Demetriou: My Reasons For Joining

[getsmarty]

Demetriou: My Reasons For Joining

Thu 14th January, 07:00AM A A









St George Illawarra Dragons Assistant Coach Jason Demetriou admits he believes ‘the Club is moving forward’.
Demetriou recently joined the Red-and-Whites as joint-Assistant Head Coach alongside Ben Hornby and Dean Young after filling a vacancy left by Ian Millward’s appointment as the Club’s Director of Rugby League Pathways.


The former North Queensland Cowboys Assistant Coach revealed that an in-depth discussion with Dragons Head Coach Paul McGregor about the latter’s direction for the Club was all that was needed to for him to join his childhood team.
He is now focused on playing his role as the team’s attacking coach to help make those visions a reality.
“It was a very exciting process especially after sitting down with Paul and hearing what his vision for the Club was and how he thought my role could fit in with it,” said Demetriou.
“I am a local boy who grew-up wanting to play for the Dragons and to now being here helping to coach them is a dream come true.
“I am here as the attack coach working with Paul to oversee the attacking side of things which is similar to what I did at my previous role with the North Queensland Cowboys.
“Looking around, I think we have a very good roster and have strengthened it very well during the off-season break and you can see that the Club is moving forward.
“A key thing about making a decision to move to a new club is looking at how you as an individual can help improve the team and I hope my experience can do that.
“There is also a team here that I believe in and that is the case with all the players here training really well.
“On paper we have a good side that can achieve good things.”


Demetriou will also oversee responsibilities as Head Coach of the Illawarra Cutters in the NSW Cup, which is a role he used to having previously steered the helm with the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup.
The Hurstville-native is aware that his main focus is not only about steering the team to victory but also getting players within the playing-ranks ready to play first-grade when required.
“I have a good understanding of what the players will require and how tough it is to be a part-time player balancing work commitments and then backing it up playing,” said Demetriou.
“It’s a little different here at the Dragons as we have a lot more players who will feedback into the Cutters but I see that as a positive rather than a negative.
“I’ll be able to work with those guys straight after a game and in the early parts of the week.
“My role as Head Coach of the Cutters is to get the players up to speed and ready to play first-grade.
“While we do want to win games the most important thing individually is that they get their opportunity in first-grade and are able to take it.
“That’s one of the first things I’ll be discussing with the players as I’m here to both help them improve as a player and get them to play as much first-grade as they can.”


http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2016/01/14/demetriou_my_reasons.html

 

[RedVDragon]

North QLD always had real good hookers. Hopefully Jason will see that Rein is an imposter and work towards getting rid of him.

 

[The Nick]

North QLD always had real good hookers. Hopefully Jason will see that Rein is an imposter and work towards getting rid of him.

I think we have a better chance of you posting something original.

Rein will be #9. Probably stole your girlfriend too by the sounds of it. Deal with it and move on.

 

[Redvpassion]

Article sounds promising.....bring on the season.

 

[Jubileeboy]

I think we have a better chance of you posting something original.

Rein will be #9. Probably stole your girlfriend too by the sounds of it. Deal with it and move on.

Maybe he's Cameron King? :lol:

Good appointment

 

[denis preston]

North QLD always had real good hookers. Hopefully Jason will see that Rein is an imposter and work towards getting rid of him.

You really need to see a shrink about this obsession.

 

[giboz71]

Actually, I think the addition of Demetriou will help Rein.

He has a similar game to Granville who's strength is his running game. With Mann likely to get time at FB, he'll likely play a Coote type role which means Rein can focus solely on being a runner rather than a creator (like Smith, Farrah, Friend etc)

Service out of dummy half should be his focus - fix this up and Rein will go fine.

 

[Vasilevsky]

Actually, I think the addition of Demetriou will help Rein.

He has a similar game to Granville who's strength is his running game. With Mann likely to get time at FB, he'll likely play a Coote type role which means Rein can focus solely on being a runner rather than a creator (like Smith, Farrah, Friend etc)

Service out of dummy half should be his focus - fix this up and Rein will go fine.

Hopefully he can condition/pace himself to play 80min as well. Being able to kick would be nice but that's a way down the track yet. First he needs to pass out of dummy half consistently well, then condition/pace himself to play 80min and if he can do that, learn how to kick.

Otherwise I think we still haven't heard the last out of the Tigers insofar as hookers. They have at least 1 too many and could argue 2 too many. Pass on Ballin but either Cherrington or Farah would be an excellent replacement for Rein.

