Latest news with #PhilGould
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Paul Gallen delivers huge ‘up yours' to Phil Gould after defeating Sonny Bill Williams
Paul Gallen has delivered a brutal 'up yours' to Phil Gould after beating Sonny Bill Williams by split decision on Wednesday night. After narrowly edging Sonny Bill in a main event classic, 'G-Train' brought an end to his boxing career that saw him take on some of Australia's biggest names in the sport, such as Justis Huni and Lucas Browne. Speaking in the mixed zone after the fight, Gallen said he was motivated to go out on a high, but the win was made even sweeter by the fact that, in doing so, he could give a big 'up yours' to Bulldogs supremo Gould. 'Do you know what I'm most happy with today? Gus Gould backed Sonny Bill Williams,' Gallen said. 'Let me tell you now, there's not a single person or single thing that someone can say that's going to motivate me more than I motivate myself, but every now and then I'm happy to say up yours. 'Gus, up yours. Got him!' However, Gallen's win didn't come without plenty of controversy, with many feeling Williams did enough to get the win. Williams looked far fitter and fresher in the early rounds, using his jab to good effect, before Gallen produced one of his trademark comebacks to take the win and all the bragging rights by split decision, 77-74, 74-77, 76-75. However, Aussie boxing legend Danny Green saw it differently. 'It's very difficult to score a fight when ... you're so involved in calling it; you're not really counting the punches,' Green said. 'But for me, Sonny landed the cleaner, harder, crisper shots that were more eye-catching, and professional boxing is scored on the cleaner, harder punches. 'I said, I questioned, 'Are the judges going to score those body shots?', and if they were, landed a tonne. So that was the difference, I guess.' Stan Sport commentator Renee Gartner also thought Williams did enough to get his hand raised. 'Yes, there were body punches from Gallen, but I just didn't think there was enough. I didn't think the workrate was there, and I don't think the defence was there, either. 'I do love Gal, he's one of my favourites, and I was backing him to win the fight, but I just thought it was more steered towards Sonny.' 'I was steering more towards Sonny. I thought even with the point off, I thought he was still in front there,' Gartner said. 'I thought he was a lot more tactical, he was a lot more evasive ... he landed more [punches], he was cleaner. And safe to say Williams didn't take the decision loss well either. Such was his dismay that he stormed out of the ring after the result was announced and refused to do a post-fight interview or address the media. After pushed for a comment on the result from the Sonny Bill camp, they came back with: 'You saw it, you can report on what you saw.'
Daily Telegraph
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
Iconic Queensland State of Origin shield photo says it all
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. There has been a mountain of evidence that Queensland just get Origin, but now another photo has emerged. The Maroons secured a famous series victory on Wednesday night as they toppled NSW 24-12 at Accor Stadium in Sydney. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The victory came after the Blues took the points in Game 1 before an arm wrestle ensued in Game 2. With the series up for grabs, it was one-way traffic as the Maroons dominated their south of the border rivals in the decider. It was yet another case that Queensland just understand what it takes to get the job done on the Origin stage. In rubbing further salt into the wounds, an image of assistant coach Josh Hannay proved just how much it truly meant to them. The instrumental figure in the coaching ranks was snapped in the early hours on Thursday morning laying in bed alongside the iconic Origin shield. Maroons assistant coach Josh Hannay sleeping with the Origin shield. Queensland assistant coach Josh Hannay at Maroons training. Photo: NRL Imagery As Queensland players soaked up the victory, NSW players were left licking their wounds with legendary NSW coach Phil Gould sticking the boots in after the contest. 'In Origin, it's a three-game series and you anticipate you'd improve from game to game, and you want your peak to be in the third game — Queensland did that,' Gould said. 'They weren't that great in Game 1, they got better in game two and they were terrific in Game 3. 'NSW were probably the other way around — they were good in Game 1, not so good in Game 2 and terrible tonight. 'It was the perfect exhibition of Origin football. Origin is different to club football and it looked like an Origin side playing against a club side. It looked like a really connected group of blokes with that Origin spirit up against the team of individuals, I can't explain it any other way than that.' Nathan Cleary failed to fire yet again in a State of Origin decider. (Photo by) Gould blasted the Blues players for not rising to the level required for Origin. Picture: NRL Imagery / Scott Davis Gould said it was Queensland's pressure and completion rate that was the difference, he pinpointed that NSW had no kick pressure and allowed the Maroons to 'back them up towards their own line'. 'It just looked like Queensland had a plan and NSW were disrupted by it became a rabble in attack and defence and couldn't recover,' Gould said. 'It was a consummate Origin performance. NSW extremely, extremely disappointing.' Gould then teed off again, this time taking to social media to lament another series loss by the Blues. 'Queensland too good. The perfect Origin performance,' Gould wrote. 'Got better each game and peaked when it mattered in Game III. 'NSW got worse the further the series went. That's a concern. They will be very disappointed. Nothing else to say, other than well done to the Maroons. They deserved the series win.' Originally published as Iconic Queensland State of Origin shield photo says it all after win
