'Shock' picks predicted for Maguire's Blues

League icon Phil Gould has predicted there will be "a lot of surprises" in Michael Maguire's New South Wales roster, with the incoming coach set to shake things up in the Blues camp.

Maguire is the 16th coach of the Blues team, taking over the reigns from Brad Fittler after six-years at the helm of the squad.

Under Fittler's leadership, New South Wales retained the State of Origin shield three times. However, were unable to hold off the powerful force that is Billy Slater's Queensland side in the past two series.

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Gould said Maguire will take to the Origin field with a "rather unique" pack of players, revealing he believes there will be "quite a few shocks" named in the team.

"I think it will be rather unique the team he picks. I think there will be a lot of surprises." Gould said on Wide World of Sports Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

"I think I know where he will go to for his support on that and what they'll do. I think it will be quite analytical and data-based.

"I'm nowhere near it. I have nothing to do with it, but I know who he leans on for this sort of stuff and I think that it will be very different.

"I think there will be quite a few shocks. I don't think he'll be afraid to think outside the box.

"They haven't won, so he's there to change it up."

Gould discussed how Maguire is an anomaly on the historical list of New South Wales coaches, as the star coach has never participated in or played in the Origin sphere throughout his own professional career.

New Zealand international Sir Graham Lowe was the only other non-Origin player Gould recalled to coach a State of Origin team, reigning over the Queensland side in 1991 and 1992.

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"This is really interesting to me because if you look at the history of Origin coaching in the last 30 years a lot of the Origin coaches, and it has happened at Queensland too, are ex-Origin players and they all come out of similar teams," said Gould.

"Fellas that I coached in Origin back in the early '90s and 2000s, you're Ricky Stuart's and Brad Fittler's, Laurie Daly's and those sort of blokes have put their hand up to coach Origin.

"It's kind of been a bit of a continuation, you know they put their own stamp on it, but it's been a continuation of that sort of meld.

"Michael Maguire, even though he played at the Canberra Raiders and he would've been playing with a lot of those players back then... He wasn't in the Origin frame. He didn't play Origin football.

"So it's a fresh set of eyes over everything."

Maguire has revealed he will be shaking things up in the Blues camp, confirming the New South Wales camp will be taken to the Blue Mountains, training Leura instead of the traditional camp in Coogee.

"He's going to do it his way and I suppose that's why they are going to Leura and not going to Coogee.

"He will have his own slant on all of that. He will have his own analytics to pick the team and he will do it his way."

During Maguire's six years at the helm of the New Zealand national team, the Kiwis won 12 of 18 Test matches, including a record 30-0 triumph over Australia in the Pacific Championships Final in 2023.

"He understands the dynamics of bringing people together from different clubs and working with them in a short space of time to fight for a common cause. Which is what an Origin coach has to do.

"Like I said, it's a fresh set of eyes... Here's someone coming in and saying, 'Okay, I've coached a premiership-winning team. I've coached a team that's beaten Australia and New Zealand. I've coached at the Melbourne Storm and I've coached at South Sydney'".

"He will have his own opinions and he will have his own thoughts on how that should be played."