Phil Gould Blasts Leaker Over Verrills Photo
phil gould lashed out after a leaked photo of his Magic Round meeting with Sam Verrills circulated on social media. The Bulldogs football boss took aim at the person who took the image, turning one quiet discussion into a public flashpoint while the Titans were left blindsided by the meeting.
Gould And Verrills At Magic Round
The image showed Gould and Verrills during Magic Round, a moment that quickly moved beyond a routine chat because the Titans had already been open to a player swap with the Bulldogs. Under that proposal, Gold Coast would receive centre Bronson Xerri, while Verrills would head to Canterbury.
Gould said on 100% Footy that he had spent four days in Brisbane meeting players, parents and managers. He said, "I must have had 12 or 14 meetings around Brisbane over the four days I was up there over the weekend – I met a lot of young players, parents and managers".
He then went after the person behind the photo. Gould said, "The mentality of some moron that wants to hide behind a pole and take a photo of you to send it to the papers, what do they get out of that?"
Titans, Bulldogs, Xerri
The swap talk sits on top of a broader move by Gold Coast, where Verrills had already been told he would not be handed a contract extension. That left his future open just as the image of his meeting with Gould started spreading.
Xerri’s side of the discussion is less open-ended. He is contracted at the Bulldogs until the end of 2027, and earlier this year he was tipped to leave before deciding to remain at Belmore. He returned to first grade in April and said, "It’s been tough".
He also said, "But as long as the boys within the four walls and the staff know my intentions here (then I’m happy). I just wanted to do what’s best for the team and for the club." Later, he added, "Whatever was reported was out of my control. As long as the team and all the boys knew my intentions with everything."
Penrith Links For Martin
The same period has also put player movement under a brighter light elsewhere, with Peter Wallace named as Ivan Cleary’s successor and the 2028 Penrith Panthers head coach. Less than a week after that move, Liam Martin was linked to staying at Penrith.
Martin is facing free agency on November 1, and earlier this month he told Code Sports, "It’s not out of the question. It’s definitely of interest." He also said, "Being part of something new and like, how much they love football, it’s incredible. And obviously Jarome going, it sort of opens the doors for a lot of people."
For the Bulldogs and Titans, the immediate issue is not the photo itself but the noise around it: the meeting, the leak, and the swap talk are now public, with Verrills and Xerri at the center of it.
