The Rumours Thread

[Maddragon99]

• Sport
• Nrl

Matt Cooper fumes at Dragons over awards night sub as George Burgess speaks out​

Matt Cooper has blown up over the current state of the Dragons right as a sacked star spoke up to reveal his broken relationship with the coach.


3 min read
October 18, 2022 - 7:39AM

The Dragons are facing a serious culture crisis with a sacked star revealing his broken relationship with the coach and a club great declaring the place has “no loyalty and honour anymore”.
It all comes amid suggestions coach Anthony Griffin has lost the dressing room, a rumour that’s gained significant traction in recent weeks with request releases from exciting young prospects Jayden Sullivan and Tyrell Sloan.
Watch every match of the Rugby League World Cup LIVE & Exclusive to Fox Sports, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Now, veteran front-rower George Burgess has revealed he was clearly on the outer during his first season at the Dragons.
The 30-year-old was released from the final year of his contract on Monday after he came to a mutual agreement with the Dragons.
The Englishman told The Daily Telegraph it would be a “disappointing” end to his career if it was to be his last season in the game given it was highlighted by a strained relationship with the coach.

George Burgess of the Dragons watches on from the bench during the round four NRL match between the Parramatta Eels and the St George Illawarra Dragons at CommBank Stadium, on April 03, 2022, in Sydney, Australia.
“I just didn’t get along with Hook (coach Griffin) and he made it pretty clear to me, he pretty much wrote me off.
“So I wasn’t too keen to go back to train under him to be honest.
“At the end of the day all you want is a coach to believe in you.

“There is no point me going back there if the coach doesn’t believe in me.”
Burgess refused to delve into the rumours of a split playing group at the Red V, declaring he was “not bagging the club at all”.
His comments emerged just hours after club great Matt Cooper eviscerated the current state of the club in relation to a report that only three current players attended the Dragons’ awards night in the first week of October.

Matt Cooper of the Dragons runs with the ball during the round three NRL match between the St George Dragons and the North Queensland Cowboys at WIN Stadium on March 26, 2010.
Cooper, who starred in 244 games for the Dragons, took to Twitter to share his frustration over yet another damaging story emerging out of his beloved team.
“I can’t believe 3 players went to the #redv awards night!!! Actually I can!” Cooper wrote.
“The club has no loyalty and honour anymore. That all stopped when Wayne Bennett left.”

Cooper’s comments came after St George Illawarra chairman Craig Young fronted up to the disappointing awards night turnout from the players.
Young, also a legend of the club, refused to minimise the story or blow it off as media spin as he told The Daily Telegraph it was “disappointing to say the least”.
“We had eight or nine players who had World Cup commitments and their absence was understandable.
“However the other players should have been there. When I played you couldn’t wait to get there.
“It’s not like you have to pay for anything. It’s free food and drink. There’s no excuse.”
The club chairman agreed the culture at the Dragons needed to be improved ahead of a 2023 season in which coach Anthony Griffin is under intense pressure to hold onto his job.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/matt-cooper-fumes-at-dragons-over-awards-night-sub-as-george-burgess-speaks-out/news-story/8ab088acb3f6d15b3e07c0862fa49cbe

George Burgess is no loss & Hook probably lost faith in him because he kept getting arrested!

Still though it was a depressing article, rival fans must be laughing at us, we’ve become a joke.

 

[justadragon]

There is one way to fix the Awards night saga and that is from now on its compulsory to attend unless you have other commitments eg world cup etc. End of story.

 

[since77]

Fans can see it, ex players can see it and current players can see it. But apparently the people running the club can’t. Griffin needs to go. Now.
While Burgess was undoubtedly a failure, the thing in that article that is most disturbing is that Burgess felt like Griffin wasn’t going to give him another chance. I’m betting a few others in the squad felt the same way during the season.

 

[The Word]

Griffin took a risk on signing Burgess. The first time he drove down to Wollongong for training he gets into a road rage incident which police have to speak to him about.
His behavior since then has deteriorated, arrested for sexually touching a woman without her consent, having to go into rehab, and gambling issues.
If we are all banging on about "club culture", releasing this muppet was 100% the right thing to do. Not only did he not repay his coach with his behavior and effort, but he bitched about him on the way out. Horrible example for our younger players.
Like many I'm annoyed, he could have been so good for us if he'd knuckled down.

