Dragons, Sharks among clubs in line to hire outgoing Penrith Panthers GM Phil Gould

The Dragons shape as the dark horse to snap up Phil Gould once his departure from Penrith becomes official, with the Cronulla Sharks the favourites.

Gould is understood to be on the way out at Penrith after informing club management he felt his position had become redundant.

He has been on the outer since his move to bring coach Wayne Bennett to the club late last year failed and the club re-hired Ivan Cleary who was at the Wests Tigers, the very coach Gould sacked several seasons ago.

Gould met with the Sharks two weeks ago and actually recommended his former coaching adversary Tim Sheens for the role of general manager of football.

But talks between Sheens and the Sharks never eventuated, with the four-time premiership winning coach signed to English club Hull KR.

The Sharks may now go back to Gould and offer him the job, while Wide World of Sports has heard that the Dragons may also consider hiring him.

Veteran official Ian Millward is currently handling both the football manager and recruitment and signing Gould would be a coup for the Dragons, who have a relatively young coaching staff that would benefit from his experience.