Gene Krupa
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Inside Phil Gould’s feud with the Roosters and chairman Nick Politis
Just when you thought there was no more juice to squeeze from the Joseph Suaalii lemon, along comes Phil Gould and Trent Robinson to entertain us with one of the greatest war of words in rugby league history.
Well, greatest in the last week.
Like two silverback gorillas tearing into each other, Gould and Robinson danced a furious tongue tango with one another after Gould said the Roosters should let rugby-bound Suaalii leave now.
“And don’t let the door hit you on the arse on the way out!” Gould said on 100% Footy, which is owned by Nine Entertainment Co, which also owns this fine masthead.
Robinson told Gould, the Bulldogs general manager, to “stick to his own turf”, before Gould hit back on his Set of Six podcast saying that he “fears no-one”, among other stuff.
The lesson here: never get into a blue with someone who has 34 different media gigs.
We’ll get to the Suaalii gibber shortly, but the fascinating subplot is Gould’s deepening feud with his former club and, especially, chairman Nick Politis.
Gould infuriated the club in September 2021 when he said South Sydney fullback Latrell Mitchell shouldn’t be sanctioned for breaking the face of Roosters centre Joey Manu.
Robinson and Gould had it out over the phone at the time, with Gould later describing it as “emotional”, but it didn’t put the matter to bed.
Indeed, it’s well known around the Roosters that Gould and Politis haven’t spoken in well over a year, despite attempts from a mutual friend to broker peace.
Gould drifts in and out of relationships all the time. Remember, he fell out with his former manager, Wayne Beavis, over Anthony Griffin in 2020.
But Gould and Politis have a long history, stretching back to the 1990s when Politis lured him from Penrith to become coach. In 2006, Politis asked Gould who should replace Ricky Stuart and Gould said Wayne Bennett. Politis snapped up Bennett, who then reneged.
Many people think Gould has been over the top with some of his opinions of late but, in reality, it’s a return to the good old days when Cyclone Gus would rip and tear in his Sun-Herald column.
If I know the combatants well enough, they’ll be breaking bread at Beppi’s and calling each other “baby” before you know it. Others, though, aren’t so sure.
Gould did not respond to requests to comment.
