Phil Gould tears into Queensland coaching conspiracy; Origin powerplay questioned

AN NRL great has taken a swipe at a conspiracy hanging over Queensland which could see the return of a former legend.

Buzz Rothfield v Phil "Gus" Gould. Buzz grills Gus at Panthers Rugby League Academy in Penrith over Penrith's slow 2-5 start to the season. Picture: Brett Costello

QUEENSLAND coach Kevin Walters suffered a historic loss to NSW in Game I, prompting a wave of criticism in his direction as he rushed to amend the disastrous start.

No away team in the history of State of Origin had won by such a margin (28-4), sparking hopes of a resurgence of the Blues after a painful saga of Maroon domination.

Not a lot went right for Walters on May 31st. His shocking omission of veteran fullback Billy Slater (a decision Walters said was one of the hardest he’s ever had to make) was savaged by fans after it backfired.

The decision to put Darius Boyd in the No. 1 jersey while leaving out the undeniably brilliant Slater was laid bare after the 28-year-old’s defence was exploited by the NSW pack as they ran over for their first try.

A twin-try performance from Slater for the Storm in the following round all but cemented his return to the Origin stage for Game II, giving Walters a serious call to make on his back line.

The 49-year-old opted to dump Justin O’Neill from the centres and place Boyd in the No. 4 jumper in his brutal squad cull.

With Valentine Holmes coming into the side to play on the wing with Dane Gagai, it appears Walters didn’t have a choice but to put Boyd in the centres.

The daring play hasn’t sat well with NRL legends with former NSW coach Phil Gould slamming Walters’ back line manouver on Wednesday.

“I don’t see any reason to do that. I really don’t,” he said on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast. “I want him back there with Billy running the ball so when they kick to Slater he can throw it to Darius. He’s a great tryscorer at Origin level at that position.

“I can’t remember the last time he played centre. Why, why would they do that?”

Wide World of Sports’ The Mole revealed Walters was facing the chopping block if Queensland lost the series.

The NRL insider said veteran Queenslander and legendary coach Wayne Bennett is tipped to replace the four-game coach’s position for the 2018 series should he fail.

Kevvy’s had a busy few weeks.

Rumours say Wayne could be back.

Gould was incredulous at the news, suggesting the Maroons would be out of their minds if they dumped Walters after only a handful of games.

“(That’s) rubbish,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. They haven’t lost this one yet.

“Why would they do that? Why would Wayne come back to Origin?”

Gould said the real problem facing the Queensland camp was their dwindling pool of potential stars to select after veterans such as Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith retire.

“They’ve got to worry about who’s producing the next Queensland team of the future,” he said.

“(If you) go through the list of players they’ve got available, it’s fairly thin on the ground, I can tell you.”

GUS APPLAUDS ‘ENORMOUS’ MOMENT OF RESPECT

Veteran Thurston returns for Queensland next week.

A heartbreaking shoulder injury kept Johnathan Thurston away from Queensland’s first game in May, severely denting their strength in the halves as Kevin Walters struggled to find gold out of an Cooper Cronk/Anthony Milford combination.

Thurston is set to return to the No. 6 jumper next Wednesday — and he’ll have 13 ferocious Blues players out to get him.

Phil Gould says that although the 33-year-old looked tentative in his return for the Cowboys, his experience will be a huge relief for the Maroons as they fight to keep the series alive.

“Johnathan Thurston is interesting because he returned on the weekend after time off with a shoulder injury,” he said.

“I saw his performance as controlled, maybe even a little tentative in the early stages of the match.”

Gould identified a heartwarming moment of sportsmanship from players after targeting Thurston over thr weekend.

“The Parramatta players were obviously told to target him as he kicked the ball,” he said. “For a little while he didn’t go too close to the defensive line but as his confidence grew a little he warmed into it.

“But every time they knocked him down with the ball, a Parramatta player would reach out, pick him up by the hand and say ‘sorry, mate’. It was just an enormous display of respect.”

The 59-year-old said Thurston will have a serious contest on his hands next week, saying NSW will have no qualms about targeting his ginger shoulder in Game II.

“I expect NSW will (target Thurston). It’s going to be up to his teammates to come up with a lot of defence in that area to help with that,” he said.

“But he’s the greatest of all time (and) he’s an unbelievable competitor. He will give that side a great deal of confidence (and) he will bring these back line players into the contest.”