 

[Trifili13]

Griffin took a risk on signing Burgess. The first time he drove down to Wollongong for training he gets into a road rage incident which police have to speak to him about.
His behavior since then has deteriorated, arrested for sexually touching a woman without her consent, having to go into rehab, and gambling issues.
If we are all banging on about "club culture", releasing this muppet was 100% the right thing to do. Not only did he not repay his coach with his behavior and effort, but he bitched about him on the way out. Horrible example for our younger players.
Like many I'm annoyed, he could have been so good for us if he'd knuckled down.

Just ended up a knucklehead instead of knuckling down.

 

[True_Believer]

but he bitched about him on the way out

Was Burgess the one that was the "leak" from earlier in the year? Makes sense...

 

[Coffs dragon]

Was Burgess the one that was the "leak" from earlier in the year? Makes sense...

Wouldn’t surprise me as that whole family are human headlines on both social media & dial a quote with journalists.
Another absolute dud signing!!

 

[justadragon]

I wasn’t bagging the guy, just pointing out that both Liddle & Musgrove have come from a losing culture.

As a comparison, Cronulla paid overs for Finucane last year because of the off-field leadership he brings.

Personally I’m tired of Hook’s Moneyball/dumpster diving approach with acquisitions like Woods, Burgess & F Molo. You can argue both Molo’s went ok for us but Francis wasn’t the Origin caliber leader we were looking for. Francis averaged 92m 21.8 tackles a game less than Lawrie (117/29) & de Belin (99/32.4)
who were our starting props by the end of the year. I think the general consensus is that de Belin’s best position is Lock but he had to start upfront due to Molo’s lack of production.

Musgrove might kill it next year, I hope he does but I won’t be hanging up the bunting for him just yet.

Totally agree with you, if indeed we can believe anything is that Musgrove was a replacement for Burgess and that this is not our marquee signing in the forwards, I'm hoping to see that soon, yes I maybe dreaming.

 

[Maddragon99]

There is one way to fix the Awards night saga and that is from now on its compulsory to attend unless you have other commitments eg world cup etc. End of story.

The point Coops is making is that in his era there was no need make attendance compulsory because all the boys wanted to catch up

We were regular finalists under Brown & obviously a winner under Bennett which indicates that there was nothing wrong with the club culture back then.

First BBQ Gate & now the awards night, the joint is a shambles & everyone can see it. I fear mortgaging the furniture to extend Hunt has only made things worse.

I was thinking about it, previously we’ve lost; Gasnier, Barrett, Bailey, Ryles, Soward, Boyd, Frizzle, the Morris’s plus more all to other clubs & the sky didn’t crash down. No one player is bigger than the Club.

There was an opportunity to start fresh without Griffin or Hunt in 2024 but no one had the balls to make the hard decision

 

[possm]

If we move quickly we could land Hasler and J Turbo prior to the start of off-season training. With Hasler on Board, we could quite possibly land another prop prior to the start of the season.

 

[denis preston]

Hook to go and club just waiting for World cup to finish to announce Wane taking over ! Well that's a rumour isn't it ? Unsubstantiated with no evidence other than hope but I'm hoping the media ( who reads these threads ) picks it up and forces the issue and gets both parties to speak !!!

 

[blacksafake]

If we move quickly we could land Hasler and J Turbo prior to the start of off-season training. With Hasler on Board, we could quite possibly land another prop prior to the start of the season.

Give it up possm ol mate.

 

[Maddragon99]

Hook to go and club just waiting for World cup to finish to announce Wane taking over ! Well that's a rumour isn't it ? Unsubstantiated with no evidence other than hope but I'm hoping the media ( who reads these threads ) picks it up and forces the issue and gets both parties to speak !!!

You’d have wonder if promises were made to Hunt regarding Griffin being given every chance to prove himself before a decision is made about his future.

 

[Old Timer]

Burgess said Hook didn’t believe in him

Rumour has it that Hook believed all that was printed in the media about him and as such avoided / shunned / sidelined him and rightfully so

Hook has been betrayed and didn’t take kindly to it so well done.

 

[Gardenia]

The core problem needs to be addressed. How is it that the Dragons can invest so much time and money into players, only to see them move to another club prior to play at NRL level?

For me the answer is simple. Baining clubs should pay a transfer fee in order to compensate the development club.

Absolutely

 

[Gardenia]

Burgess said Hook didn’t believe in him

Rumour has it that Hook believed all that was printed in the media about him and as such avoided / shunned / sidelined him and rightfully so

Hook has been betrayed and didn’t take kindly to it so well done.

