Gould is a commentator with the Nine Network. He is a budding player agent, having registered a company in March – Limitless Management Pty Ltd – with grand designs to gain a foothold in one of the game’s most competitive and controversial industries.
He has consulted to clubs in past seasons, most notably St George Illawarra where he conducted a review of the club’s football operations. Ask around, and no shortage of people will tell you he helped push Trent Barrett’s cause when it came to landing the job at Canterbury.
He has been linked with roles at Cronulla and the Bulldogs in recent weeks amid suggestions he could unlock the potential at both clubs by taking on an overarching role in their respective football departments.
Amid all that, he still he finds the time on a weekly – almost daily basis if you take into account his activities on social media – to sit in judgment on the NRL, the match officials, the players and the game itself.
Yet somehow he is supposed to divorce himself from those roles and act as a consultant to the code, resolving myriad issues while no doubt stepping on the toes of people already on the game’s payroll.
It has hairs all over it. Maybe Gould could make the product even better. It seems ambitious given the inability of anyone in rugby league’s history to find the solution, but perhaps he could resolve the refereeing issues that continue to blight the game.
The question is at what expense? The concept is riddled with conflicts. How would powerbrokers at Foxtel feel about at the prospect of Gould being involved in the running of rugby league given it would mean a high-level member of the Nine Network would be handed the keys to the NRL?
What about other player managers? What sort of look would it be for the game to have a prospective agent running around the corridors of Rugby League Central at a time when ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys seems hellbent on cleaning up that side of the game?
V’landys has clearly struck up a close relationship with Gould. He was effusive in his praise of rugby league’s resident soothsayer on 100% Footy on the Nine Network a few weeks back. He lathered Gould in praise, the feeling no doubt reciprocal.
V’landys has rarely put a foot out of place since taking over the reins from Peter Beattie. Every call has seemingly been the right call. Giving Gould a paid role at Rugby League Central, however, seems a tough sell.
And why, you feel obliged to ask, is it even necessary? Gould already has V’landys’ ear. Making it official by giving him a seat at the big table — that’s just asking for trouble.
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Can someone please explain how this is supposed to work. Phil Gould may have the biggest brain in rugby league, he may have the answer to the sport’s most vexing questions, but he also has his finger in so many pies he must find it hard at times keep his grip on the microphone on a Thursday and Friday night.