It's pretty clear Laurie Daley will not be coaching the NSW Blues in 2027.
He didn't say it during his post-match press conference on Wednesday evening, but his rant against the media proved exactly the toll this Origin series has taken on him.
Shaping up to do that again instead of going out a winner seems long odds for a man who was a champion player, and, for the time being at least, has the last laugh after being dragged through the mud to an extent that has never really been seen before during this series.
His tactics, selections, relationships with players and more have been at the front of mind during the series in what has come across as a personal attack against the 56-year-old, who has coached the Blues 15 times and played for them on 23 occasions.
He is, without doubt, one of the longest-standing NSW representatives in history, but with Daley likely now able to step down on his own accord instead of being punted from the role, there will be question marks around who is next.
Some will vouch for Ivan Cleary, but the chance of him being picked seems slim, given he will still coach at the Penrith Panthers in 2027.
That could leave whoever takes over on a one-year trial, with Cleary then in the mix to take over for 2028.
It creates one of the trickiest decisions, maybe in NSWRL history, and one they have to get right as they aim for what would actually be a third series in four years, having won both 2026 and 2024 with deciders at Suncorp Stadium in both.
Here are the men who should be in the mix.
5. Michael Maguire
Maybe the most outlandish name on this list given he is currently a head coach at the Brisbane Broncos, but certainly not out of the frame of what's real.
Maguire is a short-term coach.
That is not a mystery. He won a premiership with the Rabbitohs, then went off the boil, found success with the Kiwis and Blues, then went to the Broncos and won a premiership in his first year before going off the boil this year.
His methods may not agree with players across multiple seasons, but in a short, six-week burst, there is no reason why he can't be successful.
The 2024 series win with the Blues meant the NSWRL never really wanted to lose Maguire in the first place, and with plenty of speculation over his future at Red Hill, he could be what stops Ivan Cleary stepping into this role fulltime.
What needs to happen though is a decision soon, and that may not be possible given he will likely, at the very least, see out the season with Brisbane.
Still, if there is a way for the NSWRL to get him back, they'd be crazy to not go for it.
Paul McGregor has a history of failure. He might do the job, but the NSW selection panel would put its collective head of the chopping block if they selected him and he failed.
Boyd Cordner seems like an ideal coach for kids in the SG Ball. I doubt that his personality and care factor would translate well into a six-week session with a bunch of jaded professionals who think that they know it all and each of whom regards himself as knowing everything that’s worth knowing about League and its tactics.
Which leaves them with … Lee Addison. Knowledgeable, articulate, sarcastic, owes no favours to anyone. Just the guy for the Blues.