Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has given a glowing endorsement of legendary fullback Billy Slater , as he firms to take over the top job for the Queensland Maroons.
After head coach Paul Green stood down earlier this week after just one Origin series , Slater is now the heavy favourite to lead the Maroons forward.
Cameron Smith has publicly backed Slater for the job earlier this year , and despite his limited coaching experience, many smart judges feel he will work well in the condensed Origin environment.
Speaking to the media ahead of Melbourne's week one finals clash with Manly, Bellamy endorsed his former star and believes he would make a wonderful coach.
"Obviously Billy hasn't coached his own team but I don't think that's a real issue, especially coaching Origin," he said.
"Billy's got a remarkable sense of what the game's about, what works in a game of footy and what doesn't and he's a wonderful communicator.
"The thing I think is his strongest trait is whatever he's doing he's fully immersed - there's no dipping a toe in for Billy, he's either all in or all out.
"So if he does get that job, the one thing that you can be sure of there will be no shortcuts - it will be as thorough as it needs to be.
"I don't think I've seen a more passionate person about the things that are important to him and footy is very important to him."
Johnathan Thurston is tipped to work as an assistant again in 2022 for the Maroons, while the likes of Wayne Bennett and Mal Meninga have been mentioned as potential mentor's for Slater if he takes over.
Slater played 323 games for the Storm during his illustrious NRL career, and also dominated the Origin arena during his 31-game career in the Queensland jumper