Gould is never one to hold back his feelings towards the NRL and said what many were thinking in relation to Wighton’s grade two charge which was quashed at the NRL judiciary On Tuesday night.

Had Wighton been unsuccessful in having the charge downgraded, the Canberra fullback would have been rubbed from the remainder of the season, just as his side makes their first realistic charge at the NRL title in 22 years.

And in typical style, Gould gave it to the NRL hierarchy.

“The people that are doing this have absolutely no idea what they’re doing,” Gould said on Big Sports Breakfast on Wednesday morning.

“I fear for the future of the game with the people that we have in charge at the moment. Honestly.

“The whole shoulder charge thing has been an issue ever since it was first raised a few years ago and they’ve tried to outlaw it.

“I’ve never really heard a definitive impression or interpretation of it and this week has just been embarrassing for the game.

“I think that the people in at head office need to understand that to the punter in the street they can’t see any discernible difference to the impact of Ennis and Wighton so why does one get charged and not the other.

“I’m glad that Wighton got off. He shouldn’t have been charged.

“Having said that there will be a lot of players sitting at home who’ve had to sit out one or two weeks on sidelines for so-called shoulder charges who will be looking at these decision and saying ‘why the hell did I get a suspension’ and that’s the part fans don’t forget.

“To go through the embarrassment of, at the time, charging Wighton (and releasing) a detailed description of why he was guilty and why Ennis wasn’t; to then have it turned over by their own judiciary, it embarrasses the code.

“Someone needs to be held accountable for that.”