Braith Anasta ripped into his former Origin coach Phil Gould, accusing him of lying over Trent Barrett’s messy departure as Canterbury coach.
Anasta took aim at the Bulldogs general manager for his comments two weeks ago when he said Barrett would be coach “long after I’m gone”.
Barrett resigned on Sunday night with Gould fronting the media on Monday to say the coach made the decision on his own terms. He had claimed a fortnight ago that speculation around Barrett’s tenure was driven by media outlets with childish agendas against him.
“Well, you’re not laughing now Phil after saying that only a couple of weeks ago,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“Pinocchio there, saying that his job was safe, Phil Gould, and he’s going to be here long after Gus. He’s telling lies because Barrett’s gone and he’s still there.”
Anasta, a member of the 2004 grand final-winning Bulldogs side who played 110 matches in blue and white, said the club’s tough DNA was no longer part of the fabric of the club.
Gould indicated on 100% Footy on Monday night that an interim coach would be appointed to oversee the team for the rest of the year with an experienced mentor his preference to be the long-term replacement.
Assistant coach David Furner and NSW Cup coach Mick Potter are the only two members of the current staff who have NRL experience.
Cobbo in Maroons’ sights
Maroons assistant Cameron Smith said he and coach Billy Slater have been mightily impressed with Broncos young gun Selwyn Cobbo as they look to build their 24-man squad for Origin I.
After scoring seven tries in the past four games for the Broncos, he is in contention for a wing spot if Queensland use Valentine Holmes in the centres alongside Dane Gagai.
Storm star Xavier Coates is likely to be on one wing for Queensland while Cowboys speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is also in the mix for a spot out wide.
“Billy is the boss, you never give instructions up, they come down,” Smith said on SEN Radio. “I had a chat with Billy recently to compare notes and Cobbo was certainly on the radar.
“You can’t ignore the form he is in at the moment and some of the things he can bring to the football side.”
Nelson Asofa-Solomona. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Storm dealt NAS blow
Melbourne’s forward depth is set to be tested even further with towering prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona ruled out of Saturday’s game against the North Queensland Cowboys.
Asofa-Solomona left the changing rooms after the Storm’s 32-6 loss to Penrith at NRL Magic Round on Saturday in a knee brace.
Scans showed the New Zealand international sustained a medial ligament injury although the Storm are hopeful it won’t rule him out much longer than a fortnight.
Melbourne are second after the loss to the Panthers but are unlikely to slip further down the ladder if they fall to the third-placed Cowboys in Townsville.
Amid an injury toll that includes Ryan Papenhuyzen, Reimis Smith and Jahrome Hughes, Craig Bellamy’s men were at least given a boost with the return of Tui Kamikamica against the Panthers.
The Fijian prop had been stood down by the NRL and suspended him for nine games after he was charged for assault following an off-season incident in November last year.
Police charges were dropped and Kamikamica expressed his relief at returning for the Storm.
“It feels good to be back playing,” he told AAP. “It’s been a long time, it doesn’t matter how hard you train, match fitness is a different thing.
“I don’t focus on the media and outside noise, I just want to help the team go well.”
With fellow forwards Asofa-Solomona, Tepai Moeroa and Christian Welch all sidelined, Kamikamica said he was aware he needed to pick up where he left off last season.
“When I was on the sideline I wanted to come in and do the same job I have been doing the last couple of years,” he said.
“Now I’ve got the first game out of the way, I want to keep on doing that.”
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Nick
Roar Guru
I think my point with point 1 is to not be surprised when the rugby league pundit on Fox resorts to playground barbs.
Rob
Guest
I’m thinking the Bulldogs have tried to buy wins for a while now. I think Dean Pay was the right man but he wasn’t given time to sort out Des salary cap issues. Investing in youth and picking your key target players is possible where the Dogs have gone wrong of late. Consistently changing the deck chairs is not going to get instant results.
Rob
Guest
I laughed when Anasta said the Dogs have lost the winning culture they had when he was a bulldog. Is that the culture where every good youngster got signed by the Dogs because they were good to them with a fat contact? Hey Braith do you see any similar to you and Gould’s inspired club jumping winning culture? Cobbo is certainly worthy of Origin selection IMO. He’s not the only youngster worthy of getting a shot as some older Queensland boys didn’t do very well last year. Cotter, Gilbert, Nanai and Taulagi might be getting a mention in Slaters squad. For me Gilbert is flying under the media radar. 612min 300 tackles with 14 misses, 1130 run meters from 120 carries. Capewell 654min, 251 tackles with 31 misses, 515 run meters from 54 carries? Gilbert takes the hard run out of his own end and Capewell like to have a go inside the attacking 20m from what I watch?
