Power couple: Gould and Hansen set to form NRL’s most revered alliance
By Michael Chammas
July 19, 2021 — 5.00amThey’ve been the laughingstock of the NRL for the past few seasons. Now the Bulldogs are on the verge of securing a stunning double coup with the club in talks to expand legendary All Blacks coach Steve Hansen’s involvement.
On the back of securing the services of Phil Gould as general manager of football, the Bulldogs have now turned their attention to extending and expanding Hansen’s role at Belmore.
Gould and Hansen, who spent time together at a Bulldogs business luncheon last month, are two of the most influential figures in each of the rugby codes.
They are now on the verge of uniting to create the most powerful and revered duo of all rugby league and union clubs on the planet.
Hansen, who visited the club on a 10-day hit-and-run mission as part of his role as the club's high performance consultant last month, is off contract at the end of October.
Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton is in the process of extending that deal, however the club wants Hansen to have a more significant role to play in the day-to-day operations.
"Like any new leader in an organisation, the advice is to surround yourself with good people," Warburton told the Herald on Sunday.
"With Phil and Steve at the club, we are surrounding ourselves with the best. It creates an environment for Trent [Barrett] to do what he is good at, and that's coach rugby league."
"We are in the process of discussing Steve's future with the club and what that looks like, however it became clear to us during his time here that we can all benefit as an organisation from having him around as much as possible."
The Bulldogs were once the most powerful clubs in the league. The acquisitions of Gould and Hansen will go a long way to them returning to the top.
In an exclusive interview with the Herald last month, Hansen was adamant he saw light at the end of the tunnel for long-suffering Canterbury fans as a recent culture of mediocrity begins to shift towards a philosophy of accountability.
“There’s only two types of culture: there’s either a good one or a bad one,” Hansen said.
“The good one is the result of the same thing: either living the values you set out as a group or not living them. And living them from the top down, not the bottom up. Then when you say what you want to do, you have to go out and live it every day.
