Following the Waratahs' shaky start to the season, Gibson returned serve to comments made by Bob Dwyer to Fairfax Media that NSW have few players of Super Rugby standard.

"This is an Australian rugby problem, it's not just a NSW problem," Gibson said. "The trick is to make sure you've got enough talent coming through your development system. Right now, I don't believe in Australian rugby we've got that right.

"Certainly we're trying to develop the system that we do have in place in this country. Right now, we're in a life cycle. The trick is making sure you don't ebb and flow and you've got constant talent and a conveyor belt of players coming through your system.

"We've had 10 years of changing our development from a centralised system to a decentralised system and only recently until 2013, this state got its development system back again. I'm talking from the ages of 18 through to 21 before they become Waratahs. A lot's been made of the New Zealand system in terms of 'oh, they've got a conveyor belt of talent'. Now that hasn't arrived by accident.

"What we've got to do in this country is collaborate both from central leadership from the ARU right through to the state sides."

Gibson has privately been a fan of cutting a Super Rugby team but has now gone even more on the front foot, saying the development of players and coaches had been neglected.

He also criticised a perceived lack of action by the ARU, saying the game's governing body had "done nothing" towards formulating a plan of spreading talent over five franchises.

"With all the media that's around our fifth team, I truly believe the area we've got to address is that development area and I'm going to be pleased [one will go] because there may be more funds directed in that area," Gibson said. "And then also our coach development ??? we are in a situation where Australia led coaching development not long ago to a situation where that is no longer a priority.

"We spread our talent across five teams and then tried without changing anything in terms of how we're going to feed those five teams in those years ... we've done nothing towards that. Certainly we're very proactive here and open to getting that right because if we don't, we'll keep repeating the cycle that we're in for many years to come.

"Next year we're losing two international locks and let's be honest, we don't have two international locks of their standard ready to replace them right here, right now. We're losing Rob Horne; international centre ??? right now we don't have an international centre to replace him."

The former All Blacks centre used the example of just how low Australia was on five-eighth stocks to back up his argument.

"If Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper go down, you've got two foreign [number] 10s playing at two Australian franchises," Gibson said. "Now if we were doing it correctly, and we had a wonderful development system that was throwing out an extensive line of talent, that wouldn't be the case."

Gibson says all teams go through adversity at some stage, highlighting a number of New Zealand teams who have gone on to bigger and better things after rough patches.

"The [NSW] team experienced [a bad year] in 2012 off a losing season," Gibson said. "They came through in '14 and won. To grow you've got to experience the hardships and the adversity that losing brings you. The Highlanders in 2013; they won three games and we all saw what they did in 2015. Hurricanes; they had a losing season in 2014 and they did what they've done."

The Waratahs play the Reds at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday and Gibson is confident they can get back in the winner's circle through extra effort, particularly with their season on the line.

"The effort and the attitude can be changed quickly," Gibson said. "The consequences of losing are pretty simple.

"We've talked a lot around how disappointing it was around the players' intent and their attitude and we've talked about what it means to play for NSW and pull that jersey on.

"As a coach, you can stomach losing as long as your players go out there and give it their best. That's all I'm asking."

Hooker Tolu Latu has been ruled out of the clash with a shoulder injury and will be replaced by either Damien Fitzpatrick or Hugh Roach in the starting XV.