News.com.au
11-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Iconic Queensland State of Origin shield photo says it all after win
There has been a mountain of evidence that Queensland just get Origin, but now another photo has emerged. The Maroons secured a famous series victory on Wednesday night as they toppled NSW 24-12 at Accor Stadium in Sydney. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The victory came after the Blues took the points in Game 1 before an arm wrestle ensued in Game 2. With the series up for grabs, it was one-way traffic as the Maroons dominated their south of the border rivals in the decider. It was yet another case that Queensland just understand what it takes to get the job done on the Origin stage. In rubbing further salt into the wounds, an image of assistant coach Josh Hannay proved just how much it truly meant to them. The instrumental figure in the coaching ranks was snapped in the early hours on Thursday morning laying in bed alongside the iconic Origin shield. As Queensland players soaked up the victory, NSW players were left licking their wounds with legendary NSW coach Phil Gould sticking the boots in after the contest. 'In Origin, it's a three-game series and you anticipate you'd improve from game to game, and you want your peak to be in the third game — Queensland did that,' Gould said. 'They weren't that great in Game 1, they got better in game two and they were terrific in Game 3. 'NSW were probably the other way around — they were good in Game 1, not so good in Game 2 and terrible tonight. 'It was the perfect exhibition of Origin football. Origin is different to club football and it looked like an Origin side playing against a club side. It looked like a really connected group of blokes with that Origin spirit up against the team of individuals, I can't explain it any other way than that.' Gould said it was Queensland's pressure and completion rate that was the difference, he pinpointed that NSW had no kick pressure and allowed the Maroons to 'back them up towards their own line'. 'It just looked like Queensland had a plan and NSW were disrupted by it became a rabble in attack and defence and couldn't recover,' Gould said. 'It was a consummate Origin performance. NSW extremely, extremely disappointing.' Gould then teed off again, this time taking to social media to lament another series loss by the Blues. 'Queensland too good. The perfect Origin performance,' Gould wrote. 'Got better each game and peaked when it mattered in Game III. 'NSW got worse the further the series went. That's a concern. They will be very disappointed. Nothing else to say, other than well done to the Maroons. They deserved the series win.'
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Queensland Maroons' State of Origin decider win a perfect game of Origin football
It was the sort of game that makes you believe all the State of Origin hyperbole might actually be true. What other reason could there possibly be for what we saw on Wednesday night? Massive underdogs? Check. Enemy territory? Yep. Coming off a series-opening loss? Uh-huh. An inspirational veteran back for one last ride? Of course. Since 2018, the Blues have had the better side on paper. After 2024, they were supposed to be done relying on that. But then the 2025 decider happened. Queensland stormed NSW's home and it wasn't close. Not only did the Maroons win the decider, they were near enough to flawless in the 24-12 victory. Seventeen-game NSW veteran Luke Lewis said on ABC Sport the Maroons "played a proper Origin game". Legendary Blues coach Phil Gould went further on Channel Nine, describing it as "perfect Origin football". After the first two games saw both teams below par and fumbling their way through 160 minutes of football in one way or another, Queensland completed every set until the 69th minute in game three. By that point, the team was already leading 20-6 and the game was effectively done. Unlike Perth, this wasn't a situation where the Maroons had stumbled into a big lead and were desperately trying to hang on. They were so much better from the jump that the 80,000 fans were stunned into an eerie silence, the likes of which you never hear in an Origin game, especially not a decider where nerves are fried as the tether between fandom and fanaticism is frayed into dust. Led by captain Cameron Munster in the most inspirational of his myriad immense Origin performances, the Maroons finally turned up in game three. Coach Billy Slater picked his most well-rounded team of the series and every single member of them played out of their skin. The poster boy for Slater's triumph was, of course, Tom Dearden. Axing captain Daly Cherry-Evans after the series opener was one of the biggest calls we've seen in recent memory but it was utterly vindicated as Dearden won player of the match and series in an almighty game. Every rein Slater and the Maroons pulled continually turned the game in their favour, and it started early when bolter debutant Gehamat Shibasaki brushed Zac Lomax to set up the first try of the night. We'd seen Queensland strike first and almost get run down three weeks earlier, but this time the Maroons made their own luck. