In spite of Phil Gould's claims that he has provided "no thought" into which candidate was currently leading the race to become Canterbury's newest senior coach, public opinion has already placed a key name ahead of the chasing pack.
With the likes of Michael Maguire, Shane Flanagan, Paul Green, Cameron Ciraldo and Kristian Woolf having all been linked with filling the void left following Trent Barrett's departure, the suggestion that Gould is yet to receive any formal applications for the post is one that has raised eyebrows.
And given the Dogs' GM claimed on the afternoon that Barrett was ushered out of Belmore that he had already been contacted by several parties about the position, News Corp's Paul Kent claimed it was likely that Gould already had his key candidate in mind, NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler.
“The day he sacked Trent Barrett he said the phone has been ringing hot so I don’t know what is going on there,” Kent stated on NRL360.
“We all know Shane Flanagan has shown interest in the job and wants the job. Apparently, Cameron Ciraldo has expressed his lack of interest in the job, so it certainly seems like there has been feelers put out there.
“The other thing is he said he wants a coach by September. So are we waiting for Brad Fittler to finish his commitments with Origin before we decide on who the Canterbury job might be? Or are they going to wait until the last week of September and make a decision then?
“Why wouldn’t you be out there now as part of your job description basically starting to peel back the candidates and who is available? Who is ready? Who is right for the job? Who is not right for the job?”
Having played within successful systems at both Penrith and Sydney across his 336-game career, as well as carving out a winning culture throughout his tenure as Blues boss, Fittler's signature will be seen as a coup by blue and white backers.
And while his tenure as the Chooks' head coach between 2007 and 2009 yielded only a 43 per cent win rate, Kent contended that Fittler was keen to take the reins of a first-grade side again.
“It makes sense if Brad Fittler has already been sounded out about it,” Kent added.
“That would be a private conversation between Gould and Fittler.
“Fittler has told people around the game that he is interested in coaching in the NRL again one day."
Still, with Fittler's commentary and Origin roles are still seen as the priority as the season enters June, in the eyes of Kent, it is little wonder why Gould has been left biding time before the cessation of the representative series.
“When it was put to him (Fittler) about coaching Canterbury specifically, he came back with, I have a job at Channel 9 and I have a job with the Blues and that’s it," Kent continued.
“He wouldn’t talk beyond that period so are we just waiting until the end of the Origin period before that becomes the conversation? In the past that is often how it has played out.”
Fittler and the Blues will commence their latest assault on Queensland when Origin I kicks off in the Harbour City on Wednesday, June 8.
Gould and his side littered with snubbed Origin names such as Josh Addo-Carr and Matt Burton are next fixtured to face the understrength Panthers on Friday night at BlueBet Stadium.
