Former NSW coach and Bulldogs boss Phil Gould has had his say.
As you’d expect from Gus, it’s a lengthy and detailed analysis of the match, so here’s what he said in full.
“The big improvement was in the attitude in defence. I thought they were really strong in those areas. They played like a hungry team, they played like underdogs. I think it really suited them tonight to be written off in this environment,” Gould said.
“And, on the contrary, I think that Queensland didn’t handle favouritism at all well. They didn’t handle the expectations of this crowd. They kept waiting for the game to come to them rather than going after it. And New South Wales just got under their guard, ran out to an 18-0 lead and held their advantage right to the end of it. It was a very spirited display.
“The thing that stood out for me was defensively, how calm they looked. Their marker defence was better, their movements were better. They were attacking the Queensland players, and I thought they smothered Queensland all night. They [Queensland] scored a couple of flukey tries off kicks and bounced balls. Other than that, they never really looked dangerous, and it was a comprehensive victory.”
