Gus Gould and Peter V'landys: Head-to-head on the BIGGEST issues in the game! | Wide World of Sports 

A lot of people hate Gus but he’s basically the Yoda of Rugba Leeg.

Says he is concerned for the welfare of the players but since the game has been sped up so much, we have seen more season ending injuries in 10 rounds than we used to see in an entire year.

Never thought i would say this a few years ago but making the game too fast has ruined it, more injuries bigger blowouts and even more harsher referee calls have sucked the enjoyment of the game.

Love him or hate but make gus the chairman of the nrl and all these problems are fixed within a year. It his destiny

If player welfare is a concern over the long term, eliminate 6 again . Fatigue causes lack dexterity. Speeding the games up causes injury ...all for the sake of “ entertainment “ sigh

NRL destroying itself by the powers that be 🤦‍♂️

Blow out scores are not entertaining. They are boring.

Yikes, Vlandys talks dangerously like a politician. Make no mistake, he’s a businessman through and through. His motives are clear to those who can read that type of person.

Reading these comments convinces me more and more of one thing. There is a major disconnect between the powers within the game and what the players and fans want. Completely different priorities. The fans and players are not ready for this to be the number one focus and there is major resentment. This will be a big big issue and it won’t fix quickly.

If PVL were really concerned he'd have done this in the off season when clubs would have had time to adjust and learn proper technique and get everyone on board with the changes.

This was a civilised discussion. I was expecting something diabolical. I think the 6 again reset can be excessive at times and is not improving the quality of the game. On the contrary, it’s doing the opposite - ruining the match.

Our kids don't play due to the cost it's almost $300 each a year to play the NRL need to be helping with that

It has nothing to do with player welfare, its about fear of lawsuits. Money. I was tricked into thinking V'landys was a true Rugby League fan.

Vlands wheres the balance between safety & a fair contest! Its gone...

I remember when more tackles were “bootlaces” below the knees. No issues with head on knee or hip...but it allowed faster play the ball. Coaches desires to slow play the ball and less offloads with up-high tackling is why we are here. I really feel for tall players whose shoulders are at head height of many others on the field

NRL is in dire need of a new person in the top spot, the situation is even more dire than i thought, the way he speaks NRL is heading to complete and utter doom

New comp needed with non players making rules like this guy out of it

Careless and reckless hits to the head need to be binned. Plain and simple. Mitigating factors like falling into the tackle need to be taken into account too. If you fall into a tackle and are hit high, it's your fault for falling into it.

How is a blowout game entertaining... This round of rugby league was by far the worst. So painful to watch. Vlandys on the biggest power trip. Too much nose beers

We need people that have played the game at the highest level running our game instead of Business graduates

God, I love Gus. As a warriors supporter he’s the best.

Gus runs this town

Gus needs to be the NRL CEO. We need our game back!

AFL DOESN’T HAVE SIN BINS OR SEND OFFS

All players NRL or bush league know the risks of playing footy they play because they love the the game and for the few lucky ones are fortunate enough tho make a living, how about asking the players what they think and let them speak openly without repercussions, the blokes playing should have a say! Without them you don’t have a game.

If I want to watch touch football I would. Unfortunately, I no longer have the option of watching what was for me the greatest game of all. Six again is a joke.

Gus makes a great point in making a clear distinction between the NRL and club rugby. NRL is a professional league for pro’s. They choose to play and should accept the risks given the pay. If they don’t like it, go find another job.

You know, there's been countless studies proving that ppl learn better when there's a reward rather than a punishment.

Peter Listen. If you ruin the momentum of the game and toil the rules of NRL for ridiculous accidental high shots are being called send offs. The fans wont watch the game NRL which means viewerships go down, no salary for upper management and i bet you NRL wont be a feature on channel 9. NRL PLAYERS know the consequences of PLAYING A CONTACT SPOT. I dont see MMA fighters walking into the octagon without knowing consequences. Fans is the funding of the game. You lose fans= no more NRL simple.

V'landys just kept repeating himself he doesn't know the first thing about football.

Does he honestly think the game is more entertaining for the fans?

