Phil Gould has weighed in on the NRL's recent decision to suspend Dragons forward Ryan Couchman for four matches following a 'hip-drop' tackle that resulted in J'maine Hopgood tearing his ACL.
The head of the Bulldogs criticized the ruling as "harsh," suggesting that the match review panel places excessive emphasis on the injury's context when deciding penalties.
Couchman admitted guilt for the tackle, which means Hopgood will be sidelined for the entire 2026 NRL season.
On the Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould expressed his belief that the young player did not intend to cause injury.
"It's not what he intended to do, it's just how the tackle ended up. I don't know what he could have done to avoid it, is my point," Gould remarked.
He continued, "I think we're way too harsh on this type of tackle, that's my own point of view, I'm not a great believer in injury or what have you being a deciding factor in the determination of the penalty either."
Gould added, "I don't know who makes that decision, I don't know why they make that decision. That's now out of the control of everyone."
He further questioned, "I don't know who the people are that decide that or why they decide that."
Finally, he asserted, "I'll go on the record every week, I'll say it every week till I'm blue in the face, you know, the whole match review and the whole judiciary system is unfair on the players at the moment."