Blues legend Phil Gould has predicted Queensland could be on the brink of another decade of Origin domination if NSW-based NRL clubs don’t sort out their development programs.
The Blues’ heavy loss in game two has prompted calls for a broom to be swept through the squad – including coach Brad Fittler.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould warned against making drastic changes and said he wasn’t sure a better team could be picked for game three than the one that lost on Wednesday night.
“In terms of players … whether there is a new coach or whether Brad continues, it will be interesting to see what tact they take,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be changing too much. I’ve been a bit worried since COVID… other than the Panthers there hasn’t really been any other NRL club with a strong development program that is bringing through players who can represent our state.
“We can find alternative players, but whether or not they’re going to produce a better team I just don’t know at the moment.”
Six Panthers ran onto the field for the Blues in game one, and five in game two after Nathan Cleary’s injury.
The only other clubs with more than one representative were the Tigers (albeit one in each game), Bulldogs, Eels and Rabbitohs with two.
Gould said making wholesale changes to the side to try and win game three was a bad idea.
“If you make mass changes to this team for game three as some kind of experiment, I think you just hand the 3-0 victory straight to Queensland,” he said.
“(The Queensland team) is young, and the bulk of it is going to be together for a long time. It’s a scary situation, we know what Queensland did to us for a decade.”
Origin III will be held at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on July 12.
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