Phil Gould
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- For the drummer Phil Gould, see Phil Gould (musician).
Phil "Gus" Gould, is an Australian Rugby League Football identity. Gould has a prominent role in Channel 9's coverage of rugby league, being a former co-host of Boots N' All, appearing on The Footy Show and the Sunday Roast, and providing sometimes controversial opinions as part of the Nine match coverage commentary team.
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[edit] Football career
Born in Sydney, Australia in 1958 he played junior football with Wentworthville Leagues. Graded by Penrith in 1976 he spent two years mostly in lower grades becoming a regular first grader in 1979. Following retirement of Penrith's British import star Mike Stephenson, Gould was selected as captain at age 20 becoming the youngest NSWRL premiership captain since Dave Brown led Easts in the 1930s. 1979 marked the beginning of injury troubles for Gould including a detached retina problem which ultimately kept him on the sidelines for most of 1980 and which recurred later in his career.
Gould moved to Newtown Rugby League Football Club in 1981 where Warren Ryan was still honing his innovative coaching approach that transformed the way top grade Rugby League was played in Australia in the next decade. After being also-rans for many years a turnaround was achieved when Newtown in 1981 made the Grand Final against Parramatta, though losing 20-11.
Gould signed with Canterbury in 1983 under Ted Glossop losing in the final to Parramatta 18-4. By now Gould had become regarded as an astute ball playing forward. Years of playing "smart" to avoid further eye damage had tuned his ball distribution and organising skills. In 1984 under Warren Ryan at Canterbury Gould was expected to be selected for City 1sts. He broke his ankle the afternoon before selection announcements and didn't get back to first Grade before season end, taking no part in the club's victorious Grand Final 6-4 over Parramatta.
Injuries also took a toll on Gould's 1985 season with Canterbury. He played 14 first grade games and captained the reserve grade side into the semi-finals.
1986 was Gould's last playing season and his first with South Sydney . He played 23 first grade games. It was a springboard to his coaching career as Souths coach George Piggins welcomed Gould's opinion and insight on tactics. Souths finished as runners up in the minor premiership and Piggins was awarded Dally M coach of the year.
In his playing career Gould made 99 first grade appearances across the four clubs.
[edit] Football Coaching Career
A successful coaching career followed. His first five coaching seasons brought two premierships (Canterbury 1989 and Penrith 1991), a loss in a Grand Final (Penrith 1990) and a semi final finish (Canterbury Reserve Grade 1988). In 1992 he took over as coach of New South Wales in the State of Origin series. Gould is credited with instilling in Blues players a pride for the NSW jumper which previously hadn't matched Queensland's passion. The Blues were victorious for the next three series. In 1995 at the start of the Super League war Gould's NSW side lost 3-0 to the Paul Vautin coached team of unknowns patched together from the ranks of Queenlanders loyal to the ARL. The following year the Blues completed a series whitewash of their own with the Brad Fittler captained Blues becoming the 1st to go through a series unchanged. Gould then stood down having inspired four NSW series wins in five years.
On the club front Gould had been lured away from Penrith by the Sydney City Roosters in 1995 at a stage when that once high flying club was continually dwelling at the bottom of the ladder. A long rebuilding phase followed under Gould enabling them to make some quality signings, one of the most important being Brad Fittler the champion five eighth/centre who had an association with Gould at Penrith and with the NSW Blues. The Roosters were consistent semi finalists from 1995 to 2004, though Grand Final appearances didn't come till after Gould had stepped down as coach (in 2000 under Graham Murray and then from 2002 to 2005 under Ricky Stuart with a Premiership in 2002). In those years Gould played an undoubted role as the Roosters Coaching Director.
Gould returned to State of Origin coaching New South Wales from 2002 to 2004 winning two series and drawing the third. To date he has been the most successful New South Wales coach.
[edit] Football Commentator
Gould currently works as a Colour commentater for Channel 9 during rugby league football telecasts, including NRL, state of origin and international football contests. He also works for the Sydney Morning Herald. He is controversial within rugby league fan circles sometimes seen as a one-eyed and biased commentator. He won the TV Fugly Award for "Most Biased Sporting Commentator" in 2002 and 2006[1]. Nevertheless he is seen as one of the more insightful minds on Channel Nine's Rugby League coverage. His uncharacteristic backing of Brisbane in the 2006 NRL Grand Final has caused confusion for his critics.
One example of a recent controversy was when he opined that the Lions were going to get flogged in the Sydney football test against Australia. The Lions won the test 23-12, but although conceding the Lions were the better team, Gould believes that they were lucky and will be thoroughly defeated in the next test.
A website has emerged (www.shutupgus.com.au[2]) selling t-shirts bearing the slogan "Shut Up Gus". The t-shirts were originally only sold in the maroon of Queensland, but are now available in the sky blue of New South Wales.
| Preceded by: Warren Ryan 1984-1987 |
Coach Canterbury Bulldogs 1988-1989 |
Succeeded by: Chris Anderson 1990-1997 |
| Preceded by: Ron Willey 1988-1989 |
Coach Penrith Panthers 1990-1994 |
Succeeded by: Royce Simmons 1994-2001 |
| Preceded by: Arthur Beetson 1994 |
Coach Sydney City Roosters 1995-1999 |
Succeeded by: Graham Murray 2000-2001 |
| Preceded by: Tim Sheens 1991 |
Coach New South Wales State of Origin 1992-1996 |
Succeeded by: Tommy Raudonikis 1997-1998 |
| Preceded by: Wayne Pearce 1999-2001 |
Coach New South Wales State of Origin 2002-2004 |
Succeeded by: Ricky Stuart 2005 |
