NRL legend Phil Gould reveals shocking salary he received to coach Bulldogs to 1988 premiership
Footy legend Phil Gould reveals the shock salary he received to coach the Bulldogs to the 1988 premiership – and you won’t believe what he paid for his first home in Sydney
- Gould is now the head of Bulldogs football
- First made an impression in 1988, when he was just 30 years old
- ‘Gus’ got a pittance to win the match
The top coaches in today’s NRL can earn more than $1 million per season – but Phil Gould has revealed that his salary package looked very different when he made his mark as a first-class coach in 1988.
That was the year ‘Gus’ stunned the footy world by taking the Canterbury Bulldogs to the premiership, despite the fact that he was only 30 years old and it was his first year as top coach.
On Monday, the footy brain replied to a fan on Twitter who asked him how much coaches made back in his day, and the amount was eye-popping.
“My last year as a player was in 1986 with Souths and I was paid $36,000,” he wrote.
“My first year with Bulldog in 1987, as reserve coach, I think it was out of love. Maybe expenses.
“In 1988, when I coached the First Grade team, I was paid $14,000. I would have paid them to let me do the job.’
He was supposed to get a good salary now that he’s head of football for the Bulldogs, but Gould got a pittance to take the team to the 1988 premiership.
‘Gus’ was just 30 when he guided the Dogs to the title – before establishing himself as one of the game’s great coaches by winning the 1991 Grand Final with Penrith (pictured)
When another fan pointed out that Gould was enjoying a “massive payday” because “you could buy a house for 10,000 back then,” the Bulldogs’ supremo quickly corrected him.
‘Not exactly. My first home in Greystanes [in Sydney’s west] cost $75,000,” he noted.
“When I received my last check from Souths, I paid off the mortgage on my humble cottage.
“So at the end of my playing time, I owned my own home, which was worth all the injuries I sustained.
“I try to recommend that all players show something for their sacrifices at the end of their careers.”
It’s safe to say that Gould would have substantially more money now that he’s the Bulldogs’ general manager of football, following on from his successful spell at Penrith where he was instrumental in modernizing the club and smoothing the way ahead of the Panthers’ current success.
The former NSW Panthers and Roosters coach responded to a fan on Twitter when he revealed that he was only paid $14,000 a year when he led the Bulldogs to the 1988 title.
Canterbury defeated Balmain 24-12 in the 1988 decider (pictured), the first NSWRL grand final to be played outside the Sydney Cricket Ground
In 1988, Gould – who had already made history by becoming the youngest captain in Penrith’s history at just 20 years old – became the youngest coach to win a first-class match with the Bulldogs’ 24–12 grand final victory over Balmain.
He won the Dally M Coach of the Year award that year, putting the Dogs in second place at the end of the regular season after missing out on the Finals in 1987.
The following year was an unlucky one, as Canterbury once again missed the post-season, after which Gould left the club and joined Penrith as their coach.
He took them to the 1990 Grand Final, losing to a star-studded Canberra team, before getting revenge the following season with the Panthers’ first premiership victory.