‘I never said we weren’t interested’: Phil Gould’s deception laid bare

Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has been put on blast as his lies and deception has come into focus following the Lachlan Galvin signing.

Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has come under fire after his deception was laid bare as the Lachlan Galvin saga finally came to a close with Canterbury winning the signature of the prized youngster.

On Sunday news emerged that Galvin was set to sign with the Bulldogs on around $750,000 a season after turning down a monster $6 million contract extension offer.

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The development confirmed rumours that Bulldogs’ general manager of football Gould had been working behind the scenes to negotiate a deal to lure Galvin from the Tigers.

The 67-year-old had batted his eyelids at Galvin for months, yet any time his club’s interest was brought up he in no uncertain terms shut down any talks of bringing the teenager to the club.

In April, Gould again denied the Bulldogs were in any way interested in Galvin after the young playmaker told the Tigers he would not be at the club long-term.

And Gould even took the club out of the race for the talented playmaker, stating they have full faith in Toby Sexton and their youth stocks.

However, one way or another the Bulldogs have now got the man they reportedly didn’t want.

And even still Gould dug his heels in and claimed he still had not spoken to Galvin and the move had nothing to do with him.

Gould said the goalposts had moved in recent days and after the player met with coach Cameron Ciraldo, he was then brought in on the details and told to set up a deal.

But rather than make any admission about how things unfolded and address the elephant in the room, Gould went on the offensive on 100% Footy.

“I haven’t met Lachlan Galvin. What I do know is there is not another CEO, not another general manager or recruitment manager that has to sit on a panel and answer these questions,” Gould said.

That response got the backup of respected NRL journalist Michael Chammas who barked back: “But that’s your decision (to be a media personality and general manager)”.

You can watch his heated exchange with Michael Chammas in the player at the top of the page.

Phil Gould has come under fire following the signing of Lachlan Galvin. Image: Getty

Annoyed at being challenged, Gould then turned his attention to bagging Chammas and slamming the media in general.

“I’m just saying these are things we do internally, most of our issues are created by the jibber in the media and what you want to do and extend on it,” Gould continued.

“You say a lot of things that just aren’t true. You say a lot of things that are exaggerated. You exaggerate what’s going on and that makes it difficult for us.

“I’m not going to sit here and point out everything you (Chammas) have done wrong, it doesn’t worry or interest me.”

Gould also added: “I misled no one. I mislead no one. Mind your words son”.

It comes as Gould’s dealings at the Bulldogs continue to be heavily scrutinised as time and time again he says one thing and does another.

Late last year Gould denied the Bulldogs were interested in Knights forward Leo Thompson only for Kiwi international to pen a four-year deal with Canterbury in January.

Gould also denied reports that he’d signed Sitili Tupouniua last year only for the club to confirm a four-year deal a week later.

When pressed on why he deliberately misleads fans and the media on his or Canterbury’s intentions, the Bulldogs supremo backflipped on his comments and again dug his heels in.

“I never said we weren’t interested (in Galvin). What I said was we’re on a different course because he wasn’t off contract until 2027,” Gould said.

“We couldn’t talk to him until November.”

Chammas and Gould continued their back-end-forth for several more minutes, with the Bulldogs GM stating he was surprised by Galvin becoming available and denied any wrongdoing.

However, as pointed out by veteran journalist Andrew Webster on Monday, the Galvin deal wreaks of Gould courting the player while still under contract, something that is against the NRL rules.

“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,” Webster wrote in The Australian on Monday.

“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.

Phil Gould denied interest in Leo Thompson before the Bulldogs signed him. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Phil Gould shut down talks the Bulldogs could sign Sitili Tupouniua before announcing him as a signing the following week. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“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.

“ … Each time Gould has addressed the topic (Galvin), 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.”

When asked about Webster’s statement Gould said: “I don’t give a damn about what Andrew Webster writes or any journalist in this town”.

NRL journalist Phil Rothfield says the main issue is currently Gould is able to use his media platform to his advantage as the general manager of a football club and can get away with it.

“The difference is, Gus is not a club official,” Rothfield explained on NRL360 on Monday.

“He is being paid a substantial amount of money to sit on a panel like this, to Channel Nine viewers to keep them informed on rugby league matters and in my view he’s misled them — the people who watch Channel Nine have been misled.”

Galvin could play for the Bulldogs as soon as round 14 when Canterbury takes on Parramatta.

Lachlan Galvin could play for the Bulldogs as early as Round 14. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Galvin signing to trigger Dogs reshuffle

According to Code Sports, Galvin’s signing is set to trigger a domino effect on the rest of Canterbury’s roster.

Fullback Connor Tracey is reportedly tipped to make way so Matt Burton can move from five-eighth.

Sexton is without a contract beyond this year and Bailey Hayward, Josh Curran, Reed Mahoney, Sam Hughes and Viliame Kikau are free to negotiate with rival clubs from November.

Penrith great Greg Alexander said on Fox League: “It’s no surprise to see him (Galvin) go to the Dogs.

“But I always thought it would be a better fit at Parramatta playing outside Mitch Moses. The Eels need a five-eighth and Dylan Brown’s gone. But that’s not how it’s going to be.”

Former Bulldog Mick Ennis said: “I love the signing. The Bulldogs have an opportunity and they’ve had extreme growth.

“They will find room for him. My understanding is we’re going to see a reshuffle to the Canterbury side.”

Braith Anasta said: “I hear Reed Mahoney has a chance of being moved on. That’s not from any good source but I’ve heard that over the past 12 months,” Anasta said.

Connor Tracey (pictured) could find himself on the outer after the Dogs signed Lachlan Galvin (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

Tigers legend on Galvin: ‘See ya later’

Balmain Tigers legend Roach, who urged Galvin to show “loyalty” to the Tigers earlier this year, said it was time for the two parties to go their separate ways.

“You’ve got to want to play for your club,” Roach told news.com.au.

“I’m old school. If you don’t want to be there, see ya later. Good luck to him.

“I think he does some good things and he’s got potential but I don’t think he’s the type of player they’re saying he is. He’s not a Fittler or a Daley yet. Maybe it’s a little bit of overhype.

“He’s got ability, he’s going to be good. But maybe they’ve pumped him up a bit too much too early.”

Originally published as ‘I never said we weren’t interested’: Phil Gould’s deception laid bare