There’s nothing like a conspiracy theory mixed with a good old-fashioned feud between two of the NRL’s most polarising personalities to get the bad blood pumping before a Friday night clash between two traditional Sydney powerhouses.

And right on cue, Bulldogs boss Phil Gould came off the back fence recently with what was clearly a personal attack on not only the Roosters but his old sparring partner Trent Robinson over the pursuit of Daly Cherry-Evans.

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In case you missed it, Gould slipped this one through in the lead up to Magic Round on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast when he declared “I don’t get it”, as to why the Roosters would chase the ageing DCE when they already have Sam Walker, Sandon Smith and young Hugo Savala.

At the time it escaped the airtime it deserved because of the dramas that were going with the Bunker and high tackle crackdown farce.

Yet with the Bulldogs now taking on the Roosters in round 11, it is the perfect time to revisit and try and decipher what may have been Gould’s motivation/ulterior motive on the back of this week’s developments surrounding Lachlan Galvin.

Speaking two weeks ago, Gould let rip at the Roosters: “Now, they’re a club that always like bright, shiny things.

“They love their shiny toys, and they love having the best around. And I guess when Daly Cherry-Evans comes on the market, it’s more about no one else having him.

“They don’t want anyone else to have them, so I’ll have them themselves; that’s just the mentality. If everyone was after a bright, shiny toy, they’re going to get him. That’s just how they are, that’s just the attitude.”

The irony is now we hear that Gus himself may be doing his own shopping for the latest shiny toy, despite Gould being adamant recently that the Dogs would not be joining the race to sign Galvin anytime soon.

But that is not the talk going on around the game this week, with strong mail that the Dogs are now the short-priced favourites to recruit Galvin ahead of Parramatta.

That is also the view of the Wests Tigers who have been of the belief all along that Galvin would end up at the Dogs.

Adding to the intrigue, Gus was also playing mind games with the media this week over Toby Sexton’s future, while sending out a cryptic message on social media about “things bubbling away behind the scenes” at the Bulldogs.

It surely alludes to a big announcement coming soon, or is it simply Gus doing what Gus does best and leaving everyone second-guessing for the fun of it?

It’s like he is playing the game three sets ahead of everyone else at the moment, and he still has time to get one under Robbo’s guard just for old time’s sake.

Of course, it’s not the first time in recent years Gould has made it personal against the Roosters.

Gould had Robinson seething back in 2021 when he declared Latrell Mitchell shouldn’t have been banned for the tackle that smashed Joey Manu’s face.

Then in 2023 they had another blow up when Gould took it upon himself to advise the Roosters that they should punt rugby bound Joseph Suaalii immediately, “and don’t let the door hit you on the arse on the way out”.

Robinson was ropable at that one, labelling it a “ridiculous comment”, and telling Gus to “stick to his turf”.

Make no mistake, there is more going on behind the scenes here than meets the eye.

It took another twist this week with Matty Johns indicating that he thinks DCE’s switch may come sooner than we think.

Johns believes the recent exit of Brandon Smith and talk Dominic Young could go back to Newcastle might mean the Roosters could make a play to get DCE before the June 30 trade deadline.

There is also talk Chad Townsend could be heading to Super League.

So if DCE ends up at the Roosters and Galvin goes to the Dogs, who wins the war?

Would you rather sign Cherry-Evans at age 36, or Galvin at 19?

It makes you wonder if this is why Gus has appeared so happy with himself of late, and not only because the Bulldogs are on top of the ladder.

MAM RETURN REEKS OF DESPERATION

Talk is cheap when it comes to setting standards in rugby league.

If the NRL and the Broncos were fair dinkum, Ezra Mam would not be playing NRL this season after failing a drug test while driving unlicenced and crashing his car into an oncoming Uber that resulted in a young girl suffering a fractured hip.

But just one game after serving his pathetic nine-match suspension, Mam is now back in the Broncos side to take on the Dragons on Sunday.

We’ve read all year how Maguire was supposedly brought in to set tougher standards because Kevvie Walters was not hard enough on the Broncos playing group.

Yet Maguire had the perfect opportunity to draw a line in the sand here but instead he has used the injury to Ben Hunt as a convenient excuse to rush Mam straight into the team.

There is no doubt Mam could make an immediate impact after shooting the lights out in this lower grade return last week.

But long term will going for the quick fix build a better Broncos culture?

There has been plenty of heat on Maguire this week in the wake of revelations some players are starting to show signs of frustration.

Of course, Mam’s return also comes on the back of four losses in their last five games.

For mine it reeks of desperation.

On that note Cooper Cronk gave his take on the decision this week and summed it up perfectly.

“I know Ben Hunt is injured and Ezra Mam is a gamebreaker, but I think Ezra Mam needs to earn that jersey more,” Cronk said.

“I would put him in reserve grade for at least another couple of weeks.”

It worth remembering Cronk played in eight grand finals and won five of them.

He certainly knows what building team culture is about.

DCE A ‘SCAPEGOAT’ AS SEIBOLD DODGES THE BULLETS

It fascinating that Daly Cherry-Evans has become the easy scapegoat for Manly’s poor form while Anthony Seibold dodges the bullets.

There is no disputing the Sea Eagles have struggled since the long serving skipper made his call that this would be his last year at the club he debuted for and won his only premiership with under Des Hasler in 2011.

And there is also no doubt this would have had an impact on teammates, and some of them would have a right to be filthy that DCE’s decision has played a huge part in potentially derailing their season.

But surely the club and particularly coach deserve to be under the blowtorch as well for what has transpired because there is no way the captain would be leaving if he felt the club was heading in the right direction under Seibold.

And there are whispers that perhaps DCE is not the only player starting to question if the team is really showing any signs of significant improvement (or harmony) in the third season of Seibold’s reign.

After finishing seventh last year and 12th in 2023, the eighth-placed Sea Eagles now go into Saturday’s clash against the Cowboys in Townsville coming off four losses in their last five games.

So it is a legitimate question to raise if Manly jumped the gun last year handing Seibold an extension until the end of 2027, despite the fact he still had a season to run (2025) on his previous deal.

YOUNG RAIDER WHO IS MADE FOR ORIGIN

Overshadowed in the Raiders’ shocking second half collapse against the Bulldogs was one of the greatest try saving tackles you will ever see.

Young Ethan Strange came from nowhere to deny Connor Tracey with an incredible show of speed, strength and fierce determination.

It was the type of play you’d expect from a seasoned Origin player.

And while there appears little chance Strange will get a call up for this year’s series given the Blues are well covered in the halves and also for a bench utility, you still get the feeling it is only a matter of time before Strange bashes Laurie Daley’s door down.

In fact, it’s been said plenty of times previously for good reason Strange is not unlike a young Daley who also wore the No 6 jersey for the Raiders.

While Connor Watson deserves to get the utility bench spot on the back of good form and the job he did for the Blues last year, Strange would not look out of place if an injury does create an opportunity at some stage this series.