 

[giboz71]

Hopefully he can condition/pace himself to play 80min as well. Being able to kick would be nice but that's a way down the track yet. First he needs to pass out of dummy half consistently well, then condition/pace himself to play 80min and if he can do that, learn how to kick.

Otherwise I think we still haven't heard the last out of the Tigers insofar as hookers. They have at least 1 too many and could argue 2 too many. Pass on Ballin but either Cherrington or Farah would be an excellent replacement for Rein.

Would be good but think it's been established he goes better when playing around 60-65mins so don't expect this to change.

Expect Havili and even McCrone to get plenty of minutes this year to spell Rein.

 

[BennyV]

Hopefully he can condition/pace himself to play 80min as well. Being able to kick would be nice but that's a way down the track yet. First he needs to pass out of dummy half consistently well, then condition/pace himself to play 80min and if he can do that, learn how to kick.

Otherwise I think we still haven't heard the last out of the Tigers insofar as hookers. They have at least 1 too many and could argue 2 too many. Pass on Ballin but either Cherrington or Farah would be an excellent replacement for Rein.

He showed glimpsesof a half decent kicking game last season. A few that got us repeat sets even. Needs some fine tuning, but I'd like to see more of it as another option to Benji and Widdop.

 

[Weipa Dragon]

What Jason did was the pride in 13/14 was very impressive. That team beat the star studded panthers in the nsw and qld cup teams. I think he will be able to fine tune rein to perform. Many write him off, but he learnt under Steven price. Even blind can see, he played a lot better under Mary. Go saints

 

[duck]

Very good appointment. He'll be able to coach Rein to pass backwards.

 

[Objective View]

Very good appointment. He'll be able to coach Rein to pass backwards.

Not even Bennett or Bellamy could do that.

Straight Shooter

 

[dangerousdave]

What Jason did was the pride in 13/14 was very impressive. That team beat the star studded panthers in the nsw and qld cup teams.

Winning the QRL Is much more impressive than beating any NSW cup team. It's just a vastly superior competition.

That said, I totally get your point. He seems to have worked some magic at that level not to mention his involvement in the Cowboys.

Exciting times!

 

[coast_dragons]

I actually feel sorry for RedVDragon i doubt he'd ever have a girlfriend for anyone to steal so its nice of you Nick to think he might.

 

[getsmarty]

Demetriou to re-jig Dragons offence

Jan. 14, 2016, 6:12 p.m.

HE’S the man charged with breathing life into a stuttering attack and new Dragons assistant Jason Demetriou is already excited with the arsenal at his disposal.
Demteriou oversaw one of the NRL’s most potent attacks as understudy to North Queensland coach Paul Green at the Cowboys last season.

He believes the likes of Gareth Widdop, Benji Marshall and Josh Dugan can prove just as lethal as Jonathan Thurston and co.

“My focus was on the attack up there and it’s the same here,” Demetriou said.
“We spoke a lot about doing the simple things well.

“It wasn’t about re-inventing the wheel it was about being good at what we do.

“That’ll be a focus here knowing our roles and executing them really well.
“I’m still learning and still understanding how the boys play, probably getting us a bit more direct and playing through the line a bit more is a big focus for us.
“It’s early days yet but what I do know is there’s a lot of talent in this team and a lot of points as well.”


http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3665076/former-cowboy-on-the-attack/?cs=2382

 

[giboz71]

Demetriou to re-jig Dragons offence

Jan. 14, 2016, 6:12 p.m.

HE?S the man charged with breathing life into a stuttering attack and new Dragons assistant Jason Demetriou is already excited with the arsenal at his disposal.
Demteriou oversaw one of the NRL?s most potent attacks as understudy to North Queensland coach Paul Green at the Cowboys last season.

He believes the likes of Gareth Widdop, Benji Marshall and Josh Dugan can prove just as lethal as Jonathan Thurston and co.

?My focus was on the attack up there and it?s the same here,? Demetriou said.
?We spoke a lot about doing the simple things well.

?It wasn?t about re-inventing the wheel it was about being good at what we do.

?That?ll be a focus here knowing our roles and executing them really well.
?I?m still learning and still understanding how the boys play, probably getting us a bit more direct and playing through the line a bit more is a big focus for us.
?It?s early days yet but what I do know is there?s a lot of talent in this team and a lot of points as well.?


http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3665076/former-cowboy-on-the-attack/?cs=2382

Couldn't think of a better man to retool our attack.

