Bennett Is The Best For Queensland-
Gould

NSW coach Phil Gould won't discuss his Origin future but believes arch rival Wayne Bennett must stay on for Queensland's sake.

Bennett hasn't committed to next year, meaning Wednesday's clash could be his last.

The Maroons risk a series whitewash after losing the opening matches but Gould believes they would be in worse shape if Bennett decided to concentrate solely on coaching the Brisbane Broncos.

"I know it's a drain on him and I know it's a drain on his club but there is no-one better prepared or experienced to do it," Gould said.

"He should coach Queensland while ever he's got the breath to do it.

"It's very hard for any other coach to come in and coach all those Broncos and bring them all together in a week like he does.

"Queensland perform their best when he is the coach.

"For State of Origin's sake and Queensland's sake it's very important that Wayne Bennett is their coach."

Gould said Bennett's decision would have no bearing on his future as Blues coach, even though the pair have become the most decorated Origin coaches.

And Gould today said he thought it would be "tragic" if captain Andrew Johns wasn't well enough to lift the Origin shield on Wednesday night.

But whether Johns recovers in time from a viral infection to play the final match of the series remains anyone's guess because the Blues gave away little today.

Some sports bookmakers have even suspended betting on the match until they learn more about Johns' health.

The halfback was at least well enough to travel to Brisbane today to join his teammates, hours after Bulldogs halfback Brent Sherwin arrived on standby for the skipper.

"It will be tragic if he's not there but he'll live on. He'll be back," Gould said.

"Andrew is a real concern at the moment.

"He's got headaches, he's got neck aches, he's worried about all sorts of silly things there.

"I'm not confident.

"I'm trying to get the side ready with Brent Sherwin at halfback and that's my goal for the next 48 hours.

"If on Wednesday Andrew Johns plays, we've got plenty of preparation with him under our belt.

"If Brent Sherwin plays, we've done our best to get ourselves ready."