Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Gus Gould slammed for $150 Bulldogs training shirt
Canterbury supremo Phil ‘Ronald’ Gould has copped a pasting on social media over the pricing of Bulldogs merchandise.
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Poor old Phil Gould has copped a pasting on social media over the pricing of Canterbury Bulldogs merchandise.
Your columnist is blocked by Gus on Twitter but we’ve been sent some of the reaction to the Bulldogs general manager promoting the club’s new training shirt on his account for $150.
That’s not a misprint … One. Hundred. And. Fifty. Dollars. For a shirt!
It’s almost double the price of a Sydney Swans match-day jersey ($79) for a training shirt.
The Sydney Roosters charge $65 for a training shirt and the Penrith Panthers $70.
Gus obviously doesn’t set the prices for merchandise and it’s hardly his fault.
But here’s some of the reaction to his tweet.
“Pull the other leg Phil, that price is disgusting.”
“Looks great but $150 is daylight robbery should be half that price.”
“Average working class fan can’t buy that.”
“Charging $150 for a training jersey shows how out of touch NRL clubs are becoming.”
“$150? For a training jersey? You’re kidding yourself.”
“$150 wtf… customised AFL jersey is only $79.”
“I remember the days when these were affordable.”
“$150 for a training shirt! Extortion.”
That people like Bulldogs chairman John Khoury or CEO Aaron Warburton can’t recognise that this is a blatant rip-off for working-class fans means the NRL needs to step in.
Peter V’landys knows better than anyone else about looking after his customers.
All rugby league merchandise should be capped at an affordable price.
STOUSH AT THE SEA EAGLES
There is much interest on the northern peninsula about the naming of Manly’s new centre of excellence at Brookvale Oval.
There is talk that the club’s owners – the Penn family – want to name the facility after themselves (Penn Health) rather than after a club legend.
This will create debate among Sea Eagles diehards because the facility was funded by the state government, not the owners, on council land. It has cost taxpayers $35 million.
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Northern Beaches council mayor Michael Regan was reluctant to comment when contacted by The Sunday Telegraph over the issue.
“I have to be diplomatic,” he said, “The club has a 30-year lease on that portion of the ground.
“It’s up to the fans and the broader community. I’ll leave it at that.”
This is a difficult one for CEO Stephen Humphreys.
Manly has announced the new stand at the northern end of the ground will be named after the late immortal Bob Fulton. The stand that was previously known as the Fulton-Menzies stand will now be named the Menzies-Lyons stand.
BITTER DIVIDE BETWEEN SPORTING GREATS
With the A-League struggling dismally and the Socceroos facing World Cup oblivion, the last thing Australian soccer needs is a bitter feud between two of its legends.
Sadly Robbie Slater, a columnist at this news organisation, and Mark Bosnich no longer speak. This has been the case since July last year.
Their closest friends suggest it’s all about Slater sticking up for his mate coach Graham Arnold and Bosnich going in hard as a fearless critic of the embattled Socceroos coach.
Bosnich is always up for a chat but is refusing to take my phone calls or return texts as well.
This is a guy I have known since 1989 when he was a schoolboy hopeful at Manchester United and we sat together in the office of Sir Alex Ferguson to do an interview.
The fallout became public last Sunday over a column Slater wrote in which he was highly critical of Bosnich, who was previously among his closest and most trusted friends.
“He (Bosnich) has been letting people down for a long time,” Slater wrote.
“Why he has got personal is dumbfounding, considering Arnie played a huge role in bringing Bosnich back to Australia after all of his well-documented problems in the UK.”
Slater, who on Friday picked up his Order of Australia medal for services to soccer, is hurt but unapologetic.
“Life’s too short for this shit,” he said, “It’s sad because we used to speak every day, sometimes even four times a day and I honestly don’t know what’s happened. It’s bizarre.
“I’ve tried him a number of time since we both left Fox Sports last July but he won’t pick up the phone. There’s nothing more I can do.”
We don’t want to take sides in the very sad falling out of Robbie Slater and Mark Bosnich.
They are Socceroos legends and good friends of mine.
However Slater is on the money with his rock-sold support for Graham Arnold.
Arnie’s record is outstanding. He has coached the national side in 26 games for 18 wins, four draws and four losses.
In his 16 World Cup qualifiers, the Socceroos have had 12 wins, three draws and only one loss. Only three of these games have been in Australia because of Covid.
Arnold also qualified with the Olyroos for the first time in 12 years. It’s a fair record.
SAINT
A $4-million donation from the NSW Government last week to the Ricky Stuart Foundation to build a home in Queanbeyan for young adults who are living with a disability. Fittingly, the foundation has named the facility the John Fordham House in memory of the Stuart’s manager and great mate who was an inaugural foundation board member of this wonderful charity.