Get rid of the 6 again. Period!!

Great discussion between 2 gentlemen that love the game and caring for the -players who do the entertaining.

It's the speed of the game you Muppet people who are tired lose technique

The best "I'm not saying..." conversation you'll ever see

The NRL will be OZ tag within 5 years if they continue in this direction.

Players tackling around the legs don’t get rewarded The bloke gets told to stand up by the ref as soon as the player hits the ground It’s a joke The games too fast

If player welfare was truly the concern they’d shorten the season, have mandatory breaks between games (no 4 day turn around) and take steps to stop players playing with injuries via players needing medical clearances to play. But it isn’t, it’s about future litigation.

Loved this.. Im sure these two have had many of similar natured conversations

there's no doubt in my mind the game is facing some of it's biggest challenges right now but what we can appreciate is that v'landys and gus are prepared to sit down and talk it though even tho they're clearly not entirely on the same page.

Love Gus, much respect!

We getting closer to becoming like soccer

They don’t need you to worry bout them they know what there getting themselves into they chose this profession.

Kudos to both men! Both have great points.

I like Gus yet this interview sucked for him. Peter has been a saint from day one. He's better than the commissioners of the NFL, NBA and MLB combined. I really hope NRL buys Super League with him in charge. Dude is amazing. You have no idea how lucky we are to have him.

Its such a balance isnt it? Safety vs Participation. Marketing vs the actual Essence of the game. The game is in fact a Business and it needs to grow, however we need to keep the Soul, the aggression and entertainment that we know is part of the game

This is PV reporting into his boss Gus Gould. 😝

Go away Vlandys. Ruins the game for the fans.

The idea of proportionality and reasonable risk are concepts that have been lost to society in general in the last few years, largely because of the media > institutional reaction cycle. Essentially, the media looks for easy, emotional narratives to sell their content. In the case of rugby league, it's "Safety" - In the case of freedom of expression, it's "mental health". These have always been considered in proportionality with reality, but now the media cycle is so quick, the insitutions, whether it be the government, or NRL, are desperate to quickly react to the negative coverage, and as a result, have lost the idea of proportionality and reasonable risk, by implementing policies that actually destroy the original idea. In NRL, it's the reality of a fast paced contact sport having incidental injuries, especially when you've introduced one hundred rules in the last year to speed it up and cause fatigue. The real culprit ultimately is this media > institution cycle or media fishing with emotional bait and essentially blackmailing the institution being targeted to do something. Institutions need to understand that the media is trolling them, and will strike just as hard, if not harder, the more you concede. In fact, they will go after "Safety" even more now.....AND the same papers / journos will publish a story about how soft the game has gotten the next day, just to spice things up. These institutions and their leadership need to grow a backbone, and just consolodate, be patient - and stop being such a reactive bunch of nobs.

How does Riki, Wighton and even Hodgson sin bins stop concussions? Absolutely ridiculous bins. The hit on paps was a bin/send off every other week anyway so weak defence there by NRL. Also, this year game is so different that it'll take years to recruit to right type of players for this oz tag comp they're trying to run so complete BS that 'even playing field' nonsense. The quick pretty boy teams will win 3 comps while the teams of enforcers will be overhauling their rosters. Rip NRL.

It doesn’t make a difference if he’s a star anyone knocked out should be treated the same no?

It's a hard one as everyone makes valid points, it's too fast, it's too soft it's injury-prone, it's not interesting enough, but something needs to change! I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing about The golden years in the Tina Turner days but that was 30 friggin years ago, not much has happened since then and there are fewer & fewer bums on seats, and don't even try to blame that on covid cause it was well before that. There needs to be a fundamental change to make this game as special as it once was, which will take a very long time but it won't happen if we continue to play the same broken record year in year out. The way I see it, at its current state there's not a lot to lose from making changes......have at it!!!!

Well V'Land'ys said one thing that made sense, "I shouldn't be in this job'".

