Phil Gould has questioned why it was necessary to replace Kevin Walters as Queensland coach with Wayne Bennett, saying that the new Brisbane Broncos mentor could have done both jobs.
Gould, NSW's greatest Origin coach, railed against the modern trend that NRL head coaches can't also hold the Blues or Maroons role.
Walters reluctantly stepped down shortly before the series because will be diving into his first pre-season with Brisbane as the Origin series begins on November 4. It is his first NRL head coaching role and he has the monumental task of resurrecting the Broncos after their first wooden spoon.
Bennett will be coming off a finals series with South Sydney, with only a 10-day gap to Origin I if the Rabbitohs make the grand final. Given that he is vastly experienced and his team will have a later start to pre-season, the QRL was comfortable with him juggling the roles and were also keen on a coach who had worked under the new set restart rules introduced this season.
Gould told Wide World of Sports that Walters could have handled both jobs and in general, there were benefits to having an Origin coach who also held an NRL role.
"I couldn't understand why Kevin Walters couldn't do it. I couldn't see the conflict of interest or the distraction there," Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast, speaking with James Bracey.
"He's been dealing with the Origin program all season, he's been gearing himself up for the Origin, which is only a month away, then suddenly we pull him out of it?
"It's all right to say he's got work to do for his club; yeah, but he can do that. That's not going to affect his Origin preparation or what he's doing in Origin.
"Origin, he's away for three weeks in camp but you're not 24 hours a day involved in the Origin while you're in camp. The players are together for their camaraderie and their teamwork and there are promotions and media work that needs to be done, that doesn't even involve the coach, a lot of it.
"There's time spent together in Origin camp, they have the camps for a reason, but the coach is not engaged with that 24 hours a day. There's plenty of time to jump on the phone and organise the Broncos.
"I could never understand that. Anyway, they've done it and they've got Wayne back as coach and Wayne's very, very happy about that and he'll do a good job.
"Wayne's busy at the moment with his South Sydney team in the finals and he'll have his people working behind the scenes to get that situation all sorted out.
"I think it's really good that he's doing it because I've always believed that club coaches should be allowed to coach the Origin. I've never seen that as an inconvenience, I've never seen it as a distraction. And for the Origin coach itself, it really helps if you've been coaching all year in the club environment, to be a part of that.
"I think Wayne's a Queenslander, he hasn't done it since 2003, 17 years ago; that's a fair gap between postings. But he knows Origin backwards, he really does, and he'll do it his way and that'll include players and staff and what have you.
"Not that saying the previous regime was broken, it'll just be different. It'll be Wayne's regime."
Bennett has already stamped his authority, axing Maroons legend Justin Hodges as assistant coach in favour of Neil Henry, while veteran prop Josh McGuire has reportedly been dropped from the squad.
Gould said that Bennett would have taken the job intending the short turnaround between a grand final and the Origin opener in Adelaide.
"I'm sure that's Wayne's intention. If you go and look at his calendar at home, they're the dots he's got marked on the calendar," Gould said.
Gus also said that Bennett would be untroubled by the potential loss of superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga to a shoulder injury.
"I don't think it would faze Wayne, to be honest," Gould said.
"Queensland aren't going to rise and fall on Kalyn Ponga, that's not going to be the difference between winning and losing.
"You want him going into Origin with a busted shoulder? Give me a break. You're not going to beat NSW with a busted shoulder, find someone who's fit and healthy.
"That would be Wayne's mentality, that would be my mentality if I was Wayne. Why do I want him if he's got a busted shoulder? Find someone who's fit and healthy.
"That could be the key to winning the series, having 17 fit and healthy players. That could really be the key to winning the series. Doesn't matter who they are, if they're fit and healthy and ready to go, that might be the difference between winning and losing.
"I don't think Wayne would be worried about it. I wouldn't be worried about it and if I was Newcastle, that boy would be in hospital under anaesthetic right at this moment, having that shoulder repaired and his rehabilitation would begin straight away."
Bennett will have the perfect foil for the build-up to the unusual post-season Origin series, in larrikin NSW coach Brad Fittler.
"It certainly gives us some spice, doesn't it?" Gould said.
"If I know Wayne, it will be Freddy doing all the entertaining, Wayne won't be jumping into that too much. He'll allow Freddy to take the lead there.
"They might sit together and watch the game, you never know! They're pretty good pals. Wayne will have his way about him, I don't know that we'll be getting a lot out of Wayne.
"It's going to be a very difficult series for both states, no doubt about that."
Both coaches will use extended squads for the series, played over three consecutive weeks after a gruelling, coronavirus-affected NRL season. Gould predicted that more total players than usual would likely feature in line-ups across the three matches.
Bennett, who has an 11-10-1 record as Queensland coach, is trying to prevent a Blues three-peat. He is already missing Michael Morgan, Valentine Holmes, Ethan Lowe and Kyle Feldt through injury and perhaps also David Fifita.
He will face a NSW team widely considered to have greater talent, yet declared when taking the job: "I wouldn't come if I didn't think I could win."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/wayne-bennett-queensland-state-of-origin-coach-phil-gould/9a07b378-fe63-4c17-a1f5-790a40c57ad8
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