Matt Ballin will depart his role as a Queensland Maroons assistant coach after the Brisbane Broncos moved to ensure his full attention is on the club following a dramatic 2026 season.
Ballin, who joined the Maroons coaching staff under Billy Slater in 2024, will not get the opportunity to work under incoming Queensland coach Darius Boyd after Brisbane opted against allowing him to continue his representative duties.
The decision comes with the former player now elevated to a senior assistant coach position at the Broncos for the 2027 season, with the former NRL player officially set to take over as the club's defensive coach.
In joined Brisbane in 2021 in a development role, now stepping into Ben Te'o's defensive coaching role following Te'o's dramatic departure from the club.
Teo sensationally quit the Broncos to join the Maroons after the club denied him the opportunity to take up the representative role, despite Ballin already being allowed to juggle the two.
The situation is understood to have contributed to tension between Teo and Broncos head coach Michael Maguire, with the pair understood to have had a verbal altercation.
Brisbane entered 2026 as reigning premiers but plunged to 14th on the NRL ladder, prompting an end-of-season review into how the club went from premiers to missing the finals entirely.
The fallout has created significant drama around Red Hill, with tensions and vitriol understood to have been present throughout the football program.
However, Broncos football boss Troy Thomson has spoken about their decision to not allow Ballin to hold the two roles as he once previously did.
“From time to time, football staff members are approached to assist with representative teams and programs which we discuss and assess on a case-by-case basis,” Broncos football boss Troy Thomson told The Daily Telegraph.
“With Matt's elevation to a senior assistant coach position at the Broncos in 2027, he will not be available to take up a coaching role with the Queensland State of Origin team.
“Matt and I have had positive discussions around the situation, and the decision reflects our overall commitment to giving our playing group the full focus and continuity of our football department throughout the 2027 season.”
Thompson stressed that change within the coaching ranks was part of the normal evolution of an NRL football program, while also highlighting the importance of stability.
“Football programs are evolving all the time,” Thomson said.
“We've got some players leaving, some new players coming in, and we have a new skills coach joining the program.
“But the key to sustained success is having a level of stability across a program.
“It's important to have some perspective. Twelve months ago, we were premiers. You're never as bad as you think and it's never as good as you think, either, so maintaining a level of calmness around everything that's going on is really important.”
Ballin will now have no representative commitments competing for his attention as he begins preparations for his expanded role at Brisbane, with the Broncos determined to restore the consistency that took them to the premiership just 12 months ago.
