Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has offered more details on how that photo of Viliame Kikau in his new club’s shirt came to light, despite being contracted for another season with the Penrith Panthers.
Kikau will join the Bulldogs on a big-money deal in 2023, and the photo of him in a Canterbury shirt incensed Penrith hierarchy, as well as some fans – with the backrower receiving a smattering of boos at the club’s grand final parade in November.
Gould later apologised to the Panthers about the incident, which he had previously explained was the result of a Canterbury Leagues Club employee who had access to CCTV footage.
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On Monday, he expanded on that.
“It was a rogue security guard,” Gould said on Nine’s 100% Footy.
“We took some photos of him in the shirt because he’d be going to the World Cup at the end of the year and we probably wouldn’t see him until January and we needed something promotional. “
Gould said he was reluctantly dragged into the photo opportunity, but had no idea it would be made public.
“Trent [coach Trent Barrett] wanted a photo with him, and then they asked me to come into the photo.
“When I went upstairs to see where the camera was I said ‘who’s got access to that?’ And it just turned out to be a fan, who happened to be a Panther fan.
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“He didn’t leak it – he sent it to another bloke who was a Panther fan, and he leaked it.”
The employee was later fired by the leagues club – with Gould adamant that the photo could have been safely stored for future use had it not been for the leak.
“That was in a remote part of the club, closed down, with curtains around the boardroom door,” he said.
“No one knew he was in the building.”
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