Blues thrive in the house Gus built

Two generations of Penrith NRL stars will help determine NSW's fate on and off the field in Wednesday night's State of Origin series opener.

Phil Gould

The influence of Panthers boss Phil Gould on this year's State of Origin side runs deep. (AAP)

Welcome to the house Gus helped build, twice.

From the coach's box to the team that runs onto the MCG turf, the Blues will have a distinct Penrith feel about them on Wednesday night.

For the first time in 14 years, the Panthers have four players in the squad, including the two starting halves Nathan Cleary and James Maloney.

Then there's the mob at the top.

Coach Brad Fittler might have debuted just before Gould's arrival at the foot of the mountains in 1990 but it's been widely publicised what kind of role the then-coach had - and still has - on his development.

His chief advisor, Greg Alexander, is arguably one of the greatest players to pull on a Penrith jersey.

Fittler described him last week as "the Yoda of Penrith", the "smartest man (he) knows" and the first person he contacted when he first applied for the Blues job.

With Gould as coach and Fittler in the centres, Alexander piloted Penrith to their first premiership in 1991 on the back of a game plan designed to get the ball to their strike weapons in attack.

And it'll be a similar approach the Blues take on Wednesday night.

"The game hasn't changed that much," Alexander told AAP.

"The principles of the game are still the same, a mindset for big games is the same.

"Whatever we grew up with and the philosophies we played under, certainly, I can see the same philosophies that Freddy has brought in as a coach.

"It's a very simple game plan, Origin. You can't fill your head with too much stuff ... utilise the skills of what you've got in your team."

Gould's role in it all can't be understated.

Following from his early success at Penrith with Fittler and Alexander, he's fostered the next generation of representative stars making the club a serious threat again.

Cleary and firebrand Blues prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard have come through the junior system he helped set up, while NSW's utlility option on Wednesday night, Tyrone Peachey, was brought across to the Panthers as a potential young talent.

Gould also engineered the strategic off-season signing of veteran Maloney with the Blues' five eighth potentially the final piece in the ladder leader's puzzle.

Outside the square, Brisbane's latest Origin star James Roberts has spoken this week about Gould's ongoing care for him after indiscretions forced his release from the Panthers in 2013.

"He's brought a couple of blokes in and seen the development of the other two in Reg and Nathan," Alexander, who now sits on the board of Penrith, said.

"We span a lot of years with Penrith's involvement in Origin. It's great."


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Source: AAP


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