Bulldogs players enjoy holiday in NRL bye – weeks after Phil Gould slammed Knights stars for getaway

Bulldogs players have shared photos sunbathing on holiday in Queensland during their NRL day round just weeks after club boss Phil ‘Gus’ Gould berated Newcastle players for doing the same.

The Bulldogs enjoyed a week off as part of the typical bye round for NRL clubs ahead of the first State of Origin clash.

Players including Jake Averillo and Kyle Flanagan shared footage of them living their best lives on Hamilton Island and in Port Douglas in the far north of Queensland while enjoying their time off.

A few weeks ago, Bradman Best in Newcastle city center did the same, showing off his relaxing digs in Bali as he enjoyed the farewell round offered to his club.

At the time, Gould lashed out Best and other Newcastle players for not taking the bye round seriously.

“I would always use the bye lap… for me that was always a time to go back and refresh, to look at some things that maybe we’re not doing as well as we would have liked, or maybe some things are that we can add to our game, or maybe we need a refresher course,” he said.

Kyle Flanagan shared a photo from a Port Douglas resort as Averillo looked wildly relaxed on the deck of his unit in the Whitsundays

“For me, the benefit of parting was not getting caught on the weekend, not going out. It gave you two weeks to prepare for your next game instead of a week,” he continued.

“It just wouldn’t have happened in my day. For me it was two weeks to prepare for your next match, and you shouldn’t lose if you had the two weeks to prepare.

“You get paid to train and play, that’s what you get paid for. Find something else to do, find another job if you don’t want this job.’

That would make the current images of Bulldogs players very interesting for Newcastle officials.

There is no suggestion the Bulldogs players did anything wrong and chief executive Aaron Warburton said he was pleased with how the playing group spent their time during the bye round.

“I feel very comfortable with how we approached our first bye of the season. cameron [Ciraldo, head coach]the coaching team and our playgroup spent the first few days of the week like any other – evaluation and connection,” he shared News Corp.

With 14 days between games, our players had an extended weekend to refresh both mentally and physically. They’ll be back on Monday at seven, while we prepare for the roosters on Sunday.’

Gould infamously slammed Newcastle players for going to Bali on their farewell round – before the Bulldogs players went on a sun-soaked holiday themselves in their farewell round

The best thing in Bali was to recharge, not party, and help a local family build their home while on vacation from the Knights

Best also recently clapped back to Gould, defending his teammates and sharing his experience in Bali, which was light years away from the party scene.

‘[The media] came towards me, but that’s fine,” Best said.

“I was more pissed that they came to the whole team when I was literally alone.”

‘This boy [Yoki] is about my age, his family, they live in a village, and they are currently building a house to make their family better.

“I’m just trying to help him and his family, and they’re very grateful. That’s why I like going there, just to give something back.

“I helped him and his family, fed them. I like the culture, the vibe there, everything around it, I really like the community there.

‘[The media] stereotypical it as this off-season sex trip, guys trip, get bullied every day. I went there to power off and disconnect and reconnect. I really enjoyed my time there and wouldn’t change it.’