{"id":402223,"date":"2024-06-12T06:01:14","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T06:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=402223"},"modified":"2024-06-12T08:06:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T08:06:50","slug":"a-certainty-gus-reveals-bolter-to-flip-origin-for-nsw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=402223","title":{"rendered":"'A certainty': Gus reveals bolter to flip Origin for NSW"},"content":{"rendered":"

P\ufeffhil Gould<\/a> has endorsed Connor Watson<\/a> for a State of Origin debut, claiming the Sydney Roosters<\/a> utility may be the perfect man to wear the No.14 jumper for NSW.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old has been in career-best form at Bondi this season, overcoming a horror run of injuries to become an integral part of the side's success.<\/p>\n

Watson has filled in at a variety of roles, averaging 94 run metres per game and making 20 tackle breaks across his nine appearances in the top grade.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Olympic star furious after major Paris ticket change<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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His footwork, speed and ball-playing ability around the ruck has caused plenty of dramas for opposition defences as the Roosters have piled on the points in 2024, pushing himself into the shop-front window for a Blues<\/a> debut.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Speaking \ufeffon Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles With Gus<\/em><\/a>, the former coach claimed Watson was a better fit for the utility role at Origin than the in-form Matt Burton<\/a>, who works closely with Gould at the Bulldogs on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n

"I think they will certainly have someone who can specialise in those positions or play other positions," Gould said.<\/p>\n

"Connor Watson covers hooker, lock, half, five-eighth and then he could move to the centres or get Hudson Young or Angus Crichton to cover that position.<\/p>\n

"The other option is Matt Burton. He can cover the halves and outside backs, which would be handy. Burton is probably more of a specialist in the outside backs and halves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I don't know how they are gonna cover hooker \u2026 if Burton was on the bench, it doesn't cover hooker. There's a lot of questions to be answered about the selection of this side, but I do think they will keep adequate outside back cover on the bench.<\/p>\n

"They won't be caught short twice and it certainly helped Queensland [in game one]."<\/p>\n

Watson was in the mix for a spot on the bench in the series opener, but an untimely throat injury dashed his hopes of earning a spot in Michael Maguire<\/a>'s squad.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 State of Origin series exclusively live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

However, with a return this weekend for the Chooks in a crucial game against Parramatta, the livewire will have an opportunity to remind selectors of his ability.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffI think had Connor Watson been fit for game one, he would have been a certainty on the bench," Gould said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"He's been named for the Roosters this weekend and if he comes through that game, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a start on the bench.<\/p>\n

"He was one of the ones I thought would be a shock selection that people wouldn't see coming, but he got injured right before the team was announced."<\/p>\n

Watson has been named to start at hooker for the Tricolours in round 15, with first-choice option Brandon Smith dropped by the club after a recent breach notice<\/a>. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Maguire will name his team for game two in Melbourne on Sunday night. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

P\ufeffhil Gould has endorsed Connor Watson for a State of Origin debut, claiming the Sydney Roosters utility may be the perfect man to wear the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":402225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=402223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":402227,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402223\/revisions\/402227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/402225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=402223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=402223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=402223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}