Newly-appointed NSW Wheelchair Rugby League state coach Neil Stanley says his first priority is working hard alongside the players to end the four-year domination of Queensland in the annual Interstate Challenge match.
NSW will host the 2025 showdown on 13 July at the Whitlam Leisure Centre in Sydney.
Last year’s result was the closest yet – just a converted try (42-36) – but the previous three wins to Queensland from 2021-23 were by 16 points or more. NSW’s last win was in 2019.
Stanley, an assistant coach for the Wheelaroos in last November’s two-Test series against New Zealand and an assistant (2022-23) to previous NSW coach Edie George, has great insight into how NSW and Queensland players operate.
He highlights skills development and building resolve as the two main areas of focus for the NSW team. (Stanley in yellow shirt pictured above with 2024 Wheelaroos: NRL Photos)
“We concentrated last year on how to continue to build our skill levels,” Stanley told nswrl.com.au.
“Many of them are experienced athletes but we need to keep developing our style of play putting more structure behind it than just ad lib-moves.
"That’s something I want us to focus on again this year, because we need to keep changing for the better as we’ve lost four years in a row. So systems we might have had previously are not working.
“Another focus of mine will be our mindset,” Stanley said. “We have some pretty strong and resilient people in our NSW team who have gone through a lot in their lives.
“When it comes to footy we sometimes let our heads drop when things go against us in games. We have to work on that resilience in our play.
“We have to go back to our structure and work to our strengths. We have a lot of talent among our NSW players.”
Stanley will name a 15-member extended squad in the next few weeks and begin the training program for each player in the build-up to 13 July. The final squad of eight to 10 players will be named close to game-time.
Stanley comes with an impressive coaching CV over the past 10 years.
He coached the Australian Navy women’s Rugby League team before being named assistant coach for NSW Country wheelchair team. He has also had involvement in the female pathways programs at Ryde-Eastwood Hawks, Wests Tigers, Wentworthville Magpies and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
He worked with Parramatta last year and this year joined former Jillaroo and NSW women’s state coach, Karen Stuart, at the Penrith Panthers Westpac Tarsha Gale Cup and Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership teams.
