it was announced that Daley would return as the NSW State of Origin head coach. In the 2025 State of Origin series, New South Wales won the first match but lost the next two, losing the series.

Achievements and Recognition

• In 2008, Laurie Daley was named one of Australia's 100 Greatest Players to celebrate 100 years of rugby league in Australia.
• In August 2008, he was named as the five-eighth in the Indigenous Team of the Century.
• On 11 January 2013, the football ground in his hometown of Junee was renamed Laurie Daley Oval in his honor.