“I don’t even want a funeral.”
That was Phil Gould’s reaction as he tried to absorb the star-studded turnout for a private dinner to celebrate his 50th year in rugby league. He wasn’t being ungrateful; he was teary and overwhelmed.
“I’ve never even had a birthday … this is for other people, people I look up to, people I work with, not me,” he said.
What people don’t understand about Gould is that for a man who is always in the spotlight, he is never comfortable being the centre of attention. Particularly in a social situation.
He was tricked by Bulldogs chairman Adam Driussi – who organised the night – into joining him for a “sponsors meeting”. Instead, Gould walked into a room packed with most of the important people in his professional and personal life. In attendance were: businessman Paul Signorelli, Bulldogs deputy chairman John Khoury, Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton, Bulldogs general manager of stakeholder and community Di Langmack, Canterbury chief operating officer John White, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo, Bulldogs head of recruitment Peter Sharp, league great Brad Fittler, broadcaster Yvonne Sampson, businessman and former Nine Entertainment boss David Gyngell, NSW Origin coach Laurie Daley, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, broadcaster Michelle Bishop, businessman Sami Chamoun, former ARL boss Geoff Carr, former Panther-turned-property-developer Lou Zivanovic, Warriors chief executive Cameron George, New Zealand Warriors owner Mark Robinson, player manager Steve Gillis, former long-time trainer Ronnie Palmer, broadcaster Andrew Voss and league greats and broadcasters Darryl Brohman and Paul Vautin.
Phil Gould (centre) with (left to right) Laurie Daley, Paul Vautin, Ricky Stuart and Sami Chamoun.
But the most treasured guests were his wife, June, and two of his three kids, son Jack and daughter Abbey. Gould’s other daughter, Brooke, is overseas.
Gould never talks about his family. This is the first time. The most public of figures, he has always kept that side of his life private.
“Family is everything,” he said. “I’ve always managed to keep work away from a family. I’ve separated the two, and I’ve never really got them involved with it, and I’ve never taken the rugby league issues home at any time.
“And, you know, we don’t have newspapers in the house – although I think my missus sneaks out and reads them.
“I felt as though I wanted to protect them from a lot of what we go through in the game, and just go out and work and earn a living and look after them. That’s what I’ve been motivated by. That’s how I’ve always been.”
Phil Gould with wife June.Credit: Canterbury Bulldogs
Gould will often talk about his late father, and helps care for his mum – who he still visits every weekend – no matter how busy he is.
It’s a side of him he keeps private. But seeing him with his family and his closest friends in football was a privilege.
“The way all these people came together for me … I don’t know how I’ll thank them,” Gould said. “Until now, they are the people I trusted most in my life … After keeping this secret from me, I’m not sure I can trust them any more.”
He was laughing when he said it, and he took aim at one guest in his speech.
Phil Gould and Brad Fittler during NSW’s Origin series victory in 2004.Credit: NRL Photos
“I’m very happy to see you all, except f—ing Fatty [Vautin], who beat me 3-0 at Origin.”
But Vautin shed more light on that.
“He was actually so humble and full of praise – after each loss he came up to me, sought me out to congratulate me. He was incredible.”
Fittler said Gould had a profound impact on his life, and was like a father to him in the early part of his career. And Stuart said that if it wasn’t for Gould he doesn’t know if he would have been a coach.
NSW coach Phil Gould congratules Queensland coach Paul Vautin on a remarkable series victory in 1995.Credit: Glenn Shipley
“He was probably the sole reason that got me into coaching at the Roosters,” Stuart said of Gould. “You know, he was the one who rang me and asked me if I was interested in doing it. I actually said no, because I didn’t think I was ready. But he said, ‘I’ll make you ready’. So you know, I owe him a lot, not just from a coaching point of view.”
Cheese on the nose with Roosters
The Roosters are desperate for Brandon Smith to be cleared at a medical at Maroubra on Monday so he can move to arch-rivals South Sydney. The man known as “Cheese” is completely on the nose with Roosters officials, and they can’t wait for him to go.
