Canterbury Bulldogs football boss and Channel 9 commentator Phil Gould has savaged a group of Newcastle Knights players for taking a trip to Bali during their bye week.
While the rest of the league will descend on Brisbane for Magic Round, the Knights were the unlucky side to miss out but will take an extended break over their weekend off.
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The Daily Telegraph reported that some players were heading interstate or going along the NSW coast with family.
But a small group of players were also heading to Bali, news which has been met with incredulity by Gould.
I mean, a mid-season trip to Bali — what could possibly go wrong?
But with the Knights languishing in 14th on the NRL ladder with three wins and a draw from nine matches this season, Gould questioned whether the players should already be so wrecked from the start of the year.
Club superstar Kalyn Ponga won’t be one of the players heading to Bali, instead honing his craft as he transitions from fullback to five-eighth and returns from concussion issues.
But speaking on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould said that he wouldn’t have done it as either a player or a coach.
“It might turn out to be the best thing, getting over there with some warm weather and sun on their backs. It might be the answer, I don’t know. And if they come back (and win) they will say it is the answer.
“But there’s three byes this year, you do it three times I guarantee it’s not going to help you.
“Maybe (O’Brien) thought after what he said after the (Eels loss), maybe they’re a bit busted.
“It’s a time to replenish, to treat your injuries, to get ready for the following week, and it’s a refresher course.
“I remember when I was a player and we had byes, (coach) Warren Ryan used to flog us. It put steel in your team, it put steel in your attitude.
“You are paid to train and play, that’s what you are paid to do. Find something else to do, find another job if you don’t want this job.”
Gould said that in the past, clubs would never have allowed it to happen.
“I’d always use the bye round … for me that was always a time to go back and refresh, to look at some things that maybe we’re not doing as well as we would have liked, or maybe there’s some things we can add to our game, or maybe we need a refresher course,” Gould said.
“For me the benefit of the bye was not getting busted on the weekend, was not going out. It gave you two weeks to get ready for your next game instead of one week.
“It just wouldn’t have happened in my day. For me, it was two weeks to get ready for your next game, and you shouldn’t lose if you had the two weeks to get ready.”
The Knights are fresh off a 43-12 loss to the Eels and coach Adam O’Brien said the side was running on fumes.
To be fair to the Novocastrians, since round five, the Knights have had a 90 minute draw, a golden point loss to the Panthers and an 18-16 loss to the Cowboys. They’ve also had a 34-24 win over the Warriors in round 6 and the thrashing at the hands of the Eels last Friday.
“I think it’s been a really big month on-field and off-field. There’s some stuff going on that you’d know about then obviously losing (Jayden Brailey to an ACL injury),” he said.
“They’re going to sound like excuses but I don’t care if they sound like excuses. The team’s been working really hard for a month so there’s that part of me …
“I didn’t see it but I watched last night’s game (Sharks vs Cowboys) and I thought our last week’s opposition showed the same signs so that tells me it was a pretty hard game last week.
“We’ve had two golden points before that so I’ll give them a bit of an out there.”
