The Buzz: Sydney Roosters sound out Phil Gould on coaching role

PANTHERS general manager Phil Gould has been sounded out by Sydney Roosters board members to return to the club as coaching director.

PANTHERS general manager Phil Gould has been sounded out by Sydney Roosters board members to return to the club as coaching director.

A week after The Sunday Telegraph revealed Parramatta had made an $800,000-a-season play to lure Gould back to coaching, the Roosters have also thrown their hat in the ring.

With Gould's job to fix Penrith only half done, there appears little chance of the two-time premiership-winning coach entertaining the idea until 2014.

What the move does underline is that Brian Smith's days at the Tricolours appear numbered beyond the final year of his four-year contract next season. If Gould did return to Bondi Junction, what would it mean for the Panthers and coach Ivan Cleary?

Cleary would be tailor-made as the type of coach to get the Roosters into the top four on a regular basis and his name has also been mentioned as a potential head coach for 2014.

More immediately at Bondi Junction, Roosters coach Smith and star playmaker Mitchell Pearce smoked the peace pipe last Tuesday in the wake of revelations the NSW Origin halfback wanted out of the final year of his contract.

A major part of the problem had been Smith's lack of communication with Pearce and last Tuesday was the first time the pair had engaged in a frank one-on-one discussion for a long time.

Even though Pearce and Smith have called a truce for now, the Roosters coach remains under huge pressure after managing 33 wins from 71 games in three seasons at the helm for a 46.4 per cent success rate.

Roosters chairman Nick Politis is one of the most fiercely loyal powerbrokers in rugby league and is a supporter of the discipline that Smith has instilled at the club. But his patience can only last so long.

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GAL CHIP OFF OLD BLOCKER

CHANNEL Ten executives are continuing to make a massive play to secure the NRL television rights from the rival Nine Network in a bidding war tipped to top $1 billion.

And Ten's latest weapon is NSW and Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen.

Gallen will replace Steve Roach on The Game Plan for the next fortnight, with 'Blocker' at the London Olympics to watch his son Aidan compete for Australia in water polo.

"I'm a big fan of the show and while I still have a couple of years on the field left yet, it could be a stepping stone post-footy," Gallen said.

"One thing is for sure, big Blocker is going to leave a pretty massive seat to fill."

Nine boss David Gyngell is on record as saying he won't let the rights go, but Ten chiefs Lachlan Murdoch and James Warburton are also going all in.

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ROMANCE COULD BE IN WATER

THERE has been plenty made of the pictures snapped in London of our own Blair Evans and superstar American swimmer Ryan Lochte looking smitten.

And ex-Olympian Michael Klim fanned the flames when he told Triple M radio station the pair might have had a bit of history.

But another shot that caught our eye from London was this one of golden girl Stephanie Rice looking rather cosy with bad boy Nick D'Arcy.

Talk about these two Queensland-based training partners being more than just "good friends" refuses to go away.

They have both always denied a romance, but judging from the body language here, the pair clearly share a close connection.

Rice also tweeted a picture of herself with comedy duo Hamish Blake and Andy Lee in the Olympic Village with guess who?

Yes, bad boy D'Arcy.

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Daniel Geale

GEALE'S OUR UNDISPUTED CHAMP

YOU won't catch Daniel Geale making the brash, big-noting comments favoured by plenty of other boxers.

However, the IBF middleweight world champion is on target to make a name for himself as the best Australian boxer of his generation if he wins his next fight.

Geale is slated to fight WBC world champion Felix Sturm in Germany on September 1 in what will be a unification world title bout.

Having previously proven he won't be intimidated by the fighters on the tough European circuit with last year's victory over Sebastian Sylvester, Geale continued his preparation at Grange Old School Boxing headquarters in Smeaton Grange last week.

"I'm expecting my hardest fight yet because he's been a great champion, but as a lot of people have said to me some things have to come to an end," Geale said.

"I'm working on having a couple of aces up my sleeve.

"But for the time being I'll be keeping them under the radar and just concentrating on training."