We wrote a similar piece when he left Melbourne, saying they were happy to see him leave and questioning why the Roosters would sign him. Smith slammed the story in the News Corp press.
The Roosters are very keen to see the back of Brandon Smith.
This is not personal – I enjoy dealing with Smith and believe he will be a great media talent – but the Roosters have had enough.
The final straw was his comments advising them to use the money they save on him to upgrade the contracts of young players at the club. The Roosters are of the private view that if he really cared about that, he’d repay some of the money they’ve paid him, given he’s failed to live up to his reputation.
But more than that, they worked hard to help with his personal issues. They appointed a mentor for him as he struggled with life away from football. They are fuming about his input and want him out now.
Gold Coast tarnished for Des
Des Hasler has every reason to ask his club to publicly back him and say he will be retained until the end of 2026, or let him leave now. Coaches in limbo are no good to anyone.
Players lose respect quickly and start questioning things if they feel a coach has no future at a club. And a coach with an uncertain future cannot recruit. So the well-placed and well-timed leak that Hasler is under pressure to keep his job has made it completely unworkable.
Des Hasler’s Titans had a great come-from-behind win over the Knights on Friday night, which came at a good time for the coach.Credit: Getty Images
Hasler has a contract until the end of 2026, but if the Titans fail to make the top eight this year, the club can tear up the final year of the deal. They can also end the deal once the Titans are out of finals contention.
The Titans need to remove the clauses and stick with Hasler or move on. The push for Kevin Walters to take over on the Gold Coast is understandable because he is a great bloke, but the jury is out on Kevvie as a coach. The Titans need a risk-free proposition.
More than the NRL can bear
Those pushing the story that Channel Seven will take over as the NRL free-to-air broadcaster have gone awfully quiet this week.
The reaction from The West Australian newspaper (below) was brutal in response to the announcement the Perth Bears will be the NRL’s 18th team when they start in 2027. Seven West Media owns The West Australian and Channel Seven.
The West Australian front page.Credit: The West Australian
Front-page stories highly critical of the NRL’s shiny new toy have been embarrassing for those who have tried to spruik the idea that somehow the AFL-aligned Seven Network would be a good home for the NRL.
Apart from having spent all their money on AFL rights, there is no way the Seven Network has the room on its main channel for the NRL.
I understand the NRL is trying to do its best to create competition for the free-to-air rights, but the facts are it is just not there. The NRL TV rights are currently held by Nine Entertainment, owners of this masthead.
To suggest that the Seven Network will buy State of Origin is also ridiculous, because there is no way Nine would want the NRL rights without its most significant add-ons: Origin and the finals series.
The acres of print you will see in the News Corp press bagging the Nine Network and trying to create a false market is just mischievous and uninformed. The NRL knows that when it comes to free-to-air TV, at least, it has to do a deal with Nine.
Where it gets interesting is whether DAZN, the new owners of Foxtel, is willing to pay the big dollars the game desperately needs. Nine is in a position of strength, and in a position where it could buy the lot, given it has free-to-air channels plus a potential subscription arm with Stan Sport. No other media company can do that at the moment.
North Sydney Bears supporters celebrate the club’s return.Credit: Steven Siewert
It was interesting to hear some of those pushing the likes of Amazon and Netflix as potential bidders for the NRL rights also expressing dismay that cricket’s World Test Championship final can be seen only on Amazon. The contradiction in that argument is hard to fathom.
What is interesting is the NRL’s desire to get a deal done with the networks as soon as possible. With two years left in the current deal, the reason for the rush can only be to try and get a renegotiated final year of the broadcast rights with the Perth team coming in.
Tiger tactics could backfire
Wests Tigers’ ploy to make coach Benji Marshall the scapegoat for losing rising star Lachlan Galvin has worked well, diverting attention from the club’s failure to keep hold of its brightest prospect.
Club officials peddled the line that Galvin was leaving because he had no faith in Marshall’s coaching. But it may be about to blow up in their faces.
