Phil Gould has emphatically hit back at NRL 360 panellist Phil "Buzz" Rothfield's claim that the club's don't use drones as part of their training.
The Daily Telegraph columnist appeared on the Fox Sports show on Monday evening - the first for the season - and claimed that Trent Barrett was a short-priced favourite to be the first coach sacked.
He also claimed the club are behind others when it comes to using technology at training.
โHeโs under big pressure,โ Rothfield said on the show.
โThereโs a couple of new players that have arrived at the club โ Iโm not going to name them โ theyโre not critical of Baz but theyโre surprised that their pre-season wasnโt as detailed as what theyโve come to from their other organisations.]
"I'm giving players up, but even different drills.
"There is a lot more camera work that goes on with drones at the clubs they came from. Then they'll go and sit down and they'll go through it all.
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"Well just about every club uses drones now," interjected fellow panellist James Hooper.
"Yeah, well, Canterbury don't. I might be wrong, but I have him (Trent Barrett) as a short-priced favourite to be the first coach sacked, ahead of Michael Maguire." Rothfield replied.
Gould, who is in a new role as the director of football at the Bulldogs, wasted little time in hitting back though, sending out numerous tweets in an attempt to dispel the theory that the Bulldogs don't use drones.
Gould said the Bulldogs video all training from NRL level, right down to the academy.
Drone footage of โฆ@NRL_Bulldogsโฉ skill drill. Use of drone observation is a popular coaching tool with all NRL clubs. Bulldogs video all training sessions from NRL, right down through the club grades, into the Bulldog Academy. pic.twitter.com/Y8gnIOXcfz
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 7, 2022
Love these pursuit drills. Great skill development. The drone observation is a great tool for coaching review pic.twitter.com/5CuXBm2b1Q
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 7, 2022
He also confirmed that the club's playing group spend hours reviewing the footage, as well as using specifically installed cameras at Belmore.
โฆ@NRL_Bulldogsโฉ players & coaches spend hours reviewing training sessions, looking to improve. Drone vision & specially installed cameras at Belmore Oval provide perfect observation points. Whether itโs in our lecture theatre, or on road in camp, have camera, will review. pic.twitter.com/br2EFxyURU
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 7, 2022
In another tweet, Gould commented that he "wished we had them (drones) when I was a coach 30 years ago."
