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“A bit silly”: Gould unloads on controversial NRL finals venue decision
Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has unloaded on the NRL's decision to play Saturday's elimination final between the Cronulla Sharks and the Sydney Roosters in the Shire.
Under current NRL policy, the higher-placed team is allowed to host a Week 1 qualifying or elimination final at their own home ground, with no minimum standards other than what polices the regular season.
It means the Sharks, whose stadium in the Shire currently is under redevelopment and only holds around 12,000 fans, will be used for Saturday's clash.
It's understood numerous fans will be locked out of the game, with the NRL commenting during the week following the outrage around the decision that there are no plans to change the strategy moving forward.
At this stage, only finals from Week 2 onwards are moved to bigger grounds.
But speaking on the Wide World of Sports Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould said the decision was "a bit silly", and that moving the game would have been in the best interests of the NRL.
"The NRL should at all times reserve the right to move a finals match if they believe it's in the best interest of the game," Gould said on Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
"I'm quite sure if that they move Roosters and Sharks to Parramatta (CommBank) stadium, they would fill the stadium. It would be a great atmosphere and it doesn't favour anyone.
"In this case, particularly with the works going on at Shark Park and the fact that it's under-resourced anyway, I think it's a bit silly for the game to be played there."
The often outspoken director will have no issue finding support, with social media being whipped into a frenzy this week as fans protest the decision, while Sharks fans defend the right to host the game at their own home ground, which they earned by finishing in sixth place on the competition table.
It's not the first time the Sharks have hosted a finals game at their capacity-limited venue.
In 2022, the Sharks hosted - and fell short - against the North Queensland Cowboys in a Week 1 qualifying final, although the controversy around the venue didn't exist to the same extent given the Cowboys are an out-of-town team and didn't have the same number of fans attempting to purchase tickets.
Regardless of the opposition, Gould said finals should be played on a big ground.
"For me, the thrill of being in the finals was playing on the big ground. I don't know whether any ground has that type of aura about that anymore," Gould said.
"There's this thing about home-ground advantage that will get you across the line. I don't think it's going to help the Sharks on the weekend."
The game will kick off at 7:50 pm (AEST) on Saturday evening, with the winner moving into Week 2 of the finals to take on the loser of Friday night's qualifying final between the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm.
