NSWRL chief John Chalk has revealed Ricky Stuart will be offered a three-year contract to stay on as State of Origin coach, but is against him combining the role with a NRL club job.

Stuart’s current deal expires this year following last Wednesday’s 21-20 defeat by Queensland and, although he was unable to end a run of seven successive series wins for Mal Meninga’s Maroons, the Blues made great strides since his return to the position in 2010.

The 45-year-old has been linked with a return to former club Canberra, with David Furner believed to be under pressure to keep his job.

Parramatta and St George Illawarra have also been mentioned as potential destinations, and Stuart has made no secret of wanting to return to the NRL at some stage.

However, Chalk is hoping Stuart will agree to stay on once he’d conducted a debrief of the recent 2-1 series defeat, but admitted he was unsure what his plans will entail.

“When the time comes around for our debrief, Ricky will fill us in,” Chalk told ABC radio on Sunday.

“The way he has worked with us has been very transparent and we have a good relationship with his manager John Fordham.

“It would be wrong of me to say what he will do until we have a debrief.

“We probably have a little bit of time on our side. It’s not something any of us are going to rush into. But in saying that, we are going to do it sooner rather than later.

“But if I was coach in ‘clubland’, I’d be looking at Ricky if I was doing the recruiting.”

However, Chalk said he’d be against him combining the roles as the modern-day pressure cooker environment of Origin is too great.

“The pressure of week in, week out NRL coaching is that you have so many people to please,” he said.

“You have fans, you have committees and that pressure is a bit unforeseen.

“Origin may be only three games, but the intensity and the pressure of those three games, the build-up, dealing with the press, is very high.”

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