Lachie Galvin and coach Benji Marshall at Tigers training.Credit: Renee Nowytarger
All the heat has been on Marshall and his coaching – which is tough to justify given the Tigers went into round 10 eighth on the ladder – and Galvin for having the temerity to leave. The retribution Galvin faced from some teammates is an issue that has caused concern. And now there is a push to have ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo intervene to look at the Tigers’ treatment of Galvin, and to see if there is a broader issue at the club.
“Players facing employment pressure from their clubs is a serious issue that is unfortunately far too common across the spectrum of the NRL,” Rugby League Players Association boss Clint Newton said.
“It’s not just isolated to one or a handful. We are committed to supporting these players and ensuring their rights are protected against retribution. We will continue to urge the NRL to strengthen its policies and take decisive action to investigate any poor club behaviour toward players.”
Lachie Galvin and the Tigers celebrate the win over the Sharks at Leichhardt.Credit: Steven Siewert
Players are penalised for bringing the game into disrepute. Now there is a push to make clubs operate under that same rule.
A Tigers media release is the centre of Galvin’s legal action against the club. Galvin’s lawyers sent the club a letter claiming he is in an unsafe working environment. The question now is whether the club has caused this problem.
“While it may be challenging for the NRL to investigate its own member clubs, it has willingly taken on this responsibility by positioning itself as the game’s regulator,” Newton said.
“The NRL must prove they can rise to the occasion when they’re needed. Addressing these issues head-on is essential for creating a safe and supportive environment for all players. If clubs see action taken, then this will prevent many future cases from ever happening.”
Bronson Xerri has made a remarkable return to the NRL.Credit: Getty Images
Xerri blossoms
When Bronson Xerri tested positive to a banned substance in 2020, one of his sponsors, Nike, dropped him in a heartbeat. It is a credit to Xerri that he has turned his life around and is playing good football again after his four-year ban, and on Saturday played his 50th NRL game after making his debut for the Sharks in 2019.
He has just done a deal with a new sponsor, Canterbury clothing.
Xerri owned his mistake and has been making amends ever since. It’s nice to see him being rewarded on and off the field.
No Mams land
The Broncos, or more specifically coach Michael Maguire, have made the first correct decision in the entire Ezra Mam saga by leaving him out of the team this week.
The way it has been handled, particularly by the NRL, has been pathetic and embarrassing. The NRL gets many things right, but the failure to come down a lot harder on Mam is as bad a decision as they’ve made in recent times.
The Brisbane star has not played since his ute collided with an Uber at Bardon, in Brisbane’s west, on October 18. Mam was driving while unlicensed and with drugs in his system, and was banned for nine matches by the NRL. Two people in the other car, a child and a woman, were injured in the crash.
Mam was fined $850 and disqualified from driving for a period of nine months in Brisbane Magistrates Court. The Broncos also fined Mam $90,000.
Broncos star Ezra Mam arrives at Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 16 to learn his fate.Credit: William Davis
At least Maguire saw the need to make Mam earn his way back into the team by selecting him in Queensland Cup next weekend.
You’ve got to remember the Broncos’ culture under previous coach Kevin Walters was questioned after they failed to make the finals last season, just a year after making the grand final.
On Maguire’s first day in the job, he walked smack bang into the Mam drama. The Broncos are still a work in progress when it comes to developing the kind of steel Maguire would like, but small things like making Mam work for his spot in the top grade are significant.
Magic round disappearing act
It’s a happy Mother’s Day to all the mums out there – with the possible exception of those who have kids playing in the NSW Cup. For some reason, there is a NSW Cup “magic round” being played in Tamworth this weekend, with all teams required to travel there and back by bus. Spending 10 hours travelling to watch NSW Cup games does not seem like an ideal way to spend Mother’s Day but, hey, what do we know.
Brook the Chook is Sutton special
We told you some time ago about a rising Roosters star, Brooklyn Heath. He is the nephew of South Sydney games record holder John Sutton.
Last weekend Heath scored the try that put his Roosters SG Ball team into extra time before they eventually won their match against Parramatta. The son of Brett Rodwell, Toby Rodwell, is the star of that squad, but the Roosters are keeping an eye on Heath as well. The Roosters would love to have a player with Rabbitohs bloodlines star for their club one day.
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