Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler defend Phil Gould’s takeover of Bulldogs training

A pair of rugby league icons have jumped to Phil Gould’s defence after he made headlines for taking charge of a Bulldogs training session.

Rugby league icons Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler have jumped to the defence of former coach Phil Gould after the Bulldogs’ general manager of football made headlines for taking charge of a training session at Canterbury this week.

Following the Bulldogs’ 34-14 loss to the Brisbane Broncos last weekend, Gould took matters into his own hands and ran a training session after giving the players a stinging spray.

According to foxsports.com.au, Gould blasted several Bulldogs players during a video analysis session before having a major role in a training session at Belmore Oval on Tuesday.

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Speaking on Fox League’s NRL 360 this week, News Corp journalist Paul Kent argued the incident was the beginning of Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett’s “funeral march”.

Johns, who was coached by Gould when playing Origin for New South Wales, argued a “change of voice” could be beneficial for the struggling Bulldogs, who sit bottom of the NRL ladder with just one victory in the opening seven rounds.

“A quote that my beautiful girl, the lovely Kate Kendall, says to me, ‘nothing changes if nothing changes’,” Johns told Wide World of Sports’ Freddy & The Eighth.

“A different voice, a couple of different ideas … copping a spray off Gus, I remember he gave me a big bollocking, and it probably brought the best out of me — I played my best series in Origin, in 2003.

“Gus without a doubt is the best coach I’ve had, along with Warren Ryan.

“When Gus coached me, the blinkers were off and the things he spoke about and the things to look for, it was one of those light bulb moments. Genius mind.

“Challenges guys, can challenge players, but can also manage big egos.”

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Fittler continued: “You don’t get many chances to have an impact, especially in Gus’ seat, and he understands that.

“He wanted them to know that they’re not playing up to standard and most of them are capable of doing it, but they’re losing concentration … all the players they’ve bought haven’t taken the team to another level.

“They’re most probably not working for each other, so what happens is, if you’re not working for someone else — every other player gets affected.

“On the other hand, when you look at Penrith, they all work together. They’re all working hard for each other, so they’re all back in position, so there’s less defence and less tacklers. When you’re running, you’ve got more supporters.”

Gould guided the Bulldogs to their sixth title in 1988, winning another premiership as Penrith’s coach three years later. He remains the most successful New South Wales coach in history, with six State of Origin series wins under his belt.

Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Gould explained that it was Barrett’s idea for the players to hear a different voice at training.

Phil Gould currently commentates on Channel 9.

“Trent asked me to present some data to the players before the Broncos game last week,” he said earlier this week.

“We got a good reaction. He wanted to give it another go this week, which we did. It was an honest appraisal.

“I was then talking to Trent in the middle of the field while players were doing some skill drills. They were a bit sluggish to start the week and I said to Trent they needed a liven up.

“He threw me his whistle. I was wearing jeans. It was a bit of fun and something different for the players. Not sure that my 1980s approach will change the world, but it was fun.

“I would do anything Trent asked me to do.”

The Bulldogs will face the Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off scheduled for 5.30pm AEST.