Ian Millward

[TomRedVRiver]

I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks Millward is doing a poor job is genuinely moronic.

We are now one of the only clubs in the NRL who didn't overestimate the cap and are sitting in prime position to poach players from other clubs for bargain prices.
Letting Dugan, Packer and Milne go was absolutely the right decision. We didn't get sucked into paying overs for them and now we are sitting comfortably under the cap as a result. Had we have been drawn into playing the bidding game, we would have paid too much and been in a position where we would have to shed players to stay cap compliant (most likely losing guys like De Belin, Vaughan, Mann etc). We've locked in ALL of our promising juniors as well, and some of our experienced heads are finally hitting their prime.

This was the plan all along and it was brilliant. The "Millward mess" is a myth.

 

[dragonssamy61]

Tom
You will upset possm by saying that
I think he has done a good job.

 

[RedVDragon]

So let's now find a coach that can coach this team to success

 

[TomRedVRiver]

So let's now find a coach that can coach this team to success

That one is up to Doust. Unfortunately he's more incompetent than the coach.

 

[Saints Forever]

Definitely a board/Doust problem is our Mary.

The squad is building nicely.

Yes we are short at least one quality prop, and some serious speed and elusiveness out wide.

The most important signing will be Mary's replacement.

 

[John moz]

Bring back morris brothers for at least 2 years and we will get them at half there contracts bulldogs pay the rest.Hunt widdop dufty steve brett morris nightingale let go of McDonald and lafai.

 

[Dragon Blood]

Bring back morris brothers for at least 2 years and we will get them at half there contracts bulldogs pay the rest.Hunt widdop dufty steve brett morris nightingale let go of McDonald and lafai.

I only liked your post for the last bit, let McMuffin and Laughai go, absolute snails and low impact plodders, reserve graders at best.

Those scum twins lost me whe they kissed the bullgrubs badge. Would only sign them to assistant painting duties answerable to their boss Mary.

 

[BringTheNoise]

I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks Millward is doing a poor job is genuinely moronic.

We are now one of the only clubs in the NRL who didn't overestimate the cap and are sitting in prime position to poach players from other clubs for bargain prices.
Letting Dugan, Packer and Milne go was absolutely the right decision. We didn't get sucked into paying overs for them and now we are sitting comfortably under the cap as a result. Had we have been drawn into playing the bidding game, we would have paid too much and been in a position where we would have to shed players to stay cap compliant (most likely losing guys like De Belin, Vaughan, Mann etc). We've locked in ALL of our promising juniors as well, and some of our experienced heads are finally hitting their prime.

This was the plan all along and it was brilliant. The "Millward mess" is a myth.

LOL. Bless your cotton socks.

 

[TomRedVRiver]

LOL. Bless your cotton socks.

Would you like to offer a counter argument?

 

[Coffs dragon]

I do agree that it appears Millward is doing a good job and certainly manages to work within the budget & guidelines. Compare him to the absolute diabolical mess at the Dogs with their cap and he seems to have our club well placed to hit the market.
Who, when & why he signs to complete our recruitment & complement the squad will determine if he is not only good at budgeting, but also great at buying quality!!

 

[BennyV]

Lol our recruitment manager publically states we are looking for a bargain. Yay Millward!

 

[TomRedVRiver]

Lol our recruitment manager publically states we are looking for a bargain. Yay Millward!

Well it's essentially the truth? He's explaining to everyone how it works. I genuinely do not see the issue with that.

 

[Objective View]

The squad is building nicely.

So losing two of our best players is inconsequential?

The Roosters are a far better example of a squad building nicely.

Straight Shooter

 

[Coffs dragon]

So losing two of our best players is inconsequential?

The Roosters are a far better example of a squad building nicely.

Straight Shooter

OV....if Dugan & Packer are 2 of our best players then no wonder we are in the shit & heading down the gurgler in 2017. I feel they have been inconsistent & disappointing to say the least. They have plenty of company as well.

 

[TomRedVRiver]

So losing two of our best players is inconsequential?

The Roosters are a far better example of a squad building nicely.

Straight Shooter

Think realistically here OV.

- We could not offer Dugan a 4 year contract, he is off the field more than he is on it, not to mention the Sharks payed a lot more for him than he is worth. To not match that offer was the right decision. Besides, Dufty is the future, in the three weeks he's played for us he's got more try assists than Dugan has in his entire Dragons career.

- The Tigers payed crazy overs for Packer, crazy. Would you seriously pay more than 600k for him? No. Nobody in their right mind would. And if you genuinely think he is in our 'best players' bracket then you're daft. It was the right decision to let him go.