Moving Morgan from fullback, a renowned runner and attacker and replacing him with more of a playmaker in Coote proved to be a masterstroke.

Will be interesting to see if he employs something similar here - the recruitment of Mann certainly gives us that option.

As he said, a backline containing Dugan, Widdop and Marshall and now Lafai should be one of the better attacking units in the comp. Just need to use each of them correctly, which we have failed to do thus far.

 

[getsmarty]

McGregor: He Offers Fresh Ideas

Fri 15th January, 07:00AM A A


St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor said the opportunity to bring an "outsider" on to his coaching staff in former Cowboys premiership-winning assistant coach Jason Demetriou was too good to refuse.
With Demetriou predominately focused on the Cowboys' attack for the past 12 months, working with the likes of Johnathan Thurston and Lachlan Coote, McGregor remains hopeful his side will improve in attack – a facet they struggled with at times in 2015.
Demetriou's arrival – or return considering he is a local junior – came with Peter Mulholland and Robert Finch's departure from the Club.


It allowed assistant coach Ian Millward to take up post as the Dragons' Director of Rugby League Pathways in 2016, a position previously held by Finch.
"For me to talk to Ian about that, and for him to want to do that, was a good opportunity to bring an outsider into our midst, especially one which won the competition at the Cowboys," McGregor told NRL.com.
"For us it means new ideas, it's fresh and clean. He has no ties to the club except he was a Hurstville junior which is good, we like looking after our own.
"He was the Cowboys attacking coach last year and we struggled a little bit in that area due to a few things but mainly for us coaches now it's about getting new and fresh ideas."
Demetriou, who will double as the Illawarra Cutters' coach in NSW Cup, comes to the Dragons with plenty of experience.
A Wakefield Wildcats legend and a past Man of Steel nominee in his own right, the 40-year-old's Australian coaching career began in 2013 at Intrust Super Cup outfit Northern Pride.
Winning both the premiership and NRL State Championship at the Pride the next season, Demetriou was promoted to Paul Green's Cowboys coaching staff in 2015.
McGregor said he has kept tabs on Demetriou's progress over the past 18 months and was of the understanding they shared similar ideologies when it came to the Dragons' future.
"We had spoken three or four times over the phone and he interviewed very well with me. Obviously he went through a three-prong process with the interviews and he spoke exactly the way I was thinking about different things," McGregor said.
"He certainly gave me some new ideas in our discussions which were good. I did a background check obviously with the players he'd coached in the past, and everything was positive.
"It was hard to find a negative and for someone like that at 40 who is familiar with the competition, it all added up. It's a fresh approach for us going into the New Year getting a new coach so late."
From Demetriou's perspective, it didn't take long to convince him that McGregor was one man he'd definitely be able to work alongside.
"I had a couple of conversations with Paul over Christmas time. After speaking to him I knew he was the right guy I wanted to work with and the roster they have here, any coach would want to work with them," Demetriou said.

"It was a tough decision, because I obviously had a lot of success with the Cowboys but I thought it was the right move for my family and I."
"My focus was on the attack [in North Queensland] and it's the same here. We spoke a lot about doing the simple things well; it wasn't about reinventing the wheel. Rather it was about being good at what we do.
"That came with understanding our roles and executing it really well. It is early days [at the Dragons] but what I do know is there's a lot of talent in this team and there's plenty of points in them too."
Returning to Jubilee Oval for the first time in 17 years, Demetriou looked back on his time in the area fondly after playing with the Hurstville United "Struggos".
"I was just saying before the last time I was here was a local league grand final back in '99, we won it so I have some good memories here," he said.
"Hopefully I'll win some more games here this year."


http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2016/01/15/mcgregor_he_offers_f.html

 

[Sheridan Stand]

Another smart move. The club is finally going forward instead of backwards, sideways and upside down. Bennet may have won us a long awaited premiership but he lost a lot of credibility (or did he outside of our circle?) by supporting the spineless price.

 

[giboz71]

Another smart move. The club is finally going forward instead of backwards, sideways and upside down. Bennet may have won us a long awaited premiership but he lost a lot of credibility (or did he outside of our circle?) by supporting the spineless price.

Bit harsh on Price mate calling him spineless. He actually proved to very good as an assistant and from all accounts is doing a fair job at the Sharks in that role.

Granted as a head coach he was a disaster, but he's not the first to fail in that space. Furner, Kearney, Taylor - great assistants, crap head coaches.