Trent Merrin and Bevan French will be signed within next 10 days.. see you then to discuss ...

[Gareth67]

Yipes! Noone and Brian Smith - what a combination , we will be back to our glory days without a doubt .

And a big hello mickeylane , good to hear from you once again .

 

[SaintPauli]

I posted a few weeks ago That we were in talks with French which came from a reliable friend, So Mickey could be on the mark. I personally don’t think he’s the type of back three player we need. As for Merrin yea,nah,not sure.
PS
Welcome back Mickey

I believe French is related to our great dragon Nathan Blacklock? I see similar traits there with running style and ball catching.

 

[Life's Good]

Cart before the horse I'm afraid. I'm with those saying we need a new coach before we sign more players. You cant keep burning the cap to make up for the deficiencies of a coach.
Who's to say the club doesn't wake up and flick our 5th year rookie coach leaving a new coach with a team he doesnt want meaning the need for a squad rebuild.
There is clearly enough talent in our club but it is being squandered with poor selection, bench use & player motivation not too mention game plans(as an example, do we ever play for a repeat set?).
Sorry, the coach has the 'squad he wants' its time he puts up or f**ks off(and yes, we have injuries but so do the Sharks and they seem to at least put up a fight).

 

[Frank Facer]

I am shaking my head at the idea of signing French. He isn't the type of outside back we require.

As for Merrin, I think would be a very good pick up for us right now. It isn't as though there are many good forwards available right now. We did offer him the largest contract for a forward a few years ago, so he can't be that bad. The addition of Merrin and K Sims should help us.

 

[gitano]

I am shaking my head at the idea of signing French. He isn't the type of outside back we require.

As for Merrin, I think would be a very good pick up for us right now. It isn't as though there are many good forwards available right now. We did offer him the largest contract for a forward a few years ago, so he can't be that bad. The addition of Merrin and K Sims should help us.

Spot on with French. Bit of a cat in my opinion.

As for Merrin, watched Leeds get belted yet again over the weekend and he is looking large. Not in a good way.

 

[Dragonslayer]

The issue here is that Merrin will take sometime to re-adjust to NRL football. It wouldn't be a quick fix and given our form and our abyssmal use of the bench he'd be rat crap after 1 or 2 games.
I'd be after RCG, he seems out of favour at the Panthers and us related to the Sims if I remember. I'd also be quietly chasing Bradon-Uele from the Sharks, he's off contract this year and looks a good prop prospect.
French, if he ia being chased by us would be for fullback, which spells bye bye to Dufty. But again not a tall player, so I'd go with Lomax there. French would be a waste.

 

[Coffs dragon]

Everyone mark their calendars 29th May.

Why???? Is that the day they change menus at Saints Chinese Restaurant for the next Board meeting?

 

[j0nesy]

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21suffix=51-b

St George Illawarra Dragons rekindle interest in former prop Trent Merrin

St George Illawarra are expected to rekindle their interest in premiership winning player Trent Merrin with the Dragons now armed with about $270,000 to spend this year in the wake of Jack de Belin’s suspension.

The Dragons will apply for a salary cap dispensation this week having resisted the temptation to do so in the hope de Belin would be cleared in the federal court to return to the field. But that all came to a crashing halt on Friday.

St George Illawarra are now on the lookout for a de Belin replacement.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed Merrin’s interest in returning to the club he won a 2010 premiership at in March. He is in the first season of a rich four year deal with English Super League club Leeds but is having an unhappy time.

Conversations between Merrin and club officials have been ongoing in the background and are expected to heat up this week now they finally have a decision on de Belin’s unavailability.

Without de Belin, the Dragons have just 28 contracted players and will need to fill two spots before June 30. They are also on the lookout for a cut priced outside back to sign this year to complete their roster.

Under NRL’s rules, the Dragons can only replace de Belin with a “like for like” player to be eligible for the dispensation. The NRL will grant an exemption for the full amount of de Belin’s wage. The State of Origin forward is contracted to earn $545,000 this year, meaning the pro rata rate would enable them to spend about $270,000 for the rest of the year.

