NRL bosses insist they’re not silencing Phil Gould despite speaking to the Bulldogs about his public criticisms of the game and rival clubs.
Gould is arguably the most powerful man in rugby league with his influence impacting just about every club during 40 years in the game as a player, coach and administrator.
The Canterbury general manager pulls no punches while commentating games, and on his hugely-popular podcast Six Tackles With Gus.
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Gould has made controversial comments this season on the judiciary, salary cap, officiating and this week blasted the Knights for taking a mid-season holiday to Bali.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo confirmed he met Bulldogs bosses last week to discuss Gould’s comments which have infuriated some rival clubs, but he insisted there was no push to silence him.
“This is definitely not about silencing anyone in the media,” Abdo said.
“It’s important for everyone to have their opinions. You guys (the media) do a great job for us, telling the stories to the fans. This is not about not wanting criticism, this is just about the rules that the NRL has for everyone accredited in the game.
“There’s a reason why club officials aren’t able to comment when a matter is live because we don’t want the perception of that influencing the decision-makers.
“Clearly my conversation with the Bulldogs was just around registered club officials not breaching the rules.
“If there’s a matter that’s live, for example either a matter that relates to the match review or the judiciary or an integrity matter, the rules don’t permit players or officials accredited under those rules to talk openly about it.
“That’s what the conversation was about.
“I chat to Gus from time to time and I’m always open to meeting with him. At this stage that’s not necessary although we do have an open dialogue and we’ll continue to do that.”
Newcastle head of football Peter Parr hit back at Gould’s criticism of the Knights giving players nine days leave in the middle of the season.
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Some players went to Balie while others headed down the NSW south coast, but Kalyn Ponga and Adam Elliott remained in town to train.
“Our preference would be that people at other clubs worry about their own club,” Parr said.
“We’ll be guided by our head coach and the coaching staff, not by other clubs. We will run our club.
“Lots of people have an opinion on how to best utilise your byes. Some people think you should get flogged, others think you should get away.
“We’ve got three games and then another bye so they won’t be going away on the next bye or the one after that. I reckon there would be less than half a dozen overseas.”
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