In one media conference, Phil Gould showed South Sydney how to handle a white-substance crisis

For years, Phil Gould has been threatening to write a book about himself. Set the record straight and so on.

The only problem is whether anyone would believe him.

“There are degrees of truth,” he said early in his snap media conference at Belmore Sports Ground on Tuesday morning at which he revealed winger Josh Addo-Carr had stood himself down after allegedly returning a positive roadside test for cocaine on Friday.

Addo-Carr wasn’t playing against North Queensland on Saturday because of injury but was still in camp and had ducked out, we’re told, to buy a phone charger.

There are degrees of truth and there are facts and the fact is we won’t know if Addo-Carr has been on the Belmore Blow until the results of a second sample are known.

According to Gould, that could take months. “I mightn’t be alive,” he quipped to reporters.

Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould.Credit: Nick Moir

For as long as anyone can remember, the Bulldogs general manager has considered himself the smartest man in the room.

A master manipulator of men, media and the message he sends to the wider public, he can spin with the best of them.

Just over two years ago, he branded the media “childish” for speculating coach Trent Barrett’s job was under threat after Gould had taken over a training session. No less than 13 days later, Barrett quit with Gould telling us he had nothing to do with it.

That’s been Gould’s way for as long as anyone can remember. It’s utterly fascinating and entirely boring at the same time.

When he’s not spitting out whatever’s on his mind on X, formerly known as Twitter, he’s cutting down stories from pesky journalists he so clearly detests.

Like much of what you read on social media, some of what Gould says is true, some of it wrong.

On Sunday, in the rush to be first, he announced the Bulldogs’ elimination final against Manly would be at Accor Stadium on Saturday night — before the NRL decided it would be Sunday afternoon.

On Monday, as reporters got wind of the Addo-Carr story, he posted: “RUMOUR MILL REGARDING JOSH ADDO-CARR in response to circulating rumours and now several media enquiries regarding Josh Addo-Carr … the test results were negative and Josh was allowed to continue on his way. Happens to all of us at some stage on the roads. It’s the Police keeping the community safe. We appreciate their work. There is absolutely no truth to rumours that Josh had any issue. None whatsoever. Enjoy your finals football everyone.”

That prompted NSW Police to put out a media statement of their own: “The driver – a 29-year-old man – was subject to roadside testing which allegedly returned a positive indication for cocaine. The sample has been sent for analysis.”

Stood down: Josh Addo-Carr.Credit: NRL Photos

Gould takes the rugby league media to task almost daily about spreading misinformation. He’s the Paul Barry of Rugby League Media Watch.

“[It] sort of escalated yesterday afternoon, probably more after my tweet than anything,” he admitted on Tuesday, adding: “I don’t think he [Addo-Carr] has deliberately misled me or lied to me. Probably didn’t give me the whole version of what had happened there on the night.”

Gould is a walking contradiction, but few can dispute his intelligence. He knows the importance of killing off a story before it turns into a dumpster fire.

He’s never admitted he’s wrong in his life but his decisiveness on Tuesday in fixing his own error was a lesson in how to handle a crisis, especially with his team reaching the finals for the first time since 2016.

Instead of leaving it to his players to field questions about Addo-Carr at an 11.45am media session, Gould addressed reporters beforehand and didn’t miss a beat, talking us through every detail of what had gone down — as he understood it.

Contrast that with how Souths fumbled its way through the Latrell Mitchell saga after he was photographed standing over the top of a mountain of white powder in a Dubbo hotel room last month.

(There is no suggestion, by the way, that the substance was drugs).

It took weeks for the Souths board to determine its own sanction and then tried to outsmart and outmanoeuvre the NRL over when their entitled fullback had to serve a one-match ban.

In the end, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo blocked Mitchell from serving his suspension in the final round against the Roosters. It was his strongest show of leadership since taking on the job four years ago.

At no stage did anyone in a position of power at Souths front the media to answer questions as Gould did. As Mitchell giggled on an exercise bike in front of TV cameras at training, it was left to his teammates to face the heat.

Every successful club needs a dominant figure like Gould, who will put team first and not pander to superstars and their managers.

The last thing Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo needed heading into the match against the Sea Eagles was the distraction of a big, bubbly personality like Addo-Carr being stood down.

His side’s heavy losses to Manly and North Queensland in the final two rounds suggest they’ve run out of gas. Let’s hope not: their success has been the story of the season.

Then there’s that rumour mill to which Gould referred, spitting out suggestions the club wants to move on Addo-Carr because he’s injury prone.

We’ll know the truth soon enough, I guess. Maybe Gus can make it a chapter in his book.

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