Phil Gould facing scrutiny over detail in $4M Tino Fa’asuamaleaui bid

Canterbury Bulldogs boss Phil Gould has sought clarification from the NRL over a detail in the eye-watering $4 million contract the club has offered free agent forward Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. The Gold Coast Titans skipper, alongside David Fifita, are both free agents following the club's decision to sack head coach Justin Holbrook.

Part of the Bulldogs' lucrative offer to Fa'asuamaleaui includes an investment opportunity in a major Sydney hotel courtesy of major sponsor and pub magnate Arthur Laundy. Gould has reportedly reached out to NRL boss Andrew Abdo to confirm whether or not the unique contractual perk is within the NRL's salary cap rules.

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It's not the first time investment opportunities have been offered as an incentive for NRL players, with Melbourne Storm boss Matt Tripp having used them to re-sign out-of-contract players. Tripp was granted approval to offer shares in betting outfit Bettr, a move previously approved by the league.

The difference in the Bulldogs' offer is that it is part of a bid to entice a player away from another club. NRL journalist Phil Rothfield told Big Sports Breakfast Laundy had suggested players would earn a 10-12 per cent return, and would return their shares if that didn't eventuate.

There was a very similar case at the Melbourne Storm last year when a number of their superstar players were off-contract,” Rothfield said. “Their chairman Matt Tripp who set up the bookmaker Betr was offering investment opportunities there, I think that was okay by Andrew Abdo and Peter V’landys.

“This case is a really interesting one whether it is an enticement to sign a contract and whether that fits into the salary cap. I’ve quoted Arthur Laundy... saying that he will raise 10 or 12 per cent for players, but if it doesn’t work out he will just give their money back.”

Laundy told Rothfield and the Daily Telegraph that the offer was in part due to difficulties faced by the likes of Canterbury and other clubs such as Wests Tigers have in attracting free agent players. He described it as 'helping out' the club.

Continuing in his radio interview on Monday, Rothfield said it was largely a bid to 'drag' Fa’asuamaleaui away from the Titans, who are able to offer him a larger deal as the incumbent club. However the veteran scribe said it would be interesting to see if any other clubs were employing similar mechanisms to enhance their offers to players.

“My line is if you don’t cheat you don’t compete... I’m talking about NRL clubs,” Rothfield said. “If they (the NRL) did a deep dive, as forensic as you can get, I’m sure they’d find an issue at every club, because it is so hard to police.

“No one is saying the Bulldogs are cheating, no one is suggesting that but they are looking at alternate ways to bring players to their club and make a team that has struggled for so long a powerhouse again. I love the fact Arthur Laundy, a billionaire businessman, has such an interest in the football operations.”

Titans face big calls following Justin Holbrook sacking

The Titans have a number of key decisions to make in the coming months, after parting ways with Holbrook back in June. The axed coach was left fuming at the decision, given the Titans were in the hunt for a finals spot at the time.

The NRL world was largely taken aback by Holbrook's axing, with the 47-year-old telling the Courier Mail that the decision had left him in disbelief. He said he was called into a meeting where club officials informed him their decision would be taken with immediate effect.

“I did not see this coming at all, that’s what I am pissed off about," he said. “I could understand if they said, ‘Look you have three games or whatever time period to do something’, but to be moved on like this, I’m still coming to terms with it.

“If they were a bit more open about the way things were heading, I would have been able to digest this, but it’s hit me out of the blue. I had no inkling at all.

“I went in for a meeting and (CEO Steve Mitchell) said, ‘We are going to terminate you as of right now’. I said, ‘Shivers, on what ... performance?’ I said, ‘Mate, I thought you would have given me a chance of getting the guys to the finals with our best players back’.

“Anyway, it was a waste of time talking. It wasn’t a negotiation. They had made up their mind.”

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