‘Worry about your own club’: Knights boss’ blunt response to Gould’s Bali comments

Newcastle football director Peter Parr has responded in kind to Phil Gould’s comments over the Knights’ plans this weekend.

Phil Gould looks on before the NRL match between Parramatta and Penrith at CommBank Stadium. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Newcastle director of football Peter Parr has taken a swipe at Bulldogs counterpart Phil Gould over his infamous “find another job” comments, advising the former coach to worry about his own backyard.

The Knights are the only club not involved in this weekend’s Magic Round in Brisbane, with a small group of their players instead heading to Bali during their extended bye.

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That earned the ire of Gould, who slammed the idea and stated the Knights players should “find another job if you don’t want this job” on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

Parr didn’t want to get into a war of words with Gould, but told The Daily Telegraph the Bulldogs’ general manager would be better served focusing on his own club.

“Our preference would be that people at other clubs worry about their own club,” he said.

“We’ll be guided by our head coach and the coaching staff, not by other clubs. We will run our club.

“Lots of people have an opinion on how to best utilise your byes. Some people think you should get flogged, others think you should get away.

Newcastle director of football Peter Parr. NRL Imagery

“We’ve got three games and then another bye so they won’t be going away on the next bye or the one after that. I reckon there would be less than half a dozen overseas.”

The Knights players have a range of different plans, with some venturing to the NSW south coast and others, including Kalyn Ponga and Adam Elliott, staying in Newcastle to complete extra training.

Gould’s position with both the Bulldogs and the Nine Network has raised issues among club officials for some time.

Phil Gould has come under fire. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo confirmed this week he had spoken to Gould and other Bulldogs powerbrokers about the comments, but stopped short of trying to silence the high-profile media identity.

“This is definitely not about silencing anyone in the media,” Abdo told reporters.

“It’s important for everyone to have their opinions. You guys (the media) do a great job for us, telling the stories to the fans.

“This is not about not wanting criticism, this is just about the rules that the NRL has for everyone accredited in the game.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo speaks to the media. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

“There’s a reason why club officials aren’t able to comment when a matter is live because we don’t want the perception of that influencing the decision-makers.

“Clearly my conversation with the Bulldogs was just around registered club officials not breaching the rules.

“If there’s a matter that’s live, for example either a matter that relates to the match review or the judiciary or an integrity matter, the rules don’t permit players or officials accredited under those rules to talk openly about it.

“That’s what the conversation was about.”

Abdo stopped short, however, of any attempt to muzzle the premiership-winning coach.

“I chat to Gus from time to time and I’m always open to meeting with him,” he said.

“At this stage that’s not necessary although we do have an open dialogue and we’ll continue to do that.”