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow played fullback the way Queenslanders saw it in their dreams. Valentine Holmes flattened Angus Crichton in the opening exchanges and backed it up with ball in hand. Rookie Rob Toia came up with try-savers and skinned Latrell Mitchell time and time again. Harry Grant, Reuben Cotter, Kurt Capewell, Trent Loiero … up and down the team list, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who's played a better Origin game. Xavier Coates's shift back to the left wing was supposed to give us an aerial contest with Zac Lomax that would put to shame any dogfights since the days of the Red Baron. Instead, Lomax mostly went roaming on the other side of the field and never managed a clean run at a high ball. The likelihood of it all coming together the way it did was infinitesimally small. But when the team enveloped Munster in a collective bear hug as the full-time siren sounded, it became clear how it had happened. Between their skipper's grief and the return of Josh Papali'i, this side had more reason to step up than perhaps any other before them. Munster called Papali'i up on stage to help him lift the shield. Cameron Smith did the same thing with Petero Civoniceva, Justin Hodges and Johnathan Thurston. This is a team constantly aware of its place in the grand scheme of things and the narrative around it. Slater never trots out the line that "we don't read that stuff", and Munster himself said he was looking forward to seeing some members of the media eat crow on Thursday morning. Munster, the hero for "the worst-ever Queensland team" in 2020, equated this year's side with the 1995 "Neville Nobodies" side that somehow swept NSW 3-0 without the stars lost to the Super League. From Mal, to Lockyer, to Thurston, to Smith, to Cherry-Evans, to Munster — that connection to history spurred on the eight-straight dynasty and it inspired this year's team. From the greats to the "nobodies", everybody needs a little push sometimes.
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Phil Gould slams Wayne Bennett's Kangaroos ineligibility as decision on Mal Meninga's replacement looms
Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has lashed the ARLC rule that appears set to cost Wayne Bennett a chance to coach the Kangaroos again. The Australian side is on the hunt for a new coach after Mal Meninga was forced to relinquish the role after agreeing to become the Perth Bears' inaugural coach last month. Under the current rules set by the commission, the national coach can't also be a head coach of an NRL team. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. And it is that very rule that is set to prevent Bennett – who last coached the Kangaroos in 2005 – from being in the running to become the new coach. It is understood that the coaching legend is interested in the top job, especially ahead of the Ashes series against England later this year. But unless there is a rule change – which appears unlikely – Bennett will be ineligible. The commission is set to vote on whether to change the rule on Wednesday, with both Bennett and Raiders coach Rick Stuart understood to be potentially willing to take on coaching the Australian team as well as their club side. But according to Michael Chammas, a change to the rules is 'unlikely', which led to Phil Gould unleashing. 'I can't see why not (why an NRL coach can't. I really can't see why not,' Gould said on 100% Footy. 'I don't know why it changed back in the old days, they're the best coaches, they're the ones with the best jobs, they're the ones equipped to do it so I can't see why they wouldn't allow it.' Who is in the running to be the next Kangaroos coach? If Bennett and Stuart are ruled out as expected, the next coach appears to be a two-horse race between Cameron Smith and Kevin Walters. Walters was overlooked for the Bears job in favour of Meninga and is said to be eager to return to coaching. While Smith has received ringing endorsements from former teammates who believe he is the perfect man to mentor the green and gold. 'His credentials and resume is probably the best that the game's ever seen,' Maroons captain Cameron Munster said last week. 'When he talks, you listen. If you don't know Cameron Smith, you will eventually when he talks to you. 'He's got that aura about him. He's a bit like Mal. 'I know he's a Queenslander, but he'll pick the best possible squad for the Aussies that he thinks is going to get the job done. There's no better person than Smithy to get the job.' And Smith, who played a whopping 56 Tests for Australia, has put his hand up for the role. 'It's huge, isn't it? I grew up watching Ashes tours where Australia would play Great Britain or England,' he said. 'I never got to play in one, but that's a huge lure to be a part of such a prestigious and historic tour. It hasn't been done for a long, long time – over 20 years – so it would be great to be a part of.' The rugby league Ashes will commence after the NRL season, with the first game to be played at London's Wembley Stadium on October 25 – just 20 days after the NRL grand final.
