Gould's Kimmorley slur 'personal'
By ADAM HAWSE
April 11, 2004
CRONULLA chief executive Steve Rogers has accused NSW coach Phil Gould of publicly denigrating Brett Kimmorley as part of a wider personal agenda.
Incumbent Test halfback Kimmorley told The Sunday Telegraph he will not be surprised if he goes from representing his country to not being deemed good enough for a NSW jersey after reading comments from Gould last weekend.
In a newspaper article Gould said Kimmorley had not been playing at Origin standard and pointed out that in 2001 NSW lost both games the halfback played.
He also infuriated members of the triumphant Kangaroo tour squad by saying form from that series should not be considered for Origin selection because Darren Lockyer was the only reason Australia beat an "ordinary" Great Britain.
An angry Rogers believes the Kimmorley and Kangaroo tour criticisms were largely due to his dislike of Chris Anderson a close friend of Kimmorley and coach of the Ashes-winning Australians.
"I was staggered by what he said. It almost got down to a personal attack," Rogers said. "It just makes it very uncomfortable for 'Noddy' and the NSW selectors when the coach comes out and virtually says he doesn't want the incumbent Test halfback in the team.
"I find that poor with regards to pushing individual agendas. I think that's a bit sad."
Rogers said there was more than football form behind Gould's comments.
"Noddy has been caught in the crossfire of a personality clash between Chris and Gould," he said.
"He's the unfortunate victim of this.
"If he had a problem with Noddy's form, there are so many other ways he could have gone about it, like talking to the player concerned or the selectors."
Gould did not return calls from The Sunday Telegraph yesterday.
Gould came out with a similar spray against Andrew Johns 12 months ago, which angered both the champion halfback and his club.
The Knights called for Gould, an employee of the Sydney Roosters, to be gagged from making public criticisms of players from other clubs while he holds down the job of NSW coach.
But Rogers indicated this course of attack would be futile.
"It seems that Phil can do what he likes . . . I think he invented the air that went into the football," Rogers said. :lol:
"Look, I wouldn't swap Brett for any other halfback and I've told him the only thing he can do is to put the performances on the board and put Gould and the selectors in a situation where they have to pick him."
Kimmorley has never played under Gould.
Last year he missed the NSW preliminary squad and when Johns was in doubt for one match with the flu, Bulldogs half Brent Sherwin was brought into camp.
It now seems the Sharks No 7 faces an uphill battle to play for NSW over the next two seasons after Gould was given a two-year extension by the NSWRL. He guided the Blues to Origin supremacy in 2003 despite a record-equalling 36-6 loss in the final match.
"For him to go back three years and talk about that Origin series is a bit disappointing," Kimmorley said. "We lost the two games I played, sure, but I was brought in late on both occasions when Joey was hurt, with no preparation with the team.
"The year before that I was part of a record-breaking NSW team when we won one game by 50 points, so it's not as if I can't handle that level.
"But what he said about that doesn't bother me as much as the Kangaroo tour comments.
"We went away with not much chance of winning and we came back 3-0 up.
"The way I finished last year was probably better than I've ever played."
Kimmorley, who knocked back an approach from the Roosters when he left Melbourne at the end of 2000, hopes Gould is rating him on form only.
"I thought with Chris no longer at the club . . . look, I thought I proved on tour that my football was as good as anyone else's football," Kimmorley said.
http://www.sundaytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,9353,9242289-28780,00.html
