With the deadline for a 2027 mutual option for Jahream Bula getting closer, Phil Gould’s recent on-air comments have turned into more than just football talk. The kind of stuff fans replay, screenshot, argue about — the whole thing.
Bula has been sensational for the 4-1 Wests Tigers this year, and his best game of the season came against the Knights on Sunday. Still, his future at the club feels cloudy, and that uncertainty is where Gould’s words started bouncing around. The Bulldogs are rumoured to be one of several teams interested, so when Gould praised Bula on-air, people paid extra attention.
“That’s an athlete,” Gould said. “Gee-whiz he’s going to be a good player. He’s just creamy, so fluid, beautiful, like apple pie on a Sunday.”
But Gould doesn’t get to speak freely in quite the same way he used to. He’s operating under a new NRL rule introduced during the off-season, designed to tighten up the messy system around the November 1 anti-tampering deadline. According to Misryoum reporting, the NRL advised clubs that the definition of tampering now includes certain public and private statements that could be seen as attempts to lure or entice a player to join another club. So yeah—when you’re praising an opponent’s star in public, even if it’s meant as respect, it can still land like a warning.
There’s also the side of this that’s a little more personal. Misryoum newsroom reported that Gould wasn’t pleased when a Nine journalist put to him that Tigers fans could feel “edgy, even angry” about his Bula comments, responding in a text: “Grow up.” That exchange, honestly, adds more heat than it cools.
Right now, the standoff is tied to the mutual option structure. Bula and Wests Tigers have an awkward arrangement: the club can activate the option for $900,000 next season, which it has reportedly baulked at, while Bula can take the option for $800,000. Alternatively, they can strike a new deal — or he can go elsewhere. Bula has also been linked to the Dragons, though they are touted to instead sign Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater. And if you’ve ever watched the last few minutes of a close game, you know how a small momentum shift can feel huge… that’s kind of the vibe here.
While the Red V are the favourites to land Drinkwater, two other clubs have been raised as potential fits. Misryoum newsroom noted that Chad Townsend believes Cronulla could suit the fullback down the ground. “I think he could fit in the Sharks, to be honest,” Townsend said on SEN’s Saturday League Kick-Off. “He’s a mature footballer now, playing probably some of the best football of his career. I think he’d be a great fit at the Sharkies.”
Then Denan Kemp, Townsend’s Saturday League Kick-Off co-host, argued that Gould and the Bulldogs should be keeping a close watch on Drinkwater’s situation. He said: “If you went outside of Reece Walsh, what fullback can essentially guarantee me six to 12 points a game? It’s Scott Drinkwater.” Kemp added that if the Dogs are thinking about an answer to their “Achilles heel,” then defence strength might let them take the next step. Our defence is good; we can keep teams usually below that 14 (point) mark… and if we add 12 points onto that (in attack), all of a sudden, we’re a premiership threat.
It’s a lot to fit into one rugby league week, and part of it feels like everyone’s waiting for everyone else to blink first. Whether Gould’s praise becomes a problem or just… another line in the season, remains to be seen. One way or another, the next move won’t be subtle.
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