This guy has no idea

I switched to watching Rugby union over the weekend, something I have never done before. When a player is sent off in the first half, the game is over. Am all for player welfare but I must say this send off's during the game is putting me off from the game and especially the accidental tackle send off's. Don't ruin the game, put the players on report and deal with them after the match and send off players for careless, intentional reckless tackles. The rule changes to speed the game was bad enough and now this.

6 again have made the game more predictable than ever! What’s he on about?!

Papenhouzen was standing at what, 5 foot 6 when he threw that pass? His torso is at 45 degrees. His body is basically a C shape If you’re running up to tackle him, front on, how low do you have to go to get him? What if he decides to step instead of pass, changes direction and stands full height and the tackler gets a knee to the face? The ballrunner almost never gets sent off for an accidental knee (unless they REALLY charge knees up - like origin 10 years ago) Personally I would do 5 minute sin bins with a penalty. Basically two chances to score if the opponent slows the game sufficiently. 10 mins (or a whole game) is too long for an accidental hit in a contact sport

Throwing Gus’s words back at him always shuts him up

Bring back Greenberg.He’s looking like a genius as every day passes.

Someone tell him players sign a contract knowing this could happen to them some injuries can be avoided some can't it's a unfortunate reality

One consolation of Vlandys tampering with the rules of the game will be the death of expansion talks.The way he’s running the show he should be talking about contraction not expansion.

Can someone explains what he means by less predictable? Statistically it's the second highest level of tipping accuracy of all time this year. The first? Last year, where the 6 again rule was first added.

As Robbo the Roosters coach said - the new interpretations of what constitutes a foul and non foul play in regards to citing, sin bins and send off need to be calibrated. I think the vast majority of the magic round were ok. Both Gould and V’landy said player rosters are the reason for the blow outs which 100% correct.

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for posting. Is there a way to make Freddy and the Eighth viewable in the USA?

The blowout did ruin the game for the dragons and once that happens it’s no use watching the game any longer. Go back to 3 and 4 yes ago when Broncos and Cowboys were having one point wins they were very entertaining and not this rubbish. Tackling will never change in rugby league.

Just give them ribbons and let’s play oztag.

I'm with gus

Are third parties deals under the cap or linked to the player involved? How are they accounted for? everyone loves hearing this, "he went there for unders...." but what third party are they clubs giving.. I would suggest that the bottom 8 currently don't have the same playing field as the rest, simply because of those agreements unless someone can tell/show me otherwise

What's Vlandys footy playing record.has he ever put footy boots on or even had a physical job.should he stick to the office chair?

Rugby union introduced this two or three years ago. Now they getting used to it now. Any contact in the head is either a sin bin or red cards.

NRL will become touch footy..

There may come a time when headgear will be mandatory, and a waiver having to be signed removing the NRL and Clubs from being sued. To say that winning is not everything is indicative of just how far removed the NRL have become. Not one single player plays for funssies. Winning the championship is why they play, put their bodies on the line, otherwise what's the point. The problem has and always was officiating. Headhigh and dangerous tackles have been and always will be in a contact sport played at a speed where things just happen. Sometimes intentional and sometimes unintentionally. It's always come down to the officiating. A terrible call at the right time is the difference in Winning and Losing. Winning is everything when your livelihood is on the line.

I think they should play OzTag. The game has changed it will never be the same.

If player safety is paramount here, then why not is headgear made compulsory, aren't mouthguards used by players to protect teeth? Day 2 day life we use PPE to minimise risk and improve safety, shouldn't it apply in this instance?

Start fining the offending player as well.. I also think the players should be wearing protective head gear I’m glad the NRL is trying to stop head highs

I can't lie after watching this Peter V'landys seems like a decent bloke, knows what he's doing. But the exchange at the end with Gus, just made him seem like a schoolboy that's just been called to the principal. "We done?" "We're done."

Did he really say games were robotic and predictable before? The games too fast and avoids contact these days.. I can predict they will award tries than take them away next week lol it'd becoming a joke, use to love rugby league

Tell Bret Morris's knee your concerned about its welfare you've introduced more fatigue in this game more fatigue = poor tackling technique = putting your head in the wrong position it's a contact sport the players know the danger and willingly play through it stop wrapping everyone up in cotton wool

Macro thinking vs micro thinking and both respectful

Interesting conversation.

