Should Gus Gould replace David Gallop?

 
Steve Kaless Roar Guru

By , 2 Sep 2008 Steve Kaless is a Roar Guru

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Sydney, July 7, 2004. NSW Blues Coach Phil Gould celebrates a try. The NSW Blues beat the Queensland Maroons 36-14 in the third State of Origin match to win the series at Telstra Stadium, Sydney tonight. AAP Image/Action Photographics/Colin Whelan

There’s been much debate on David Gallop’s handling of the Sonny Bill Williams affair. And we hear loud rumblings that rugby league is in poor shape in Australia and that change is needed. So I invited Roar editor, Zolton Zavos, to put his thoughts forward on why he thinks Gus Gould might provide the solution, while I suggest that an even a Crow could do a better job.

Zolton Zavos: pro-Phil Gould

Even before all the drama broke this year about off (and on) field player behaviour, it was pretty clear to most ardent followers of the code that rugby league was in serious trouble.

It’s not about the product itself, which remains exciting and competitive.

Rather, it’s in the roots of the game, which – until Super League shook things up a bit — has traditionally pitched itself as a blue collar, working-class code.

And, perhaps more significantly, it’s in a dearth of lateral thinking displayed by many of the code’s most prominent decision makers.

David Gallop’s at the head of queue.

Really, recent media attacks aside; Gallop must have one of the easiest jobs in professional sports administration. The clubs are all self-managed, there’s a further layer of management with the NSW and Queensland Rugby Leagues, and then another one again with the Australian Rugby League.

It might be a little facetious to ask it, but aside from being quoted from time-to-time when players step out of line, what else does Gallop actually do each day?

What he should be doing is drawing firmer lines in the sand on abhorrent player behaviour and thinking more creativity about how better to promote his code to a new audience who want their action fast and accessible at all times.

Of course, there’s another answer.

Loathe him or hate him (are there any shades in between?), Phil Gould is a forward thinker. He’s an agent for change. He understands league players, and the league market, because he’s one of them: a former player and successful coach.

And he has the nous and the balls to take the rugby league code firmly by the scruff of the neck and drag it kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.

If rugby league continues on its current trajectory, there’s a real danger that it will soon be swallowed up by the more financially sustainable codes – AFL, union and football.

Gallop is not the man for the rescue job.

Why not give Gus a crack? If nothing else, it might shut him up for a minute.

Steve Kaless: against Phil Gould

Making Gus Gould the CEO of the NRL is the equivalent of making the ADHD kid the litter monitor in the playground.

It might help keep him quiet, but it is not going to make any real impact on the state of anarchy and lawlessness that is the rugby league playground.

You can make Greg Bird pick up 25,000 pieces of litter or write on the blackboard “I will not allegedly attack my girlfriend or allegedly ask my friend to take the rap” (damn lawyers) but the game needs more than that.

A restructure of the organisation of the body that governs rugby league in Australia is long overdue, but that is perhaps a separate debate to who should perhaps take over.

One thing is for sure, it shouldn’t be Gus.

The next boss of the NRL needs to come with one thing, no baggage and be able to do two things, unify the factions of the game and drive the game forward.

Out of a possible score of three, Gus gets the goose egg, the big donut a big round zero.

If Gus Gould was in charge of the NRL you’d need to hire every porter from every big city hotel to carry his baggage to each and every meeting.

Gould seems to be the sort of bloke who if locked in a room by himself would soon start an argument.

He may be passionate about rugby league, but his passion (for want of a better term) has seen him fall out with a long long list of players, administrators, coaches and journalists.

This is hardly the sort of character to heal the wounds and bring the game together before charging forward.

One of the biggest criticisms of current hierarchy is it allows someone like Nick Politis to sit on a number of boards, can you imagine Gould, his life long ally making the phone call to tell Nick “thanks for your help mate, but we need a new direction”.

And what about the next TV deal, while it is no death sentence not to be on the News Ltd Christmas card list, wouldn’t the fact that he has been a long term employee (loyal servant?) of Channel Nine be enough to disqualify him as someone to negotiate that deal.

If past lives are enough to end the reign of Gallop, surely the same must apply.

Gus is a populist, he is great at telling you that your club means so much to rugby league.

It might be when they are getting flogged 30-0 on Friday night footy and he says “stick around folks, this is just how Team X likes it, they’ve got a rich fighting history and I reckon this game is far from over.”

Or maybe he is tugging on the heart strings on a Sunday with an article about suburban rugby league grounds and the good days of footy when we used to go to games and leave our front doors unlocked because even the thieves wouldn’t dare steal from a working man while he was at the footy.

Gus’ biggest problem is that he has already nailed his name to the church door of too many issues.

As the game moves into its next centenary the challenges that lie ahead mean that everything needs to be investigated and explored.

Arthur Beetson and Andrew Johns are just two former greats of the game who have said that the number of teams in the competition needs to be examined, Gus has made it clear he believes every team in Sydney is vital to the game.

Gus may be right, but his refusal to entertain the idea is not the hallmark of a great CEO.

When Gus starts one of his rants on the Nine coverage, you can minimise the damage but filling the fridge, emptying the bladder or making a phone call.

It wouldn’t be so easy if his name in the Big League program wasn’t just followed by the letter C but also E and O.

The list of alternatives could be a long one.

Mick Cronin has run an excellent pub in Gerrigong for years.

Vote One the Crow.

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