It is unclear when de Belin’s criminal case will conclude meaning the Dragons will have to make another application next season to have the money exempt. This complicates any moves to sign a player long-term.

The cash-strapped Dragons had originally requested the NRL fit the bill for the extra player but the NRL rejected this move.

The Dragons could argue the cap space should go back to when de Belin was stood-down under the game’s no-fault policy but this is unlikely.

 

[hewi]

Horse before the cart is spot on, it’s not the players stupid it’s the coach, board look at Manly with Des and Tigers with McGuire that’s what a decent coach can do.

 

[jeffdragon]

Should sign a few .
Other clubs sign .
Like nikorima and co.
Why not us.?

 

[getsmarty]

Welcome aboard the Titanic.

 

[hazzbeen]

Welcome aboard the Titanic.

Its sinking ...

 

[possm]

Signing French would be a sideways move. The biggest issues with our back 3 are kick returns and safety under the high-ball. Bevan would not improve on those issues, in fact he'd probably add to them.

Merrin i'd be willing to give a shot, but he was to work f**king HARD. He's been poor for a few years now.

I know Basil can only work with the hand he's dealt, there's not a lot out there at the moment.

I'd say Millward is the dealer and Mary is the card player. In Mary's case, unless Millward deals a royal flush (a team of SOO players) each season, we have no hope because Mary does not know how to play (coach)..

 

[possm]

Yipes! Noone and Brian Smith - what a combination , we will be back to our glory days without a doubt .

And a big hello mickeylane , good to hear from you once again .

Hire Gould for a year or two as Head of Football and he will sort it out. If we signed him now, we may even be able to pick up some players prior to June 30. He would:
Find new coaching staff and then sack the current mob.
Have Recruitment/Pathways/Retention report to the head coach.
Bring balance to our top 30 squad.
Create an atmosphere of accountability and faith in each other within the squad
Do all necessary to create a positive culture within the playing group.

 

[st.phil]

would take french and mez in a heartbeat.

Mez is solid, has heart, work-rate and an offload. Our pack is tired already, bring him in.

French - straight swap for Dufty at FB. Yeah he's another whippet not in tedesco build but bit more bulk, experience and height than dufty and similar electric speed. Stuck behind gutho and has a point to prove

 

[blacksafake]

The issue here is that Merrin will take sometime to re-adjust to NRL football. It wouldn't be a quick fix and given our form and our abyssmal use of the bench he'd be rat crap after 1 or 2 games.
I'd be after RCG, he seems out of favour at the Panthers and us related to the Sims if I remember. I'd also be quietly chasing Bradon-Uele from the Sharks, he's off contract this year and looks a good prop prospect.
French, if he ia being chased by us would be for fullback, which spells bye bye to Dufty. But again not a tall player, so I'd go with Lomax there. French would be a waste.

RCG is the interesting one.
Seems to have lost all confidence since his broken jaw & just maybe a change of scenery would help him regain his confidence.His charging runs off the bench along with Korbin would be an absolute bonus.He'd have to lose that stupid mo though.

 

[Dragon David]

RCG is the interesting one.
Seems to have lost all confidence since his broken jaw & just maybe a change of scenery would help him regain his confidence.His charging runs off the bench along with Korbin would be an absolute bonus.He'd have to lose that stupid mo though.

Will Korbin have any confidence when he comes back? The same goes for Norman. They both will be tentative in hit ups and tackles initially i feel.

 

[possm]

RCG is the interesting one.
Seems to have lost all confidence since his broken jaw & just maybe a change of scenery would help him regain his confidence.His charging runs off the bench along with Korbin would be an absolute bonus.He'd have to lose that stupid mo though.

I'd like to see us get Oates, Roberts and a player like RCG. Of course these are high price players and will possibly need to be players let go to fit these players under the cap.

 

[dragons girl]

Doesn't matter who we sign they will be ruined by our super coach

 

[St Georgio]

I really believe Anthony Griffin could become our next Brian Smith/David Waite, Premiership contenders, unlike the current one Top 8 contender at best!