Phil Gould called out as Canterbury Bulldogs sink to 'disgraceful' new low

NRL reporter Phil Rothfield has blasted the Bulldogs and called out Phil Gould after the 15th placed team slumped to yet another humiliating defeat on the weekend. The Knights demolished the Bulldogs for the second time in the 2023 season with a 42-6 win.

Bulldogs general manager Gould has once again come under heavy fire after taking over the sporting direction of the club, which has seen the signatures of Penrith Panthers premiership winner Viliame Kikau, Josh Addo-Carr and Matt Burton. However, the Bulldogs have shown little signs of improvement in 2023 with the weekend's drubbing adding to their woes.

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Rothfield tweeted after the game and questioned the Bulldogs' plan to become premiership contenders. "How's the 8 year plan going?" he wrote.

And on Monday, Rothfield blasted the Bulldogs and the management as fans become increasingly frustrated with the on-field performances. He also said Gould has 'all the power' amid the Bulldogs' struggles.

“Did you watch them yesterday? They are running out of excuses, they have Kikau, Burton, Addo-Carr, Mahoney, Pangai Junior, Luke Thompson their English international,” he said.

“They were disgraceful, they were blown off the park and what worries me is Gus said recently they are making progress. I cannot see any progress whatsoever, Luke Thompson missed eight tackle yesterday, that defence in the middle was just appalling.

“What worries me about next year, and I know Stephen Crichton is coming, they have blown it up on these big names but they don’t have a halfback." Rothfield took aim at the recruitment and claimed the Bulldogs needed to fix their spine, before they will be able to look to make the top 8.

“To run a football side with the talent they’ve got they need a stronger halfback, someone who can steer this side around the park,” Rothfield said on Sky Sports Radio's Big Breakfast. "All this money has been spent, but they don’t have the playmaker. I don’t know what they are going to do next year, I can’t see the way forward."

Gould helped set up the pathways program at the Penrith Panthers, which has seen them win back-to-back premierships. However, fans were left divided on Gould's role at the club after performances weren't adding up.

To make matters worse for the Bulldogs, Rothfield claimed halfback Ben Hunt has committed himself to the Dragons and won't be available to sign at the end of the year. This leaves the Bulldogs short on possible solutions to fill in the No.7 role if they look to the market.

Jacob Preston facing year-ending ban

Moving forward, the Bulldogs could be without Jacob Preston after he was charged with a three-match ban after his hip-drop tackle on Jackson Hastings.

The Knights retained their spot in the top 8 after the victory with a pivotal match against the Rabbitohs next week, but they will most likely head into the clash without halfback Hastings after he went off clutching at his ankle. Preston attempted to tackle Hastings, but swung around and landed on his right ankle.

Preston was penalised and put on report with Hastings hobbling off in pain. "Oh no, no, no," Andrew Johns said in Channel Nine commentary. "That's a hip-drop," Billy Slater said after the replay. On Monday, Preston was charged with a hip-drop tackle from the NRL committee and is facing a season-ending three-game suspension.

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