Phil Gould Challenges NSW Coach Laurie Daley
Phil Gould, one of the most respected figures in rugby league history, has issued a strong challenge to NSW coach Laurie Daley. He urges Daley to “wipe the smiles off their faces” by defeating Queensland in the Origin decider. Gould believes that the Blues have the potential to make a comeback and overturn the odds if they remain composed and trust in their players.
Gould, who is regarded as one of the most successful Origin coaches, expressed his belief that Daley’s team can recover from the disastrous performance in Game 2 and pull off an upset against the Maroons in Brisbane on Wednesday week. However, he emphasized the importance of not panicking in the selection room.
Trusting the Players
Gould has encouraged Daley to avoid making significant changes to his lineup and instead focus on trusting the players who have been with him throughout the series. He praised Daley’s character, stating, “Laurie is one of the greatest blokes in the world. He’s the greatest Origin player NSW has ever produced and the greatest leader we ever had.”
Gould acknowledged the challenges Daley is facing and urged him to ignore external influences, media pressure, and speculation. “He’s got to ignore all the influence and all the media and all the speculation and advice going on around him and trust his gut,” he said.
“He needs to trust himself and go with players he believes in. Bugger the media and bugger what everyone thinks about the team. They can do it – they can come up with a game that can win it.”
A Defiant Response
Gould was unimpressed with the idea that Queenslanders are “giggling away” at the thought of the Blues matching their team in Game 3. He responded defiantly, saying, “Let them giggle and wipe the smiles off their faces. It should be your greatest motivation.”
Brisbane, as the venue for the decider, presents a unique challenge, but Gould sees it as an opportunity. “Brisbane (in) a decider…what greater challenge, what greater place to make a statement than that. They can do it.”
Focusing on Style, Not Player Changes
Gould believes that the key to causing an upset lies in a change of style rather than player changes. He argues that Daley should stick with the majority of players used so far in the series but adopt tactics more suited to Origin football than club football.
“I don’t think they’ve lost it on selections or personnel. I just think they’ve lost it on not coming together as a team to produce a brand of football that contends with the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition,” he explained.
Gould pointed out that the Blues won Game 1, albeit by a narrow margin, and were leading 12-8 at half-time in Game 2. “It’s not as though they’ve got it terribly wrong,” he said.
“(Daley’s) got to sit down and say, ‘what have I learned from the first two games? How can we beat this side? What did I learn? What sort of brand of football do we need?’ And then who do I need to execute that?”
“At the moment we haven’t got it right and we’re not competing with Queensland. They’re just beating us to the punch on most things. Queensland do Origin very, very well.”