If we retained these guys under the prices they were asking for, we wouldn't be cap compliant and you would have been complaining about us having to shed quality players due to careless spending. There is ALWAYS something to complain about.
We have a quality spine next year and are positioned well to pick up quality players at bargain prices. How can you not see that?

 

[getsmarty]

Think realistically here OV.

- We could not offer Dugan a 4 year contract, he is off the field more than he is on it, not to mention the Sharks payed a lot more for him than he is worth. To not match that offer was the right decision. Besides, Dufty is the future, in the three weeks he's played for us he's got more try assists than Dugan has in his entire Dragons career.

- The Tigers payed crazy overs for Packer, crazy. Would you seriously pay more than 600k for him? No. Nobody in their right mind would. And if you genuinely think he is in our 'best players' bracket then you're daft. It was the right decision to let him go.

If we retained these guys under the prices they were asking for, we wouldn't be cap compliant and you would have been complaining about us having to shed quality players due to careless spending. There is ALWAYS something to complain about.
We have a quality spine next year and are positioned well to pick up quality players at bargain prices. How can you not see that?

Agree...Our biggest problem is the premature extension of the coach. Should never have happened.

 

[BennyV]

Well it's essentially the truth? He's explaining to everyone how it works. I genuinely do not see the issue with that.

It's the 'Dugan is not a fullback' thing all over again. Regardless of the quality of the outcome, saying this sort of shit in the media is f**king dumb!

If you're a player getting shopped around by your current club, are you going to be thinking 'oh yeah, I'll have a look at Dragons, they are after a bargain and I'm keen to play somewhere that I'm seen as such'.

Just stupidity!

 

[BennyV]

FTR, I don't think Millward has been a failure of the Mary/Doust level, but I don't think he's done anything above average. Sure, he lured Hunt here next year, but thats the only position we are improved in 2018.

The idea that other teams will squeeze players out is far from confirmed, as mentioned in the article. The whole strategy could just as easily backfire on us.

The only reality is that we are currently staring down the barrel of 2018 with 2 recognised NRL props in our entire squad, the single slowest outside back in the comp and arguably the slowest backline combined.

 

[denis preston]

It's the 'Dugan is not a fullback' thing all over again. Regardless of the quality of the outcome, saying this sort of shit in the media is f**king dumb!

If you're a player getting shopped around by your current club, are you going to be thinking 'oh yeah, I'll have a look at Dragons, they are after a bargain and I'm keen to play somewhere that I'm seen as such'.

Just stupidity!

The market will decide who goes where not Millward's comments. You would be blowing up at your manager if he ignored the Dragons interest. Really Benny there is a lot wrong with our club but Recruitment & retainment of Players IMO is not one of them.

 

[TomRedVRiver]

FTR, I don't think Millward has been a failure of the Mary/Doust level, but I don't think he's done anything above average. Sure, he lured Hunt here next year, but thats the only position we are improved in 2018.

The idea that other teams will squeeze players out is far from confirmed, as mentioned in the article. The whole strategy could just as easily backfire on us.

The only reality is that we are currently staring down the barrel of 2018 with 2 recognised NRL props in our entire squad, the single slowest outside back in the comp and arguably the slowest backline combined.

To your post before this one, I honestly don't think players are really watching Millward's recruitment updates. Regardless of that, he is not talking down the value of quality players... Those players are still being paid what they are worth, just from two different clubs. If anything it's a compliment to the player to say that we would be picking them up at half of what they're worth.

The NRL are not going to back down on this cap, I guarantee you. Teams are already scrambling to offload players, the firesale WILL happen and we are in a position to reap the benefits of that.

Secondly, it's not just about Hunt, it's about everything else he's done around that.
- People were calling for the expulsion of Rein and Benji, he's done that.
- Vaughan is locked up for the next 5 years
- Frizell is locked up for the next 4 years
- Millward held the Warriors off to re-sign Dufty and now look at him.
- He has re-signed ALL of our promising juniors.
- People were calling for the re-signing of Mann, he's done that.
- He is offloading deadwood
- We didn't get caught paying overs for departing players.
- We've recruited one of the most dynamic halfbacks in the game.
- We now have a hooker that plays direct.
- Millward is not rushing recruiting a prop. He could go and buy any prop on the market right now but they're choosing to be patient and wait for the right player to come along.
- If we had have payed overs for some players on our roster, you can guarantee we would be losing some of our leaders like De Belin, Thompson, Frizell etc due to not being cap compliant.

These are calculated and sensible decisions. Yes saying that Dugan was only a centre was a mistake, but it helped to push him out of the club which I think is a positive to be honest with you. When Dugan came off last week, Mann put him to shame at right centre. If i'm going to pay 800k for a centre I want him to be on the park as often as possible.