Bulldogs shot brag Phil Gould has revealed however helium fielded 1 telephone telephone from an NRL nine funny successful acquiring Luke Thompson and a mates of weeks aboriginal it had spiralled into a wholly mendacious communicative splashed each implicit the media.
If you judge assorted reports that person featured successful aggregate outlets implicit the past 7 days, Canterbury were looking to nonstop Thompson to different nine successful a bid to get a hefty declaration disconnected their books and were consenting to subsidise his wage to marque it happen.
It's a communicative that has since been corrected to a degree, but up until present Gould, the antheral who would request to thrust those negotiations if the Bulldogs so were keen to get escaped of Thompson, has not been quoted astir it.
He yet acceptable the grounds consecutive successful Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast, revealing however a premix up betwixt Thompson's UK-based manager and the absorption radical acting for him successful Australia had created a communicative that was "totally farcical".
It each started with an guiltless telephone telephone from an NRL nine "three oregon 4 weeks ago" asking Gould if the Bulldogs were unfastened to selling Thompson's declaration to them.
Gould replied that the nine would lone look astatine it if determination was a semipermanent woody for Thompson that would instrumentality his clip successful the NRL beyond his existent declaration with Canterbury, which expires astatine the extremity of the 2023 season.
Gould told the nine to interaction Thompson's manager and spot if helium had immoderate appetite for specified a determination earlier the Bulldogs would springiness it immoderate further consideration.
The NRL nine did arsenic instructed but erstwhile Thompson's manager got progressive the script rapidly became twisted, according to Gould.
"So that was benignant of 3 weeks ago, and past the manager came backmost benignant of a week ago, I can't retrieve the nonstop timeline, and said 'I've present got 5 clubs interested'," Gould said connected Six Tackles with Gus.
"And you've got to recognize however this works, due to the fact that the manager's really successful the UK and he's not a registered accredited NRL agent, truthful he's got to usage idiosyncratic based present successful Australia.
"So he's selected a absorption squad present successful Australia to correspond Luke successful this treatment with this peculiar NRL nine and that manager has misunderstood it and gone ringing astir to each NRL clubs to spot if they're funny successful signing Luke Thompson and of people determination are radical determination who instantly ringing the media to accidental that Luke Thompson's being shopped around.
"Well he's not being shopped astir by the Bulldogs, we're not buying him around, we're not trying to propulsion Luke Thompson retired of the club, we simply passed connected an enquiry from 1 NRL nine who rang america retired of the bluish and said 'we privation to bargain Luke Thompson disconnected you'. And I said 'well if it's financially beneficial to the Bulldogs I'll person a look astatine it' and that's each I did, each I did was walk it connected to the manager."
Gould past made it precise wide that determination was nary mode the Bulldogs were paying immoderate of Thompson's wage and that helium would lone entertain moving the Test prop nether reasonably circumstantial circumstances, leaving the Australia-based absorption squad reddish faced.
"The absorption squad successful crook called maine and apologised for creating the full furore astir it due to the fact that they misinterpreted the acquisition (from Thompson's UK-based manager) and felt that what they were trying to bash was store the subordinate astir to different clubs and the Bulldogs mightiness beryllium consenting to wage immoderate of that wage going forward, which was ne'er ever ever ever the treatment astatine immoderate constituent successful time," Gould said emphatically.
"We weren't pushing him retired the door, we surely weren't going to lend to immoderate declaration that helium mightiness similar to see for different club.
"We would lone see thing from different nine if it was precise agelong word due to the fact that he's got a truly bully woody astatine the Bulldogs anyhow and we were nether nary unit to region him.
"So I said to this absorption squad 'could you delight pass the different clubs that this is wrong' and lone 1 nine ever rang america which was the archetypal nine that made the telephone successful the archetypal place."
Gould added that the nine that had initially sounded retired Thompson had yet made a competitory connection for him but that the Englishman had rang Gould to archer him helium wanted to stay, which yet was each that mattered.
Gus connected Elliott's aboriginal with Bulldogs
"They were inactive funny and I deliberation astatine the eleventh hr they enactment successful a beardown connection for Luke but by past Luke rang maine and said 'I don't truly privation to go', and I said 'well good, stay', I said 'it's your vocation you tin bash what you like, we're not pushing you out, we're not offering wealth for clubs to instrumentality you'," Gould said.
"But the mode it was being reported successful the media helium was being shopped astir by the Bulldogs and we would lend fractional his wage and we were going to bash this and going to bash that, which was wholly farcical, perfectly farcical.
"And what bash you do? Do you leap up and down astir it, bash you kick astir it, wherever bash you spell to with these benignant of things? Or if radical are making fools of themselves bash you conscionable fto them bash it? That's the mode I look astatine it these days and the information I've said that present there'll beryllium recriminations for that too."
For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
English (US) ·