Origin Bunker: Tim Gilbert, Dean Ritchie and Peter Gleeson take one last look at Game I

With State of Origin I very nearly upon us a special Origin Bunker edition has been convened with Tim Gilbert, Dean Ritchie and Peter Gleeson debating what’s on the line for Queensland coach Kevin Walters.

• EXPERT TIPS: “He’ll give the Maroons nightmares”

• ANALYSIS: Where the game will be won and lost

Kevin Walters has bet it all on the coach whisperer.

That’s the view of the Origin Bunker with Tim Gilbert, The Courier-Mail’s Peter Gleeson and The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie as they have the final word before the State of Origin series gets underway on Wednesday night.

Walters has come under heavy scrutiny for his association with Bradley Charles Stubbs, the so-called “coach whisperer” who charges over $5000 an hour for his consultancy and allegedly played a role in delivering premierships to South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters.

Stubbs’ methods - which revolve around forging unbreakable self-belief through such unusual methods as not saying the name of the other team - have created a media firestorm.

Walters has thrown his lot in with Bradley Charles Stubbs.

Ahead of his fourth Origin series, Walters is under heavy pressure and Gleeson believes a second-straight series loss could be the end of him as Queensland coach.

“Queensland don’t appreciate losing Origins. If he loses this series there is no doubt – he won’t be there in 2020,” Gleeson said.

“It’s a real un-Queensland thing to do. Queensland have been very no fuss. He’s super intense. I’m not sure about it.”

Ritchie agreed and even postulated the Blues might be quietly pleased at the pressure mounting on Queensland.

Is Walters on his last chance? Picture by Adam Head.

“If Kev Walters thinks it’s going to give him an edge I have no problem with it, personally. I don’t believe in all that stuff. It just, to me, looks like Kev trying to be someone he’s not.

“We all love and admire and respect Kev for a reason and that’s cause he’s that jovial knockabout who’s also a very good rugby league coach.

“It just seems like he’s going down an unusual path. I wonder if a few of the players are raising their eyebrows behind his back thinking “this isn’t the bloke we know.

“It’s a bit strange to go outside the perimeter and bring in someone never really heard of. I can’t help but think Kev is putting pressure on himself and his team.

“I know NSW are sitting back and having a private chuckle.”