Phil Gould doubles down on criticism of Billy Slater's decision to axe Daly Cherry-Evans from Maroons for Origin II
Phil Gould has doubled down on his criticism of Billy Slater's decision to axe Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans and claimed the Maroons will be lucky to score two tries in what will be 20-point Origin II humiliation.
The Maroons need to win Wednesday night's second game in Perth to keep the series alive and avoid back-to-back series defeats.
Queensland has lost the past three Origin matches in convincing fashion and has only scored one try in the last two games – both on home turf at Suncorp Stadium.
Staring down the barrel of a fourth straight loss, and second series defeat, Slater wielded the selection axe on 26-game halfback and skipper Cherry-Evans for the must-win match in Perth.
The decision was controversial given Queensland hasn't dropped a captain mid-series since Trevor Gillmeister in 1996.
The Maroons forwards were also badly beaten in Game One, yet Slater only made one change to his pack in dropping bench backrower Beau Fermor, who was given 16 minutes on debut.
Cherry-Evans has provided little comment on the decision other than to admit it was 'tough' to receive the news he had been dropped.
It is understood he was shattered by the call, especially after the ill-disciplined performance Queensland dished up in Game One that gave him little good ball to attack with.
'Gus' Gould is the most successful NSW coach in State of Origin history, winning six series from eight attempts.
He has made numerous comments condemning the decision to dump 'DCE' in favour of Tom Dearden and reiterated his stance on Monday.
'He doesn't get that goodbye moment after a great career, they've said goodbye for him,' Gould told 100% Footy.
'He doesn't get to stand there on the field after a win, loss or draw at the end of the series and say 'this is my last time'.
'They've made their mind up for him, I think it's been pretty unceremonious actually. I think it's very, very ordinary, to be honest.'
Dearden has been elevated from the bench utility role to halfback to provide Queensland with a more direct attacking style than the scheming Cherry-Evans.
He will form a new-look halves combination with new captain Cameron Munster at five-eighth.
But Gould predicted Queensland would still struggle to score points at Optus Stadium, where they been smashed 38-6 (2019) and 44-12 (2022) in recent games.
'I can find four or five tries for New South Wales but I'm struggling to find two tries for Queensland,' he said.
'I think it'll be four or five tries to one or two, if they all kick the goals, 30-12 would be my scoreline.
'I don't think it will be close. Sorry, I know you all want a decider but I don't think it's going to happen.'
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In the sheds afterwards, Johns declared for the first time that Cleary would eventually be regarded as the game's greatest halfback, a view he's only repeated since. Colleague Andrew Webster followed up with telling insight into the Cleary's endless hunt for the perfect 80 minutes of playmaking. 'As much as you want to be perfect, you never will be,' Cleary said at the time. 'But that doesn't mean you can't chase it.' Especially when Cleary had been roundly criticised for underperforming in the preceding 16-10 game one loss, which saw Cameron Munster produce the best Origin of his career and the Maroons bully Cleary into his worst. Which brings us neatly back to those voices knocking around the halfback's head, and the 2023 grand final. When Cleary's glaring defensive lapses had played a key role in Brisbane leading 24-8 with just 17 minutes left. And he followed up with what Johns, Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston all regard as the most complete playmaking they have ever seen - and one of the greatest grand final comeback's in history. 'I've never been so in control of my mind [than] in that last 20 minutes,' Cleary says. 'That 2023 grand final, it didn't hit me until the day after, what was actually going on in my head at the time. 'I was having the conversations then, obviously [trailing 24-8] there's those little demons there. 'There was a little voice in my head late, 'Like you've done pretty well, that might be it though'. But we were still behind and I was talking myself around. 'So that result and the way we won, I was proud of being able to silence those doubts. I was proudest of that and the work we've done as a team. 'We've prioritised that mindfulness and mind training over the years and it goes a long way. Loading 'There are some games still where the conversation's not so positive. It's still hard to fight off that negative voice but that's how I do it. 'You don't panic or give into it, you get onto it straight away and make sure that spark doesn't turn into a fire that's going to knock you over.'
