NRL 2024: Former Australian NFL player Colin Scotts slams Phil Gould for kick-off opinion

A former Australian NFL player has launched a vicious spray on Phil Gould over his opinions on the kick-off debate, further suggesting a rule change that could reduce concussions by 25 per cent.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 12: General Manager of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and commentator Phil Gould is seen before game three of the State of Origin series between New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons at Accor Stadium on July 12, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

A former Australian NFL player has labelled Canterbury general manager Phil Gould “dangerous, arrogant and ignorant” while devising a plan that could potentially reduce the risk of concussion from long kick-offs by 25 per cent.

Sydney-born Colin Scotts said the NRL should consider a rule change where a player who catches the ball from a kick off must run the ball – and not be permitted to pass to a rampaging forward.

He claimed the NRL must attempt to reduce the impact of concussion when 115kg front rowers launch into the defensive line from a long kick off or “our great game will literally die in the courts.”

Scotts said the player, most likely a front-rower, would take possession and start his run from a standing start, ending props having a 10 metre run-up before being passed the ball.

He has already floated the idea with ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys.

An American football defensive tackle, Scotts has become an advocate for concussion and brain protection after being knocked out five times during an NFL career with St Louis Cardinals and Houston Oilers in 1987 and 1988.

And Scotts sent a direct message to Gould – who wants the long-kick off retained – by saying: “Shut up, Gus.”

Former Australian NFL player Colin Scotts has sounded off on Phil Gould.

Gould was a vocal opponent last week to any rule change, telling 9: “Leave the game alone. We are tearing it apart. It is really frustrating watching our game be torn apart by everybody bar the coaches and the players, it just drives me mad.

“Doctors, lawyers and fans on social media, that’s all they listen to. They don’t listen to players.”

Scotts fired back at Gould, saying: “It was ignorant and arrogant of Gould to say that they shouldn’t touch the kick-off, it is a dangerous thing to say.

“Gus, is he qualified and educated on this? Or does he get his misinformation from the internet? Has he read all the medical papers like I have? I talk to the Concussion Legacy Foundation at Boston University in America every two weeks, and the Brain Bank in Australia weekly. I have to call it out. I know where this is going.

“We need to stand up to people like Gus. He is saying we should go and talk to the players. That’s the worst thing we can do. The fact is, players don’t care because they are earning big money and are very shortsighted about the possible consequences of head knocks.

Phil Gould wants the current kick-off format to remain. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

“But talk to the players in another ten, 20 years when it’s too late and they have started suffering from memory loss, depression, anxiety, violence and suicide. You only worry about it when you start getting it.

“You can lose your mind. If you don’t have your mind or connection in life, what do you have? We are not playing with a knee injury. The game is getting bigger, stronger and faster and the brain is becoming more vulnerable. It’s not protected.

“It’s the only form of dementia which is preventable. It’s a choice, and concussions cause concussions – it’s self-inflicted.”

Asked for his message to Gould, Scotts said: “Gus, shut up, seriously. We need to grow up.”

Scotts said his rule change where the catcher has to run the ball back would cut back on head knocks and retain long kick offs.

The kick-off debate has been in full force after Mosese Suli was ruled out of his side’s Anzac Day fixture. Picture: NRL Photos

“Every kick-off, there is generally a smaller guy who catches the ball and there is a big teammate ten metres behind coming off the back fence on the fly,” Scotts said. “It is a great spectacle but high-risk and dangerous.

“By standing still to catch the ball and then starting your run, the force of the collision when attacker meets defender is clearly reduced. A standing start means your impact and energy will be less. It makes sense in these times.

“Props have so much skill and co-ordination these days, surely they can catch a kick off. It’s a skill set. If they have to learn it, learn it. You want to run the ball, you have to catch the ball.

“The trouble is, if the NRL don’t keep adjusting in a protective sense then our great game will literally die in the courts.

“I talked to a specialist doctor and he said this would reduce the chance of concussion by 20 to 25 per cent. It means keeping the kick-off – which we love as a spectacle – but modify and adjust it. It’s not about going soft, it’s just being smart.

“The fact is, no-one enjoys hard contact more than myself. I made a good living at it. We didn’t know about any healthy issues with head knocks back then like we do know.”