Club bosses have been waiting two years for a rule to be formalised banning the likes of the Bulldogs general manager of football from using their media platform to openly court an under-contract player.
Under the old anti-tampering rules, rival clubs could negotiate with a player before the final year of his contract started on November 1 – they just couldn’t sign him.
That changed during never-ending collective bargaining agreement negotiations in 2023 when the NRL, RLPA and the clubs agreed there should be no discussions at all.
The clubs pushed for the rule to go further, prohibiting officials from using the media to sell their club to players still under contract.
They may as well have called it the “Gus rule”. Whether it’s on Nine’s 100% Footy, his weekly podcast, or social media accounts, Gould is the game’s loudest voice.
He’s also an accredited official with the Bulldogs, which sits uneasily with the other clubs.
“We’re sick of him flirting with players through the media,” one club chair told me.
You can understand the clubs’ concern: Gould has been flirting hard with Galvin through the media, and it started long before the 19-year-old’s manager, Isaac Moses, in April knocked back a $6m extension at the Tigers.
Each time Gould has addressed the topic, the smirk on his face reminds us that we’ll never understand the backroom deals between clubs and managers as they wrench a player from a rival.
From the moment Galvin told the Tigers he wanted out, chief executive Shane Richardson predicted the youngster would land at the Bulldogs – even when Gould kept denying it.
Then again, Richardson also said he wasn’t going to release Galvin unless there was enough incentive for a trade. A release fee of $175,000 feels like ashtray silver in exchange for a player of Galvin’s ability, let alone the embarrassment to the club of being outmanoeuvred as it has been.
Ultimately, Gould got his man, adding another valuable piece to the Bulldogs’ rebuild. He should get out now before he stuffs it up like he almost did at Penrith.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has either turned a blind eye to Gould’s public courting of Galvin or chosen not to act, which doesn’t surprise after he backed away from fining Gould $20,000 for repeatedly calling the game “stupid” last year.
The first public sign of Gould’s affection for Galvin came in August last year on his podcast.
“Lachlan Galvin will earn more money out of rugby league than any player in history,” Gus oozed. “I think he’s the best teenage footballer I’ve ever seen. I think what he is doing is absolutely extraordinary … I’m obsessed with him. I love watching him play … In the future, whoever has Lachlan Galvin in their side will be winning premierships.”
The predictable smother came in April when Galvin told the Tigers he wanted out because he didn’t feel he could improve under coach Benji Marshall.
Gould said on his podcast it was “untenable” for Galvin to stay, adding he was concerned for the kid’s “welfare”.
But that didn’t mean he wanted to sign him, telling Nine Newspapers five days later: “We’re not thinking about Lachlan Galvin. We’re not going to get into a discussion about Lachlan Galvin. He’s not on our radar. We’ve got a different program going at the moment.”
Playing along with the pantomime was Richardson, an old-school operator who initially stood up to Moses but was ultimately outplayed by him.
He insisted a board meeting held at the start of last week had nothing to do with Galvin being granted an early release. Two days later, Galvin was given permission to talk to other clubs.
The night before the board meeting, Galvin told Souths players after their match at Campbelltown Sports Ground that he was Belmore-bound.
By Friday, Galvin mysteriously popped up on the Bulldogs’ radar. By Saturday, they were favourites ahead of Parramatta. By Sunday, the deal was all but done.
“What happened this week is the goalpost got moved incredibly,” Gould said on Sunday afternoon.
Gotta watch those moving goalposts. Gould has done nothing wrong. He’s secured the game’s hottest youngster by working the system better than everyone, while getting paid by Channel 9 to make his pitch.
I’m sure he’ll cop the bruises over the inconsistencies of his public comments, just as he did when he said Trent Barrett was going be coach the Bulldogs for years to come.
But when will the NRL stand up to him?
A sub-committee that represents the 17 clubs nudged Abdo earlier this month, asking why the rule hadn’t been strengthened as agreed.
He gave no comment when contacted on Sunday night, although it understood the NRL is in discussions with the RLPA about it.
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