As a panther supporter I'm thankful for what gus has done setting my club the foundations to potentially become a powerhouse but I'm on Peter V'landys side. People are too busy looking at the short term cons of how the game is played but in the long term it'll adapt and evolve for better opportunities ahead. We need to take care of the game to continue a future that's better than before

Only been here for a short period of time and has already f***ed the game up

Just a thought. High tackle, no injury, penalty, on report, play on. High tackle, player down, HIA, offending player off for same time as injured player, penalty, on report. High tackle, player badly injured[stretcher off] offending player off as well, no replacement, penalty, on report. All these incidents are on report to be looked at by the judiciary to allow them to assess players falling into tackles, malice, intent etc. Some of the send off's on the weekend were correct but putting someone in the bin 'automatically' for what appears high is dopey. Just look at the Tedesco example, nothing wrong with that at all and a player 'falling' into the tackle. What the hell was the tackler supposed to do, just disappear.

Sticky said it best when he said had he known about the rule changes prior to a season rather than all of a sudden in the middle of a season, Sticky said he'd be recruiting completely differently had he known about the rule changes. However it is Ricky and he loves to dish out blame.

This marks the death of the game. This is such a sad time.

The NFL generates BILLIONS of dollars per year, they literally recouped the losses from the civil lawsuits of ALL eligible retired NFL players within a single month! But you know how the NFL manages to generate such cash flow? Whilst paying out nearly a billion in litigation, and implementing rules to prevent concussion, achieving a 29% drop in concussions, a benchmark that Peter V'landys is gunning for? They did it by not compromising the flow of the game, and implementing rules that use common sense. The NFL implemented rules in 2018 to prevent concussions, the rules were: - It is a foul for a player to drop their head prior to contact (doesn't that sound like Teddy every run he makes?) as majority of the concussions are not from head knocks, but players dropping levels into the hit, and low hits. - Changes to the kick-off (one of which was that players didn't need to kneel anymore, avoiding collisions that occur low) The NFL prioritises fan experience, whilst player welfare is huge, they go about it with common sense, taking into consideration what it would look like from the stands, and by doing this, they generate BILLIONS of dollars per annum, and dominate the US sporting market. These changes were also phased in the off-season to allow coaching staff, players, and the administration, to prepare, then when time came for the season to begin, all parties were ready, to prevent denying the integrity of the sport. Sack V'landys, get me in there, I feel like a toad could take the NRL to greater heights than the spastic who couldn't even pronounce Papenhuyzen's surname for 2 weeks straight.

V'landys owns Gould in this interview. V'landys doesn't lose, he's too smart.

Touch football !

Nobody wants players to suffer from mental health or illness. Also boxing/MMA are sports, not for kids but adults will participate in. Very hard to find balance , they to analyse AFL & union statistics of causes of concussions & if rule changes have made large difference in total number of concussions

Let Gould run the NRL.

Bring back rugby league.

"Good. That's what I wanted you to say."

“Rubby Lheeg” P.V’landys 2021

Phil looks more red than Rabs Warren

All contact sports come with injuries, changing rules wont change anything it will only mess up the sport..if NRL is concern for player safety increase the reserves to 10 players or decrease 40 minutes to 30 halves..but leave the rules as it is..

Teams need better roster management. The games more entertaining. Sorry Peter Vlandys you are wrong. Bye bye rugby league, we knew you well.

Problem will this enforcement is half the incidents do not deserve send offs some don't even deserve a penalty, it's like the mobile phone when driving rule they will get you a chocolate bar anything in your hand you get a fine.

Why hasn’t the head high rule been implied in Junior rugby league. Isn’t that who your trying to protect.

Question... if all knocks to the head go to the bin or are sent off, what about head clashes

The games turning into a joke about tackle techniques. It’s not like these players are just learning to play the game. You also play this tough game knowing the dangers. The focus now is creating unnecessary doubt in the players mind. We might as well now play Oztag.