NSW’s most successful coach Phil Gould says there is “no way in the world” the State of Origin series should be held at the end of the NRL season again after 2020.

This year’s inter-state series is set to start 10 days after the planned October 25 grand final in a new look NRL season drawn up due to the coronavirus disruption.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters has this week applauded the move, saying a year-end Origin series should be a permanent fixture because it avoided the traditional mid-season disruption to NRL clubs.

But Gould – who won six out of eight series as Blues coach – said a November Origin series would feature “broken down” players and not draw the same TV audience.

“No way in the world. That is not the time for Origin football,” he said on his Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

“Origin is the mid-season highlight of our competition, it’s played in the winter months and that’s when the audiences are bigger and that’s when the TV audiences are bigger, everyone’s at home in front of the warm fire and getting ready for their Origin occasion.

“They’d have far too many distractions in November to be watching Origin football.”

Gould also feared the quality of the Origin series would be affected.

“I know for a fact that when players get to the end of October, to the end of the season, their bodies are broken down, they’ve played all this football straight,” he said.

“(This year) we’re going to go into 18 straight weeks of rugby league with no byes and then a finals series and then we’re going to pick two Origin teams who have now played 20-odd weeks straight.

“That Origin (series) is going to be an exacting examination of their physical and mental powers.”

Gould said end of season Tests played in the past proved his point.

“We’ve seen them tour and work in Tri-series or have a few games and they’re never really at full tilt,” he said.

“If they get to the final then all of a sudden they can lift themselves for one stellar performance.

“But you’re asking these players to get to the end of a season … then having to back up mentally and physically into an Origin series.

“So the players and coaches have got a really big job on their hands there.”