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There were two questions worth asking after the Wests Tigers continued their magical run<\/a> on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n Firstly, what is happening with the future of gun fullback Jahream Bula?<\/p>\n And secondly, why is Canterbury boss Phil Gould, in his job at Nine, allowed to repeatedly heap praise on the 24-year-old, who has been linked with a move to the Bulldogs during the free-to-air coverage?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with Gould\u2019s Bula love-in on Sunday. In commentary during Nine\u2019s coverage, Gould did not hide his admiration for Bula\u2019s display, in which he scored two tries, at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an athlete.<\/p>\n \u201cGee-whiz he\u2019s going to be a good player.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just creamy, so fluid, beautiful, like apple pie on a Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n Brenton Speed, who was sitting next to Gould in the commentary box, then pointed out \u201cplenty of other clubs are monitoring Jahream Bula and his contract situation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully from a neutral\u2019s perspective, and a Wests Tigers perspective, he stays at this club, but it will be tough to keep him,\u201d Speed said.<\/p>\n Gould kept quiet, then Nine cut to a commercial break.<\/p>\n Good things are happening at the Tigers right now<\/a>, and Bula is arguably the best player to come through the grades since the old owner of the club\u2019s No.1 jersey, James Tedesco.<\/p>\n He can run, he can leap, and when you watch him live, it\u2019s incredible to see the ease with which he moves in backplay, appearing to float over the turf before putting himself in a position to receive the ball.<\/p>\n As it stands, Bula has a mutual option in his deal for 2027. The Tigers have until next month to activate the club option, to retain Bula on a salary of $900,000. Arguably, the Tigers would be wasting their time taking up the extra 12 months if Bula had no appetite to stick around beyond 2027.<\/p>\n Bula can activate the option, worth $800,000, or walk away and pursue a better offer elsewhere.<\/p>\n This is where Gould and the Bulldogs come into the picture. And why so many Tigers fans would have winced every time Gould spoke about Bula.<\/p>\n Last year, Gould used his media platform to speak glowingly about Bula\u2019s Tigers teammate Lachie Galvin<\/a>. If you needed a refresher, Gould described Galvin as the best teenage footballer he had ever seen. Galvin is now a Bulldog<\/a>.<\/p>\n It emerged late last year the NRL and Rugby League Players\u2019 Association planned to clamp down on what commentators who held official positions at NRL clubs could say about contracted players.<\/p>\n The NRL put out a statement in the new year stating: \u201cClubs have been advised that the definition of tampering will now include certain public and private statements<\/a> that could be seen as attempts to lure or entice a player to join another club.\u201d<\/p>\n To be fair to Gould, he wouldn\u2019t have been doing his job if he did not acknowledge Bula\u2019s feats. But where do you draw the line? How do you separate praise from public courting?<\/p>\n Maybe someone should ask Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey how he felt about one of his bosses speaking so glowingly about a rival fullback.<\/p>\n In the hope of getting a response from Gould himself, we sent him the following text: \u201cWanted to ask about game yesterday, and whether you might appreciate Tigers fans getting a little edgy, even angry, after hearing you speak so glowingly about Jahream Bula, a fullback who has already been linked to the Dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Gould responded with two words.<\/p>\n \u201cGrow up.\u201d<\/p>\n St George Illawarra\u2019s pursuit of Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater<\/a> late last week was significant for the Tigers because the Red V were also keeping tabs on Bula.<\/p>\n Bula deserves all the praise he gets. Fans love him. He is a cleanskin, a gentleman who loves his family and his faith.<\/p>\n It was not that long ago coach Benji Marshall was still the biggest drawcard with young Tigers supporters. Now, the fans\u2019 idols are all on the park, with Bula and Jarome Luai, Adam Doueihi and Sunia Turuva.<\/p>\n The Tigers took years to overcome the loss of Tedesco. They can only hope Bula stays put. And that Gus can control himself the next time he calls a Tigers game on a Sunday. Maybe game-day catering can throw in a few apple pies.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Phil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dfbe78dff851c8587d5c693d578c7420e2b1aae96756d8bb19a029b7064b0ee8.jpeg\")
Phil Gould was full of praise for Jahream Bula on Sunday.Jamie Brown\/SMH<\/p>\n![\"Jahream](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/79be3f200d53e0f7c8185ee7212b72ceff327077.jpeg\")
Jahream Bula was excellent \u2013 again \u2013 against Newcastle on Sunday.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Jahream](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/d739063aa20abb2b44d8b473bcccd56272381a95.jpeg\")
Jahream Bula crosses for one of two tries on Sunday.NRL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Jarome](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776110112_481_bbe2477631dfa905ba443756543d1bf317f8081a.jpeg\")
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