Former New South Wales coach Phil Gould has unloaded on the Blues in the aftermath of their thumping State of Origin defeat to Queensland, questioning the “selection process” in a furious take-down of the current hierarchy.
The iconic NRL figure, who made headlines for refusing a question after the series-opener last month, couldn’t hide his frustration with the Blues’ misgivings after they were smashed 44-24 by Queensland in Game II at the MCG on Wednesday night.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Phil Gould unloads on NSW selection process
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South Sydney forward Cameron Murray started on the bench while Parramatta superstar halfback Mitchell Moses was rushed straight back into the side after the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the series-opener.
Those and several others are the decisions for which NSW Laurie Daley will be scrutinised heading into the series-decider in Brisbane next month — but Gould had some paradoxical advice for Daley and his coaching staff which had nothing to do with Moses, Murray or anything else that happened on the pitch.
“Tonight’s not the night to be looking at selections, alright?” Gould said on Nine post-match.
“We’ve got another two club rounds to get through before they can pick a team.
“And I’ve got some advice for them: stop listening to advice, stop listening to people in the media, stop listening to experts on panels, stop reading papers, and sit down, analyse the game, get a gameplan together and pick a team that can execute the gameplan.
“Very frustrating, our selection process, I’m afraid.”
Brad Fittler cut the tension created by Gould by laughing that, “It’s the same as everyone else’s process!”
But Gould wasn’t finished: “Stop taking advice.
“And the more changes we make, the better it is for Queensland.
“Queensland now sit there and laugh because they don’t have to change a thing, they’ve just got to get their players through the next (few weeks), and we’ll panic, we’ll make changes, we’ll bring back blokes that are half fit, we’ll bring blokes that haven’t played football.
“We brought back a bloke (Moses) tonight who hadn’t played for six weeks.
“Stop listening to experts.”
Fittler, who also coached the Blues 18 times between 2018 and 2023, added: “There’s a lot of noise.”
So, if Daley was feeling the pressure over his record as NSW coach heading into the second game of the series, then the tourniquet is about to be tightened considerably.
For the second-straight year in Daley’s second coming as Blues coach, NSW have squandered a 1-0 series lead and will be left relying on a decider to lift the shield.
The Maroons will enjoy homeground advantage at Suncorp Stadium on July 8, a place where the Blues have won just one decider in the last 20 years.
Daley has never won a decider as a coach.
The Blues boss knew his side had got out of jail in the series opener in Sydney where NSW leaked 20 first-half points but managed to jag a 22-20 win after Kalyn Ponga’s controversial send-off.
Game I continued a concerning run of slow NSW starts under Daley, bringing the coach’s motivational abilities and record into focus.
Daley’s coaching was subject of intense scrutiny from Queensland media this week — he has won just one of the six full series across his two stints in charge of the Blues.
In the pre-game, Fittler called on the Blues to silence the criticism of one of the state’s legends.
“The coach was our best player ever and they can’t walk away from that,” Fittler said.
“The players need to stand up for 80 minutes tonight. They need to be all heart — just like their coach.”
The Blues did that for the first 40 minutes but were all at sea in the second half.
Mark Nawaqanitawase’s selection looked inspired when the rugby union convert set up the Blues’ opening try and then muscled over in the corner to put NSW up 12-8 at halftime.
But Nawaqanitawase, who added a second try in the 60th minute, looked increasingly lost as the second half wore on.
Dylan Lucas — the man who edged out Manly wrecking ball Haumole Olakau’atu — missed a crucial tackle in the build-up to Queensland’s first try and was largely anonymous.
Moses was used as a speed bump by the Maroons, missing eight tackles and being taken off as a precaution in the dying stages of his first outing since injuring his hamstring.
And when the game was slipping away the Blues, hooker Api Koroisau was left on the bench as Daley dithered and delayed using his final interchange.
The Blues only sent Ethan Strange on when Kotoni Staggs was sinbinned when it was too little, too late.
With AAP
