Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield’s highlights and lowlight: Why DCE, Roosters won’t confirm signing news

Daly Cherry-Evans will turn out for Manly against his new club the Sydney Roosters in Round 22. This is why both parties are refusing to let the cat out of the bag.

Phil Gould has developed a reputation for standing on his soapbox saying he knows all the answers - but then refusing to contribute to real change.

And his comments regarding his withdrawal from a salary cap committee only support that.

Gould said on Channel Nine last week that he refused to be part of the committee, which also includes club CEOs Blake Solly and Dave Donaghy, Dragons chair Andrew Lancaster, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon and player manager David Riolo, because the scope of the committee was not broad enough.

“The reason why I pulled out of that committee was because the scope of the investigation was not extensive enough,” Gould said.

“I said there was nothing I could contribute unless they wanted to go back and blow it up and start again, which they’re not prepared to do obviously.

Bulldogs boss Phil Gould working the mic for Channel 9. Picture: NRL Imagery / Scott Davis

“All these other things are just cosmetic changes and aren’t going to make a great deal of difference to salary cap management.”

These comments are actually a load of crap. Typical Gus twisting the facts.

The truth is the scope for the committee was about as broad as it gets.

The original email to the committee, which initially included Gould, stated the group would “review all aspects of Salary Cap including third party contracts, allowances and exemptions”.

For someone who bags the way the game is run so much, Gus talks so much rubbish.

HIGHLIGHT

The rugby union Test was an absolute thriller in Melbourne on Saturday night (I watched on an iPad) and deserved a better TV rating on Channel 9. Again the game failed to crack the one million viewer mark. All up it did 904,000 on Nine’s free to air channel and 9NOW streaming. This is smaller than the audience for the women State of Origin series earlier in this year.

Less than one million viewers on free-to-air watched the Wallabies’ brave performance against the Lions. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

HIGHLIGHT II

The Titans’ victory over the Warriors in New Zealand to celebrate Dessie Hasler’s 500th game. Sadly it won’t be enough to save his job.

LOWLIGHT

The Cronulla Sharks attack against the Rabbitohs in Gosford. They won by just two points despite a having massive advantage in the penalties, six-again restarts and territory against a side decimated with injuries.

SHOOSH

Daly Cherry-Evans will turn out for Manly against his new club the Sydney Roosters next weekend. His signing at the Bondi Junction club will be formally announced as soon as both Manly and the Roosters are finished for the year, sometime in September. DCE’s management and the Roosters have an agreement to say nothing until then.

SHOOSH II

We’re hearing Wallabies superstar Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is no certainty to stay at the Waratahs next year and that he could be headed to a rival Super Rugby franchise. We tried to check in with his twice-deregistered agent Isaac Moses, who declined to return our calls.

SHOOSH III

Former Australian schoolboys and Queensland Under-19s halfback Tom Duffy is heading to the Brisbane Broncos as a back-up for veteran Adam Reynolds. The 22-year-old has played five games for the North Queensland Cowboys but is on the outer with coach Todd Payten and has not been offered a deal for next season. Duffy had offers from the UK Super League but wants to back himself in the NRL as a long-term replacement for Reynolds in Brisbane.

Tom Duffy will join Brisbane as Reynolds’ back-up. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

SPOTTED

NRL coach-in-waiting Willie Peters taking a short break from his Super League job at Hull Kingston Rovers for a few days of sunshine in Greece with his family.

SPOTTED II

Jake Duke has done an outstanding two-part interview with superstar Greg Inglis which raises great awareness around mental health that airs on Fox League’s Face-to-Face on Tuesday night. It is an extraordinary insight into his life, recreational drugs, rehab and his darkest moments.

SPOTTED III

A Hyundai SUV bearing the number plates of Wests Tigers five-eighth Jarome Luai parked at a McDonald’s.

Does Jarome drive a Hyundai?

360 VIEW

Catch you Monday on NRL 360 at 6.30pm on Fox League with Braith Anasta, Gorden Tallis and Brent Read to discuss all the biggest issues from round 21. Special guest on heavy hitters is newly appointed Kangaroos coach Kevvie Walters.

Originally published as Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield’s highlights and lowlight: Why DCE, Roosters won’t confirm signing news