I disagree OT. I think a good coach should have taken him on face value with an open mind. Not shunned him based on rumors and what is in the media. A good coach believes in their team and inspires hope. I think this speaks of a closed mindedness and an inflexibility. I really think the Dinasaur that is Hook needs to be replaced with a younger model.

 

[Gardenia]

Hahahah. F**k me. So now clubs that are pretty much guaranteed deep finals runs can save around 20k per player in their cap, with the promise that any given signed player will get an extra 16k at the end of the year anyway. What a terrible idea.

That won't foster competition at all.

 

[HenryTatana]

Totally agree with you, if indeed we can believe anything is that Musgrove was a replacement for Burgess and that this is not our marquee signing in the forwards, I'm hoping to see that soon, yes I maybe dreaming.

You must be kidding yourself if you think we have a marquee signing. The closest we would get to a marquee signing is Marketo.

 

[Gardenia]

If we move quickly we could land Hasler and J Turbo prior to the start of off-season training. With Hasler on Board, we could quite possibly land another prop prior to the start of the season.

That would be the ultimate dream come true

 

[slippery5]

• Sport
• Nrl

Matt Cooper fumes at Dragons over awards night sub as George Burgess speaks out​

Matt Cooper has blown up over the current state of the Dragons right as a sacked star spoke up to reveal his broken relationship with the coach.


3 min read
October 18, 2022 - 7:39AM

The Dragons are facing a serious culture crisis with a sacked star revealing his broken relationship with the coach and a club great declaring the place has “no loyalty and honour anymore”.
It all comes amid suggestions coach Anthony Griffin has lost the dressing room, a rumour that’s gained significant traction in recent weeks with request releases from exciting young prospects Jayden Sullivan and Tyrell Sloan.
Watch every match of the Rugby League World Cup LIVE & Exclusive to Fox Sports, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Now, veteran front-rower George Burgess has revealed he was clearly on the outer during his first season at the Dragons.
The 30-year-old was released from the final year of his contract on Monday after he came to a mutual agreement with the Dragons.
The Englishman told The Daily Telegraph it would be a “disappointing” end to his career if it was to be his last season in the game given it was highlighted by a strained relationship with the coach.

George Burgess of the Dragons watches on from the bench during the round four NRL match between the Parramatta Eels and the St George Illawarra Dragons at CommBank Stadium, on April 03, 2022, in Sydney, Australia.
“I just didn’t get along with Hook (coach Griffin) and he made it pretty clear to me, he pretty much wrote me off.
“So I wasn’t too keen to go back to train under him to be honest.
“At the end of the day all you want is a coach to believe in you.

“There is no point me going back there if the coach doesn’t believe in me.”
Burgess refused to delve into the rumours of a split playing group at the Red V, declaring he was “not bagging the club at all”.
His comments emerged just hours after club great Matt Cooper eviscerated the current state of the club in relation to a report that only three current players attended the Dragons’ awards night in the first week of October.

Matt Cooper of the Dragons runs with the ball during the round three NRL match between the St George Dragons and the North Queensland Cowboys at WIN Stadium on March 26, 2010.
Cooper, who starred in 244 games for the Dragons, took to Twitter to share his frustration over yet another damaging story emerging out of his beloved team.
“I can’t believe 3 players went to the #redv awards night!!! Actually I can!” Cooper wrote.
“The club has no loyalty and honour anymore. That all stopped when Wayne Bennett left.”

Cooper’s comments came after St George Illawarra chairman Craig Young fronted up to the disappointing awards night turnout from the players.
Young, also a legend of the club, refused to minimise the story or blow it off as media spin as he told The Daily Telegraph it was “disappointing to say the least”.
“We had eight or nine players who had World Cup commitments and their absence was understandable.
“However the other players should have been there. When I played you couldn’t wait to get there.
“It’s not like you have to pay for anything. It’s free food and drink. There’s no excuse.”
The club chairman agreed the culture at the Dragons needed to be improved ahead of a 2023 season in which coach Anthony Griffin is under intense pressure to hold onto his job.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/matt-cooper-fumes-at-dragons-over-awards-night-sub-as-george-burgess-speaks-out/news-story/8ab088acb3f6d15b3e07c0862fa49cbe

“At the end of the day all you want is a coach to believe in you.

Sounds familiar to our young stars requesting a release !!!!!!!!!
"Oh McGoo, you've done it again"