Sporting Declaration: Gus Gould's long drive for a coffee

That's the only conclusion Sporting Declaration can draw after hearing Gould drove all the way to Newcastle on Thursday to share a coffee with Knights football director Peter Parr.

Now I know what you're thinking, because in here at the Newcastle Herald, the same thought crossed our devious minds.

What on earth could be so compelling as to prompt the man they call "Gus" to make a day trip to Our Town?

After all, he's presumably a busy bloke, juggling his demanding job as Canterbury's general manager of football with his multitude of media commitments.

At the risk of jumping to conclusions, maybe Gus has had second thoughts after firing a much-publicised broadside at the Knights recently for allowing a handful of players to head overseas during their first bye round of the season.

You might remember him saying: "It just wouldn't have happened in my day ... when I was a player and we had byes, [Bulldogs coach] Warren Ryan used to flog us. It put steel in your team, it put steel in your attitude.

"You are paid to train and play, that's what you are paid to do. Find something else to do, find another job if you don't want this job."

That little sermon predictably went down like a lead balloon in the corridors of power at Knights HQ.

At the time, Parr - one of nature's gentlemen - said he did not want to get involved in "a slanging match" with Gould, but by the same token he felt obliged to defend the reputations of Newcastle's players.

"Gus is entitled to his opinion, but he doesn't have a say about what happens at this club," Parr said.

"Our players have done nothing wrong.

"They're actually following the advice of their coach ... before the season even kicked off, he encouraged players to use that break to get away, freshen up and spend time with their families.

"But he also made it clear that during the other two byes, they'll be training."

A month or so down the track, the Bulldogs have also had their own bye week and - surprise, surprise - their players were allowed to head to remote tropical locations for some R & R.

With the benefit of hindsight, has the realisation dawned on Gould that he looks a little bit like the pot who called the kettle black?

If so, perhaps he's driven to Newcastle to meet with Parr and clear the air. All of which, of course, could have been achieved, to some degree, with a text message, Facetime or even a good old-fashioned phone call.

But Gus is a wily operator who no doubt appreciates the personal touch and would know the most genuine way to deliver a heartfelt apology is face to face.

The obvious flaw in this theory is that, in his many years as an outspoken media pundit, have you ever once heard Gould change his opinion or admit that he might be wrong?

No? Me neither.

So I guess we can draw a line through that particular hypothesis. That leaves us to consider if Gus was in town - believe it or not - to express his interest in taking certain Knights players down the road to Belmore.

You may recall speculation surfaced a few weeks ago suggesting Newcastle officials might be willing, if they were asked discreetly, to consider releasing Daniel Saifiti and Bradman Best to join rival clubs.

When that prospect was discussed on Channel Nine's 100 Per Cent Footy, Gould certainly sounded well informed. But then again, isn't he always?

"I think the concern for them is in an imbalance in the salary cap, and your club can get like that sometimes and then it becomes a problem of how you fix that," Gus said at the time.

"Do you go for a quick fix? Which is actually to let some star players go on big money and then develop a few down the track ... that's hard to do because they're the ones the fans have fallen in love with. Or do you go to the middle rung, but they're not as easy to sell?

"The management of the salary cap is everything, it's the management of your inventory and the prices you're paying, you've got to have value in your salary cap if you're going to win a premiership."

Knights coach Adam O'Brien has since taken a big stick to such innuendo, insisting this week: "I don't talk about recruitment and retention, but I will say publicly we don't want to get rid of our local players.

"We don't want to get rid of Daniel and Bradman.

"If I speculate on everything that starts outside our walls, then I'll be here all day with you.

"But I've spoken to both of those guys. I've spoken to the club.

"We want both of those guys here.

"They've got long-term contracts and I think they're both playing well ... the club has assured me we have not shopped those two guys to any clubs and they are in our plans."

That sounds pretty unequivocal - Saifiti and Best are apparently going nowhere.

As for the rest of their teammates? That would appear anyone's guess.

Whatever the case, there was only one way to solve this mystery. So my colleague Max McKinney contacted Parr, who told him: "It was purely a catch-up. I've known Gus for a long time. Nothing business-related."

Nothing to see here except two blokes sharing their coffees in New Lambton, for old times' sake.

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