Rob
Guest
LOL lot of pots and kettles in that kitchen.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Disagree with 1. It’s not wrong to expect more than playground level insults from pundits with a huge audience. 360used to be a great show. It’s unwatchable now See your point on 2. but disagree. Definitely hyperbolic but just because he publicly supported Barrett two weeks ago doesn’t mean things can’t change in the meantime… they clearly have 3. Agree. It almost certainly went down like that. I’ve also been on both ends of those discussions 4. Mostly agree. I am no fan of Gould in the commentary box. His commentary is awful. Constant bagging of the referees and rules and NRL is counterproductive and shows a lack of understanding. I won’t change my opinion on that just because Gould wears a blue and white polo now But I don’t think the games has passed him by completely. People (not saying you) get caught up in the ‘five year plan’ nonsense, but everything Gould said would happen when he took over at Penrith in 2011(?) pretty much has. The Panthers have gone from a club squandering their natural juniors advantage to a team that’s on the edge of a dynasty built almost solely on their juniors. Gould called it and delivered it I’m hoping that he can do something similar at the Dogs. My concern is he tries to replicate what he did at Penrith, because they’re pretty different situations… i guess we’ll see how far the game has passed him by
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
At least Barrett got the golden handshake. See ya Trent. Don't tell anyone and we will give you this wheelbarrow full of cash. Trent will get an assistant gig somewhere. And maybe being an assistant is where his strengths lie. No shame in that or the wheelbarrow of cash
Nick
Roar Guru
1. He's a rugby league pundit - they are different from regular pundits by virtue of their diminished capacities. We should be pleased Anasta was able to recall a children's classic instead of just calling Gould a "tool" 2. Gould shot his mouth off by saying Barrett would be in post for a long time off the back of one victory. It was hyperbolic, and - not even without the benefit of hindsight - a ridiculous comment to make. It was always going to come back to haunt him. That was just the second win for the season. 3. I don't pretend for a second to know what happens behind closed doors at football clubs, but I work in senior management in my line of work - I'm just equating what happens in most senior management positions to what happened to Barrett. From my experience (both having been the deliverer and receiver of one) Barrett was told to shove off, given a golden handshake offer with a one hour expiry and clearly the dignity of being able to package it up as a resignation. And given a 5-29 record & and the bridges he burned when leaving Manly in 2019, the smartest thing Barrett has done in his coaching career was take the handshake. He just might be employable in the UK as a result. 4. Yes I bag Gould, but he provides so much rich material. He was a great coach, and he was a master tactician. There is no doubt of that. But the game has clearly passed him by and he is desperately fighting to return the game to the one he knew he was excellent at. That's all. He quite frankly is so out of touch with the modern game it is actually very frightening. If he got his way with some of his suggestions, the game would be sued out of existence. He promotes absolute anarchy on the field. He's from a bygone era and needs to retire. The next generation of tactician and pundit can come on board. Only fools actually think he is wise.
The Barry
Roar Guru
PS - the definition of pundit is “an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to give their opinions to the public” Is calling someone Pinocchio demonstrating expertise? Even by the definition of a pundit he falls short…
The Barry
Roar Guru
No, it’s not that. I’m not really defending Gould. He made a comment supporting the coach after a good win. And the situation changed after two appalling performances against battling clubs Is it that hard to piece together, instead Anasta sits there calling him Pinocchio for cheap laughs instead of discussing the situation intelligently in his role as a pundit… Your constant bagging of Gould and pretending to know what happens behind closed doors is every bit as curious
Slammin_Sam
Roar Rookie
the show had a semblance of editorial quality when Ben Ikin was there but its now a joke...speculation one night is headlines the next day in the sister newspaper and unfortunately the roar is going down the same path. Maybe stick to a few iotas of fact!
Nick
Roar Guru
I really don't think Anasta has professed himself to be a journalist. He's a pundit. He's saying what pundits say. Your defence of Gould is curious, TB. The bottom line is that Gould shot his mouth off ridiculously early, and has been sprung for it.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
At the time he was sitting across from one guy who got posted to England for 12 months because he was caught plagiarising other peoples work, another bloke who declared Barrett an "attacking genius" and said Barrett has a good relationship with the Trbojevic and they will likely sign with the Dogs if Barrett is coach, and the third just simply makes stuff up
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Its a bit rich someone on NRL360 which brings us Rothfield, Crawley and Hooper on a regular cycle, wants to start calling others out as to the authenticity of their statements..
Hoy
Roar Guru
All this is true. Except I can't blame the Roar for pickup it up... this is a good topic of discussion. Dogs have a promising roster, and more promise next year, but they just aren't doing well. Why would Barrett be above the microscope in this instance? And really, Gould saying he quit is kind isn't it? A sacked coach is a lot less employable than one who can spin the story saying he realised he couldn't help, or the team wasn't on the same page, or whatever excuse he wants to use, so resigned... All parties come out looking better from a resignation I think.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Anasta’s an absolute tw.it Calling people Pinocchio is what passes for journalism these days, is it? Gould made the comment about Barrett being there after they’d recorded a good win against the Roosters Since then the Dogs have lost to the then 14th and 16th placed teams, we’re never in either game and barely fired a shot. It’s not that big a surprise the situation changed Of course, a journalist would probably be able to critically think his way through that. The best whatever Anasta is supposed to be could come up with was “Pinocchio” The worst part is that sort of BS, hits the Fox Sports News cycle “Anasta calls Gus Pinocchio”. Unfortunately The Roar is now picking that garbage up as well Be better…
Womblat
Guest
It's a brave man who speaks out like this against one of the royal family members of Rugby League in Australia, but hard to argue it's merit. Gould must have known it was coming, and more than likely had a say in it as well. Hard to see Barrett walking if Gould wanted him to stay. Also hard to see Gould coming out the other side of this with the same "Mr Fix-it" reputation he had coming in. It's ugly through every window. And Kikau must be kicking himself.