Gus Gould at it again

[Vic Mackey]

After the whole 'Ive never me Lachlan Galvin' saga I think its been proven Gus couldnt lie straight in bed. This Leo Thompson injury has now risen a few more eyebrows.

Back in November there were numerous reports that Leo Thompson had sustained a serious injury in early pre season. After a couple of weeks Gus decided to hose down these by saying, and I quote 'No...He's been in an individual training program since he arrived at the club'

This didnt do a lot to dispel the rumours, having your star recruit train separately away from the rest of the team is certainly a thing. Now come to All Stars time and Leo is named for the Maori All Stars, ok then I guess he's sweet. Interesting though that the Dogs decided not to release Josh Curran for the Indigenous All Stars like they have the last two years, instead plays for the Dogs as they have to get ready for Vegas.

So big Leo rocks up to the All Stars then low and behold in the first training session he gets a major injury that has ruled him out for 3 months! Due to this now happening in a Rep game the Dogs get to apply for Salary Cap compensation, which has today been confirmed at $300,000. The Dogs also have their Top 30 squad full so if Leo had been injured say at Canterbury training then they would have simply been down a player for 3 months and unable to bring a junior/nsw cup play up, lucky for them though this injury DEFINETLY happened when he was at All Stars training.

Bulldogs are Vegas-bound … but why wasn’t Gus on the plane?

Canterbury on Thursday became the first team to fly out for the season opener, but club supremo Phil Gould was a notable absentee, having delayed his flight for 48 hours.

www.smh.com.au

Amazing work from Gus, the absolute best in the business!

 

[BuffaloRules]

I’m sure they will investigate it …. Although it was nice for Gus to alert us to the seriousness of the injury shortly after it supposedly first happened …I can’t recall him doing that previously …

Apparently he needs to miss 12 weeks to get the compensation …. Must be one mother of a calf injury if he will be affected that long after originally doing in November…. Seems a little dubious this wouldn’t be noticed prior to the training incident

 

[Black Panther]

The Dogs are f**king grubs playing the system. The NRL for some reason fear Gus.

 

[Chimp]

I reckon the dogs realise they’ve spent a fortune on a spud.
There was talk/runours he was unable to meet the required standards of fitness to cope at the Bulldogs pre-season training sessions, such was the difference in intensity between Knights and Dogs training.

 

[Diesel]

 

[Dogs Of War]

Should we be referring to Gus as Doctor Gould? Didn't think so.

Hamstrings are just one of those injuries that is hard coming back from. How many times do we see guys come back too early from one, only to be sidelined again. It's like it's hard to know if you right to go or not....

 

[Captain Apollo]

Pity this is behind a paywall -

Bulldogs are Vegas-bound … but why wasn’t Gus on the plane?

Canterbury on Thursday became the first team to fly out for the season opener, but club supremo Phil Gould was a notable absentee, having delayed his flight for 48 hours.

www.smh.com.au

Gould is seeking $300,000 in salary cap relief from the NRL for the Bulldogs over Thompson's injury at the All-Stars.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Pity this is behind a paywall -

Bulldogs are Vegas-bound … but why wasn’t Gus on the plane?

Canterbury on Thursday became the first team to fly out for the season opener, but club supremo Phil Gould was a notable absentee, having delayed his flight for 48 hours.

www.smh.com.au

Gould is seeking $300,000 in salary cap relief from the NRL for the Bulldogs over Thompson's injury at the All-Stars.

Bulldogs are Vegas-bound … but why wasn’t Gus on the plane?​

Bulldogs head of football Phil Gould has delayed his flight to Las Vegas for 48 hours to liaise with the NRL about unlocking up to $300,000 in salary cap relief for injured prop Leo Thompson.
Thompson broke down in Maori All Stars camp last weekend with a grade-three calf tear, which is set to sideline him for up to ten weeks.

Under NRL rules, if a player misses games because of an injury suffered while on representative duty, clubs can apply to be reimbursed and use the money to sign a replacement. Previously, a player had to miss a minimum of 12 matches before his club could apply for relief, but that requirement was wiped last year.
In the past, clubs have divided a player’s annual salary by 27 rounds then multiplied that figure by the number of games they miss to work out the amount.

Using that formula in the case of Thompson, who signed a four-year deal worth around $800,000, a 12-week layoff would amount to salary cap relief of around $300,000, while an eight-week absence would equate to $180,000.
The Bulldogs were the first NRL club to set off for Las Vegas on Thursday, with Gould to join the group in the US on the weekend – but only after trying to resolve the Thompson issue with head office.

The Bulldogs were seeking clarity on whether the All Stars game should count towards Thompson’s number of games missed. Even if Thompson misses the opening ten to 12 games, and the club is unable to sign a suitable replacement, the money will still flow back to the Dogs’ coffers.
Front-rower Lipoi Hopoi was the final player added to the Dogs’ 26-man touring party.


“[Thompson] came back from All Stars camp, we initially thought it was a tight calf, but scans showed it was a bit more than that,” Canterbury coach Ciraldo said.
“It’s unfortunate he’s not joining us, but his best possible preparation for the season is to stay in Sydney and get the right treatment.

“He was building nicely. It’s a shame he won’t play in Vegas, but we’re comfortable with the depth in the squad we’ve built up the last few years. Sam Hughes played well in his absence against Newcastle during the trial, so I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity.”
While Thompson’s injury is a huge blow for the Dogs, there was brighter news for Matt Burton, who is expected to shake off a hamstring scare and take the field on Sunday week against St George Illawarra.

Burton came from the field in the first half against the Knights. But Ciraldo said his five-eighth had trained strongly this week.

​

“The scans came back all clear; he’s looking very healthy now – he’s ready to go,” Ciraldo said. “He won ’t be [a risk], not the way he trained on Wednesday. I think it was a bit of a scare for him. It can be quite stressful leading up to Vegas – when you feel something little, you can make it out to be much bigger than what it is in your head. He trained with no restrictions.”
All eyes will be on halfback Lachie Galvin this season, after he was heavily scrutinised – even by his own fans – following his messy mid-season exit from the Wests Tigers.
Ciraldo has been a fierce supporter of Galvin, and knows the youngster is in for a big campaign.

“What I really like about him is how quickly he learns,” Ciraldo said of Galvin. “He’s a 20-year-old kid who is learning a lot about the game. It’s not always perfect, but he comes in, reviews it, and goes out the next session and does it better.”
Of the four teams competing in the US this year, including St George Illawarra, Newcastle and North Queensland, only the Bulldogs are a realistic chance of pushing for the premiership.
As was the case in previous years, the NRL has paid for a coach to transfer the Bulldogs’ training equipment from Los Angeles to Vegas, so there is no chance of any important cargo going missing.
North Queensland and Newcastle will depart on Friday, while the Dragons leave on Saturday.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Thanks DoW for posting the text. Much appreciated