Legendary NSW coach Phil Gould has slammed Queensland's selection of teen prodigy Reece Walsh for State of Origin II as "disgraceful".
Gould, who has regular contact with the 18-year-old Warriors fullback in his role as a consultant with the New Zealand club, says he hopes the seven-game NRL rookie "brains" the Blues on Sunday.
However, he insists that an exceptional performance in the must-win Suncorp Stadium clash wouldn't "justify the decision to throw this kid to the wolves".
Walsh's selection has come amid a rejig of Queensland's backline, with Valentine Holmes shifting from fullback to a wing to replace the axed Xavier Coates and Walsh being handed the No.1 jumper.
"We wish him well. No one at the Warriors club was denying him the opportunity if it came for him. Everyone was just worried about his wellbeing and whether or not it was the right thing to bring him into a team, particularly this Queensland team at the moment," Gould said on Nine's 100% Footy.
"Maybe back in the day when they had Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater and Johnathon Thurston and a tough forward pack and they were actually on a roll, it'd be a good time to bring him into camp and let him see Origin football from the inside out and maybe after a year or so give him a blooding into the Queensland side.
"But to bring him into a team that was beaten 50-6 in Game One I think is a disgraceful decision by the Queensland selectors. To be asking an 18-year-old to come in and solve this problem is not fair on the kid."
Walsh's selection was helped by the injuries of Newcastle weapon Kalyn Ponga and Gold Coast enigma AJ Brimson.
The rugby league world is hoping the former Bronco turns in the kind of performance that he's consistently produced for the Warriors since switching clubs in April. So much promise has he shown that 2018 Dally M medallist and Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been moved to a wing to allow Walsh to play at fullback.
"I hope he brains them. He's got great talent, he's going to be an Origin player of the future, I hope he scores five tries and saves five tries," Gould said of Walsh.
"That doesn't justify the decision to throw this kid to the wolves on Sunday."
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.