EXCLUSIVE: Phil Gould takes issue with 'harsh' Ryan Couchman ban, 'unfair' judiciary system

Phil Gould labelled Ryan Couchman's four-match suspension for a hip drop tackle "harsh" and said bans dished out by the match review panel hinge too much on the health of the attacking player.

Dragons forward Couchman brought down J'maine Hopgood in the first half of his side's clash with the Eels and was the following day referred to the judiciary for a hearing, charged with dangerous contact.

A guilty plea was entered on Tuesday night, with Couchman joined by coach Shane Flanagan, CEO Tim Watsford and head of football Ben Haran. His representative was Nick Ghabar, while Lachlan Gyles was the NRL legal counsel.

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Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould said the punishment did not fit the crime and Couchman's tackle was "in the postcode, but it's accidental."

"It's not what he intended to do, it's just how the tackle ended up. I don't know what he could have done to avoid it, is my point," Gould said.

"I think we're way too harsh on this type of tackle, that's my own point of view, I'm not a great believer in injury or what have you being a deciding factor in the determination of the penalty either.

"I don't know who makes that decision, I don't know why they make that decision. That's now out of the control of everyone.

"I don't know who the people are that decide that or why they decide that.

"I'll go on the record every week, I'll say it every week till I'm blue in the face, you know, the whole match review and the whole judiciary system is unfair on our players at the moment.

"It's way over the top. And I think this is an over the top suspension."

Gould emphasised that players are in a state of uncertainty about what they should do when tackling from behind. Instinctively, Gould contends, things unravel "in a spur of the moment."

"I don't believe that young Couchman deliberately did anything illegal in that tackle, it was a spur of the moment, high speed, both players under fatigue, twisting and turning, it just happened. It's an accident," he said.

"I want to know what they think he should have done differently to avoid what happened.

"I don't believe that, that in the traditional sense, it was a player deliberately throwing his body on the legs of a player to get him down to the ground, I don't believe that.

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"There were some players in the game, and some coaching, I think too, that said, well, if you throw your weight of your legs, your body on the back of their legs, they'll soon come down to the ground.

"That's wrong, we shouldn't do that. You know, but hey, I don't think he did it intentionally."

In his argument, Couchman said he lost his balance and that he was trying to land on his backside, not Hopgood's leg.

"My torso falls on his leg which I understand is a risk of injury. I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't have a grip of J'maine with my left hand and I tried to grab onto Damien," he said as per NRL.com's blog.

"I was making an effort not to land on his legs. I made a clumsy mistake.

"After the game I asked [former teammate and current Eels player] Jack de Belin how J'maine was and he told me it was a suspected ACL.

"I'm only three games back from an ACL so I went over to see him. He said 'accidents happen'."

Couchman's defence used footage of Manly prop Toafofoa Sipley's 2024 hip drop tackle that led to a four-match ban and argued it wasn't as severe as that one.

Sipley received a four-match ban, which saw a three-match ban recommended from Couchman's team at the hearing.

The judiciary decided in favour of the NRL after a 20 minute deliberation.

Couchman will next be available for the Dragons' Anzac Day clash against the Roosters in round eight.