Daley bided his time but revenge on Gould finally arrived

Laurie Daley has bided his time but eventually the chance to launch a stunning revenge attack on Phil Gould has arrived.

Laurie Daley and Phil Gould. Picture: Tim Hunter/AAP

Two years ago, as NSW found themselves lurching from one disaster to the next under Laurie Daley, Penrith head of football Phil Gould launched a scathing attack that many believe helped fast-track the cathartic changes at the Blues.

Amid claims of a drinking session involving Blake Ferguson and Josh Dugan only days out from a game in the 2017 series, Gould lamented a rotten culture and a lack of leadership.

He suggested Daley was cooked as coach and remarkably claimed he would be reluctant to send any of his players — most notably Nathan Cleary — into the NSW set-up.

Daley was shown the door soon after and Gould was among those approached to take over, an offer he quickly declined.

Ultimately Brad Fittler stepped into the role and won his maiden series in charge, evidence in the eyes of many that the right choice had been made.

Meanwhile, Daley picked up the pieces by joining a morning breakfast show and biding his time. That time finally arrived today, when he had many of his listeners choking on their cornflakes as he launched an extraordinary attack on the culture at Penrith.

A culture, let’s not forget, that has been fostered under Gould’s stewardship. Daley isn’t prone to hyperbole. He doesn’t criticise for the sake of it. Nor does he come across as the vindictive type.

He is thoughtful and unfailingly honest. At the same time, he clearly has a long memory. Speaking in his role as co-host of 2KY’s Big Sports Breakfast, Daley skewered Penrith and by extension Gould as he claimed he would be reluctant to have his son play for the Panthers or his daughter go out with one of their players.

“If you’re a parent, which I am, at the moment if I have a son good enough to play and if Penrith were in discussions with my son, I wouldn’t want my son to go and play at Penrith,” Daley said.

Phil Gould and Laurie Daley together on the NSW coaching staff in 2004

“And I wouldn’t want my daughter to go out with any Penrith player. At the moment, how many people have been charged?

“How many people have been involved (in videos) released at the moment? There’s three players, four players from Penrith, compared to other clubs.

“What I’m saying is if I’ve got my son or my daughter, I don’t want them going anywhere near Penrith …

“If I’ve got proof or evidence that other people are doing it, I’ll lay into them as well.”

Then the kicker: “But at the moment it’s Penrith and Penrith haven’t got a great culture.”

It is hard to argue given recent days. The Panthers are a club in crisis and no one really knows when it will end.

Tyrone May has been charged by police and stood down by the game. Players and officials are running scared amid fears that more videos could find their way into the public domain.

Gould cut a disconsolate figure on Wednesday night as he addressed the issue. He looked like a man dealing with a burning sense of betrayal.

He has nurtured the players at Penrith and transformed the club into a premiership force. There are many who believe that the Panthers are ready to win a premiership, Ivan Cleary having been lured back to the foot of the mountains for that express purpose.

All that work threatens to be undone by a group of entitled and mindless footballers who decided to share lewd videos among themselves.

Daley is right. There is clearly something wrong with the culture at Penrith, which makes you wonder where the senior players were in all this.

Young footballers need to be led. More often than not, it falls on the coach and senior players to do the leading. A few years back, a young footballer at a prominent out-of-Sydney club was struggling to find his niche.

He took a video and showed it to the senior players, thinking his conquest would curry favour. Instead, he was told to impress them with what he did on the training track and field.

The dressing room straightened him out. The dressing room has failed Penrith. That’s not to forget the administration, among them Gould. Given his state on Wednesday night, it would be no surprise if Gould walked away having done much of the heavy lifting in recent years.

Under the new regime he has taken more of a back seat. Cleary’s arrival has no doubt eroded his power to an extent, particularly given the fractious relationship between the pair stretching back to the coach’s previous dismissal.

Plenty of people will tell you Gould and Cleary have put the past to bed. They have moved on for the sake of Penrith. They have a common goal of winning a premiership and that has been enough to consign history to the past.

Burying the hatchet with Daley may prove more problematic.