Former Brisbane Broncos assistant coach Ben Te'o has revealed he is yet to talk with Billy Slater around a possible spot on Queensland's staff for this year's State of Origin series.
Intriguingly, one of the reasons floated for Te'o departing the Broncos was the fact they wouldn't let him take up a post with Queensland.
But Te'o, speaking on Triple M Radio, said Slater has an excellent staff and he may not be needed.
"No, no conversations as yet. Obviously I'm a free agent at the moment in terms of my coaching," Te'o said on the Saturday Scrum.
"I'm loving doing the Triple M commentary and enjoying this part of the game, but in terms of the coaching, nothing is really going on at the moment.
"I'm sure those type of conversations will happen over the next few months.
"In terms of Queensland with Billy, I know he has a great staff and is fairly settled, but if he wants me to run some water or pick up some cones, I might get a call."
State of Origin and a lack of willingness from Brisbane to release him through the middle of the season was just one of the reasons he was reported to have resigned with the club, with unrecoverable differences with head coach Michael Maguire, particularly over defence, the other.
Te'o seemed to hint at that, but said he wasn't willing to go back over the incidents which saw him leave Red Hill just seven months after the club lifted the Provan-Summons trophy.
"I would say it's pretty much in the rear-vision mirror at the moment. Most of the stuff is done now and I have moved on. The big part for me is I don't feel there is much point going back over it or the reasons why and sometimes you make decsions in your life that you feel very strongly about but you can't, or feel you don't have to explain yourself to people," he said on his exit from the Broncos.
"Coaching is a real passion for me. It's a huge passion. I've put a lot of work in there and if I feel like I'm not where I need to be then I'll move on."
Te'o said he is looking to get back into the game quickly though, not wanting to be sidelined for long.
"Coaching is something that you can't sit on the sidelins for too long. As soon as the right opportunity comes about I'll jump in there. I think it's important that I keep my options open at the moment but also just enjoy the other parts of the game," he said on his next move.
There are plenty of moving parts in coaching ranks around the competition at the present time, with Manly sacking Anthony Seibold last week, and the Dragons potentially ready to make a move on Shane Flanagan in the coming weeks.
