FEW public sprays can be said to invite over-reaction and under-reaction simultaneously - but Phil Gould's tirade against Wayne Bennett on the Footy Show on Thursday night is one of them.

In case you missed it, the former NSW coach and now television commentator was mightily unimpressed with the St George Illawarra mentor's thoughts on rugby league's new Independent Commission.

Bennett, seemingly aligning himself with the Queensland Rugby League, told ABC radio on Sunday there was too much secrecy surrounding the IC and expressed concern for the grassroots of the game under the new regime.

Gould responded by describing Bennett's offerings as "cheap comments from the cheap seats''.

''He does this a lot, Wayne Bennett... he will sit in the back benches and just give you dribble from time to time," Gould said as the Channel Nine studio audience hooted and occasionally hollered.

Gould pointed out that when there was an information meeting on the Independent Commission, to which all coaches, captains, CEOs and chairmen were invited, Bennett had not shown up.

His attack featured prominently on late night news bulletins, with one panel program - featuring, among others, me - debating whether the ‘Gus' was right, wrong, or just over-the-top.

This is the over-reaction. The video grab from the Footy Show made for good pictures but. Australian Associated Press has, in my opinion, made the correct decision by not reporting the exchange.

That's because Gould is no longer coach of NSW. He is no longer even a consultant at Sydney Roosters. He is just a television commentator and columnist.

How can you argue that a TV pundit was out of line in saying something outrageous? That's what they are there for.

Would the news have run a story of Andrew Voss attacking Wayne Bennett? Would anyone ask for Bennett's reaction to criticism from Andrew Voss?

No, this coverage is largely down to the cult-of-personality, the quasi-gossipy nature of most of today's media.

Bennett fell out with News Limited when he was about to move from Brisbane to Sydney Roosters. Gould is a television critic with an opinion - and bears a prickly history with Bennett which we thought had expired.

But dismissing them both as simply men with motives, if not agendas? That's an under-reaction.

Because it ignores the essential truths contained in what Gould said.

Wayne Bennett has made a career of getting the most out of young men, and - as those young men will tell you - enriching their lives.

What often goes unnoticed is his ability to get the most out of the media, many representatives of which would not tell you their lives have been enriched by the experience.

NRL media guidelines require coaches to make themselves available to the media in general at least once a week, which is less demanding than the NFL rules which partially inspired them.

Bennett simply doesn't do this. He counts the post-match media conference as his commitment and no-one at the League dares bring him into line.

He often pretends to be disdainful of the media yet rarely talks during the week unless he has an angle to skilfully feed us.

When Bennett is in a post-match media conference, he astutely reads the mood in the room and in the game as a whole and uses humour or terseness to negotiate his way through the 10 minutes or so to maximum benefit.

He occasionally makes himself available to other media outlets but the only organisation which has constant access to him is the ABC (for whom I also work).

Reporters tiptoe around Bennett because he creates a climate in which they think they need him more than he needs them. But in fact, his aura relies absolutely on the favourable media coverage he receives - as a result of making himself scarce!

I think it is likely Bennett did not brush the IC information meeting - which was really just a big PR exercise. I think it is entirely possible that the Dragons knew of his stance, and stopped him going.

Bennett is an inspiring father and arguably our game's greatest coach. Gould is already actively disliked by more people than will ever think ill of Bennett for a millisecond.

But that is a testament to Bennett's skill in manipulating the world around him, not necessarily a reflection of the true nature of either of them.