SINNER
The loss of two rugby league legends Johnny Raper and Olsen Filipaina. Both much loved by rugby league fans. One an immortal and wonderful character. The other, quietly spoken, shy but one hell of a footballer. RIP Chook and Big O.
SHOOSH
Which former NRL star recently had photos stolen from his Instagram account that were being used on a male escort site? We contacted the player, who has since had them removed.
SHOOSH
Which two experienced Gold Coast Titans players have struggled during the pre-season and are unlikely to be included in the NRL starting line-up for round one of the competition unless they produce something exceptional in the trials.
SPOTTED
Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo reached 400 million Instagram followers last week, the most of anyone on the planet. American model Kylie Jenner comes in second with 309m. Another soccer superstar, Lionel Messi, completes the trifecta with 306m followers.
SPOTTED
Australia’s most experienced sports medico Dr Nathan Gibbs walked out on the Manly Sea Eagles after a disagreement with coach Des Hasler over the club’s high-performance training methods. Dr Gibbs has since joined the NSW Waratahs and the Sydney Roosters’ NRLW side. He’ll also be the doctor for the NSW Blues in State of Origin.
SPOTTED
Des Hasler’s former assistant at the Canterbury Bulldogs, Kelly Egan, joining the Canberra Raiders to replace the late and great Peter Mulholland as head of recruitment in the national capital. He has huge shoes to fill.
SPOTTED
Mark Beetson, son of Sydney Roosters legend Arthur Beetson, coaching in South Sydney Rabbitohs juniors as an assistant to John Sutton and Beau Falloon with S.G Ball. Mark’s two boys Matthew and Billy both play in Souths juniors and have a ton of ability.
SPOTTED
The NRL shows more respect for the Beetson family than the SCG Trust, who recently snubbed the rugby league Immortal in the naming of new grandstands at the Sydney Football stadium. Artie’s second-oldest son Scott was invited by the NRL to present the trophy after the Indigenous All Stars match at CommBank Stadium.
WARNER BEHIND THE MIC AT TRIPLE M
Candice Warner, the wife of champion cricketer Dave Warner, has picked up a new radio gig.
She will part of a relaunch on Triple M of the good old deadset legends show on Saturday mornings from 10am that covers off on all things sport.
Candice will join Fox Sports caller Dan Ginnane and horse trainer Richard Freedman on the show.
The former ironwoman champion recently made a huge impression as a guest host on 2GB’s Wide World of Sports show.
UNVACCINATED AREN’T WELCOME
The Cronulla Sharks will ban unvaccinated fans from their trial match against the Canterbury Bulldogs on February 28 at Shark Park.
The Sharks have made this decision as the only NRL club that owns its home ground.
Lucky all Bulldogs and Sharks players and officials are fully vaccinated.
Imagine the drama if it was the Cowboys (Jason Taumalolo is unvaccinated) or the Canberra Raiders (Joe Tapine is the same.)
Your columnist watched Harold Matthews and S.G Ball last weekend where proof of vaccination was also required at the turnstiles.
Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta says the stance on Covid for the safety of fans will be reviewed before the start of the premiership.
Their first home game is in round two against the Parramatta Eels which is an expected sell-out.
“We will monitor all the data and listen to the government and health experts then make the call,” Mezzatesta said.
THE HOTEL OF HEROES
The Novotel at Sydney Olympic Park became a who’s who of the sporting world last week.
Not only were the Australian and Sri Lankan cricket teams staying at the hotel, but also the Maori All Stars that played against the Indigenous team at CommBank Stadium on Saturday night.
Strict Covid protocols prevented any interaction among the players. They were not allowed in lifts, the restaurant or the bars together.
It would have been a huge thrill for Aussie skipper Pat Cummins who is a Panthers fan and loves front-rower James Fisher-Harris.
CHOOK DEBUTED AGAINST REX
Now here is some impressive rugby league history …
The official match program from league immortal Johnny Raper’s first grade debut for the old Newtown Jets against Manly.
Chook played in the second-row that day and not many would realise his direct opponent that afternoon at Henson Park in April, 1957 was none other than Rex “The Moose” Mossop.
Manly had the toughest of forward packs in those days with legendary prop Roy Bull controlling the middle.
BRONCOS’ CONTRACT PAYNE
Boom front-rower Payne Haas is locked in at the Brisbane Broncos for another three years.
The big fella has so far resisted overtures from the club to extend for another five seasons. That’s how highly they rate the NSW Blues stand out.
It’s fascinating because Haas has fallen out with his agents, Chris and Gavin Orr.
There is talk Haas will be managed by none other than Khoder Nasser down the track, Sonny Bill Williams’ agent.
And this is where it gets interesting.
Khoder is extremely tight with Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis. The Roosters will have their enforcer Jared Waerea Hargreveas ready to retire in the next few years. Watch this space.
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