The Decade Before They Called Us St Merge

[j0nesy]

This pops up every year, mostly in the off season - people speculating as to what would happen if the clubs didn't form a joint venture.

My view is different to others. I think the Steelers would have sided up to Murdoch, in fact the coach Graham Murray tried, but I believe most of the Steelers board favoured the ARL and a partnership with St George.

From memory, Murray was overruled by Millward Senior and the rest is history. Had this not happened I suspect the Steelers board would have taken what was on offer from Super League rather than disappear into rugby league oblivion. My guess is that there would either be a standalone Wollongong team or a Sharks/Illawarra JV. But who knows for sure?

As a Wollongong-based St George supporter I was, and still am, over the moon about he JV. And this year we have five games at WIN and Kogarah.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

This pops up every year, mostly in the off season - people speculating as to what would happen if the clubs didn't form a joint venture.

My view is different to others. I think the Steelers would have sided up to Murdoch, in fact the coach Graham Murray tried, but I believe most of the Steelers board favoured the ARL and a partnership with St George.

From memory, Murray was overruled by Millward Senior and the rest is history. Had this not happened I suspect the Steelers board would have taken what was on offer from Super League rather than disappear into rugby league oblivion. My guess is that there would either be a standalone Wollongong team or a Sharks/Illawarra JV. But who knows for sure?

As a Wollongong-based St George supporter I was, and still am, over the moon about he JV. And this year we have five games at WIN and Kogarah.

I believe you'll find an approach was made to the NSWRL apropos a St. George/Illawarra partnership BEFORE the advent of the Steelers in 1982.

Yep that's right, this was the preference of some South Coast officials.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

It is a simple conclusion to make, but I believe the argument is a little more complex.

St George has been recruiting players from the Illawarra since the 1920s. In fact, everything south of the Cooks River was known as Illawarra in those days. The region has always been a 'big backyard' for Rugby League and a great nursery for St George in particular.

The other fact is we no longer have any residential rules dictating where players can play. There is nothing to stop any player, regardless of their junior club, playing for any team if the contract suits both parties. Nowadays we talk about feeder clubs and players who are part of an NRL club's 'system'. But of course, even this does guarantee that a player won't be signed up by another club. Plenty of Illawarra juniors play for other clubs in the NRL.

Look at Easts, they don't have great local junior base to draw on, and heavily rely on recruiting from elsewhere. Yet, this doesn't stop them winning a premiership.

So we don't know how much credit the JV agreement can take for the 2010 premiership.

If the Steelers were simply relegated in 1999 and St George continued without the JV, it's likely we would have established an alternative arrangement with the Illawarra, and many of the same players could have found themselves in the Red V anyway.

Historically correct, but there's a lot of guesswork and supposition too.

 

[ouryear]

Historically correct, but there's a lot of guesswork and supposition too.

Roosters have no juniors, sign bus loads of players....And really, won not much since 1975 have they?!

Cost per flag ...must be about $50 million per each one they have jagged, which ain't many since 1975!