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JOEY, FREDDY RUGBY SWITCH

SAY it isn’t so. Former league greats Brad Fittler, Andrew Johns and Bryan Fletcher are switching to the rah-rah ranks and will don the Wallaby gold for the World Rugby Classic in Bermuda in November. Normally a tournament reserved for former international rugby players, we’re tipping that Freddy, Joey and Fletch were talked into playing by the lure of a calypso getaway drinking Pina Coladas in the Caribbean. The trio will line-up alongside Wallaby legends Tim Horan, Jason Little and George Gregan.

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THE GODS OF THUNDER

THE Sydney Thunder are fast assembling the strongest T20 Big Bash League side of the summer, with international stars Chris Gayle, Shahid ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi and now Kevin Pietersen all confirmed starters. Hot on the heels of landing the signatures of Gayle and Afridi, the twittersphere lit up last week about big-hitting English star Pietersen also being set for a summer in the Harbour City.

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STORM'S NEW YORK GAME

THE Melbourne Storm are in advanced negotiations to stage a game in New York against the Matt Elliott led USA Tomahawks in mid-October. Former Manly player Matt Astill, who runs the trendy New York bar The Australian, has been a conduit, with the Storm set to fund the trip and have it cleared by the NRL to make sure it fits within salary cap rules. An interesting sidelight will be the coaching duel between Craig Bellamy and Elliott. Elliott was famously the coach who blew the whistle on the Storm’s grapple tackle tactics in 2003. In 15 encounters in the NRL, Elliott has never beaten Bellamy.

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ANGE AGENT PROVOCATEUR

PORN king Con Ange is in the process of applying to become an accredited rugby league player agent. In a move guaranteed to have NRL headquarters diving for cover, Ange filed the paperwork with the Agent Accreditation Scheme last week and is awaiting further instructions. An avid rugby league fan, Ange enjoys strong ties with several NRL clubs, including premiers Manly, Wests Tigers and Cronulla.

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ANNESLEY'S COLD SHOULDER

NSW Minister for Sport and ex-NRL referee Graham Annesley has weighed into the shoulder-charge debate, urging the Australian Rugby League Commission to refrain from banning it at the end of this season. Annesley said contact with the head or neck must be avoided to protect player safety. ‘‘It’s up to the current rule makers how they best achieve that objective, but in my view banning it alone will not guarantee such contact won’t occur,’’ Annesley said. ‘‘Head-high tackles are banned but still occur occasionally.’’

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EAGLES' BOYS SQUARE OFF

CALL it the love grudge fight of the year—and at the centre of it is Lauryn Eagle. Before Todd Carney, Eagle was involved with Gary St Clair and Lovemore Ndou. St Clair was her first trainer until Ndou snuck under his guard. Now they are set to fight on August 10 as part of a Jamie Myer fight night promotion. ‘‘Obviously there’s a little bit of history there in terms of Gary was with Lauryn and then Lovemore stole her off him,’’ Myer said. ‘‘From what I’ve been told, there’s a lot of bad blood between them, especially from Gary.’’

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SAINT

OUR Olympic flag-bearer Lauren Jackson might have pocketed millions as a star in the WNBA, but she still labelled leading out the team at the Opening Ceremony as the greatest honour of her career.

SINNER

JOHN Steffensen for using the Olympics as a vehicle to raise racism allegations he should have blown the whistle on years ago. If it happened in Beijing, why did we have to wait until London to hear about it, John?

BUNNY BUSINESS

SOUTH Sydney have done well to smother the reason why Toyota Cup players James Roberts and Adrian Ha’angana had their contracts ripped up last week. We’ve been told the duo misbehaved at a well-known gentlemen’s club wearing Rabbitohs clothing.

SHOOSH

WHICH NRL club had to set up a separate bank account for one of its star players when some teammates blew the whistle about him gambling on poker machines? The player, who has played State of Origin and represented Australia, has since switched clubs.

SPOTTED I

Buzz Rothfield’s daughter Emma, snapped a shot of Bulldogs captain Mick Ennis running the line  as a touch judge in the Shire under-6 competition yesterday.

SPOTTED II

FORMER Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting playing golf in the Shire on Thursday.