Phil Gould believes the Sydney Roosters have “dodged a bullet” by missing out on David Fifita, again questioning the cl
Phil Gould believes the Sydney Roosters have “dodged a bullet” by missing out on David Fifita, again questioning the club’s interest in signing the star back-rower.
In a shock twist, the 24-year-old backflipped on his decision to move to Bondi next season, instead recommitting to the Gold Coast Titans for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Fifita’s decision hasn’t gone down well with the Chooks, who had reportedly already begun plans for the likes of Sitili Tupouniua and Angus Crichton in a bid to juggle their salary cap.
ub’s interest in signing the star back-rower.
In a shock twist, the 24-year-old backflipped on his decision to move to Bondi next season, instead recommitting to the Gold Coast Titans for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Fifita’s decision hasn’t gone down well with the Chooks, who had reportedly already begun plans for the likes of Sitili Tupouniua and Angus Crichton in a bid to juggle their salary cap.
Gould asserted that it might be more advantageous in the long run, even though the Maroons star chose to remain put and reject a $3.3 million contract with the Roosters.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles With Gus, he stated, “In my opinion, the Roosters have escaped a bullet.”
“I’ll stand by my assessment that it was an odd signing for them and that he wasn’t going to work out for them.
“I’m not arguing that David Fifita isn’t a talented player. He can win games for you because he is a strong ball runner and an impact player.
From what I’ve seen of his career, I couldn’t picture him fitting into their work ethic… That is beyond me. Simply put, I haven’t seen it in his work thus far.”
Furthermore, Gould, a former Tricolours coach, said that Fifita’s defensive shortcomings would not have fit the Sydney-based team.
“He doesn’t value it – he likes to play when they’ve got the ball, but he’s not so keen on it when they haven’t got the ball,” Gould stated.
“He is a strong ball runner; he is not what I would describe as a work ethic guy. It’s similar to under-7s stuff; even on the weekend, observing him defensively, he would need to put in a lot of effort to get into the Roosters team, which places a high value on defence, work ethic, and fitness.
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