Penrith boss Phil Gould has taken a swipe at the NRL over their scheduling of his club's derby with Parramatta, declaring it couldn't find western Sydney on a map.
The Nine Network commentator took the governing body to task over its timeslot for the match and failing to schedule the two rivals to play each other twice this year.
The match is one of the biggest events on the calendar for both clubs and Gould said the NRL had made a mess of it.
"They talk about western Sydney strategy, they've got no respect for the west whatsoever," Gould said on his 'Six Tackles with Gus' podcast.
"You couldn't stuff that up any more if you tried."
The Eels will host the Panthers at ANZ Stadium at 3pm on Saturday, Gould unhappy that the timeslot would clash with junior league matches across western Sydney and that it wasn't suitable for their fanbase.
"They're only playing each other once this year and they're playing at ANZ Stadium, Homebush at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon when junior league starts all over western Sydney," Gould said.
"Could you pick a worse time to schedule a game between a western Sydney derby?
"And why haven't Penrith got Parramatta at Penrith this year? Why don't those two teams play each other twice?"
The game is being played at ANZ Stadium, the Eels' home ground, because Parramatta Stadium is getting refurbished.
Gould said the match was too far away for many fans and should have been played in western Sydney heartland.
"I keep telling people Homebush isn't western Sydney," Gould said.
"It's nowhere near western Sydney. Some people think Ashfield is western Syndey. Some people at NRL central think anything west of Anzac Parade is western Sydney. They don't know where western Sydney is."
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