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Message from the CEO

L

LINESPEED

Juniors
Messages
1,551
denis preston said:
Linespeed need to be fair here.Young never said training attitude overruled skill & potential.That is a Possum type assumption. It's interesting that he does value it though.Does it suggest that he witnessed the former coach ignoring some favorites slacking off in training ?
I mentioned earlier this year the response by supercoach to Host's request for feedback on what areas he needed to work on after another demotion last season. He was told to "work harder " he said but i am in the top 10% in most of the stats. Dufty said similar as well. Evidence here that Mcgoodbloke rather cement relationships than make a player challenge themselves.
Click to expand...

Generally agree DP
I do like possm - his heart’s in the Club

Attitude+skill+potential are some integral elements in a complete player I’d say.

(Unfortunately great attitude & suckup at training can mask other deficiencies
....& hinder Club health via selection decisions)

‘Keep improving’ is a vital coach message

....But it’s gametime that made the difference with Host

GAMETIME

It’s called selection

And gametime our juniors never got FFS

Ignored or fuc/ked around they got plenty of

‘
Challenge’ yourself is, as you mention, an ongoing hallmark

I do remember McMate lauding Lafai year after year for winning preseason training markers -

Misleading single criteria

Aitken & Lafai always lacked the skillset to justify their relentless selection.
One dimensional players

.... and it’s basically taken the Board to finally agree
& to intervene
& to act

..& in Aitken’s case shown the door
....inferring (finally)
that there were more skilled & complete juniors available to remedy the ‘favouritism
trainwreck’
& restore a No3 attacking option to the Club

(....I do remember an interview years ago where Lafai conceded there were deserving juniors snapping at his heels
.... & you could almost sense that he knew his benefactor had his back

Lost players, lost renewal

Anyway, rant not

Despite the mantra,
this is not Deano’s strongest possible team running onto the park tonight.

(& as Dean has said, nowhere near good enough)

They came 15th last year & in 2020 have had an easy run with fortuitously weakened opponents & playing many low-ladder teams

And the sameness’ of selections smacks of the old saying ‘flogging a dead horse?

The media has recorded that we’ve hitherto been a Club that does not give its juniors much of a go.

So it’s great to see Webby intent on remedy & change
with re-signings
& ‘developing juniors’ key in his coaching criteria.

....& unfortunately for Deano IMHO,
a key job application box he missed ticking in selecting the often ‘game-costing’ Turnstile
(& probably Norman) over better options

Barnacles are hard to remove in a generally quite conservative Club & Fan Base
eh possm?
 
Dragonslayer

Dragonslayer

First Grade
Messages
7,693
R&WTILLIDIE said:
Dear Red V members and corporate partners,

It has been an eventful first four months for me here at the Dragons and although the learning curve has been steep, my focus remains on getting this club back into the top echelons of the NRL both on and off the field.

Last week the club parted ways with Paul McGregor who served the club in a variety of roles over a 25-year period. I am very proud of how the club handled the situation and cannot speak more highly of Paul in the way that he carried himself throughout.

His passion, work ethic, humility and generosity was exceptional. It was great to see the players perform as they did against the Eels and send Paul off in the manner he deserved. We wish all the best to Paul and his family for the future and know that he will always be part of the St George Illawarra Dragons family.

We welcome Dean Young in an interim capacity for the remainder of the season and after the win against the Broncos last Friday, we believe we will see more positive things from the team under his direction.

We now turn our focus to the appointment of our next head coach; the most important decision the club has made in recent times. There needs to be a level of confidentiality with a recruitment process such as this, but I can tell you that the key elements we are looking for in our next head coach are:

1. Strong discipline (needed for ongoing improvement);
2. Ability to develop young players (leverage our strength as a development club);
3. Defensively minded (defence is the bedrock of all successful teams); and
4. Comes from a culture of success (knows how to win).

Across the club we have undergone an in-depth strategic planning process which is nearing completion. We now have a set of overarching goals for the business and numerous actions that need to be undertaken in order to achieve them. The speed at which these actions can occur varies, but I hope everyone will start seeing improvements in all areas shortly. Every step is being measured and reviewed along the way to ensure that we are establishing a culture of continued improvement.

There are some good people doing great work and I believe with the right direction and leadership we can make some great leaps in the not-too-distant future.

Football

The last two months have been full of highs and lows. The team has shown that at their best they can compete with any team in the competition. However, their struggle to play at their best for a full 80 minutes continues to be their downfall at times.

It's worth noting that contrary to media reports Jason Saab has not been granted a release at the end of the season, although we will consider allowing him to depart on compassionate grounds if we were to receive a commensurate compensation in the form of a player and/or cash consideration.

We wish Euan Aitken all the best as he makes his way to the New Zealand Warriors in 2021. Euan has been a great servant of the club and I am sure he will be a valuable addition to the Warriors' roster.

Earlier this week, we confirmed that Mathew and Max Feagai have extended their time with the Dragons for a further season (until 2022) and have been promoted to the club's top squad as of next season. We look forward to announcing the re-signing of more of our other brightest young talent in the coming weeks.

Red V Membership

I wish to thank the thousands of members who chose to keep their membership with the club throughout the 2020 season. Whether it was in full or reverting to a non-match access membership level, every bit of support helps the club be better on and off the field.

To those members who have been able to attend our home matches – thank you. Although the environment is not what any of us are used to, your voices and support is felt and appreciated by the boys on the field.

Corporate partners

With the return of crowds to games it has been great to see some of our corporate partners enjoying the Dragons' game day hospitality. The support of our partners and their patience with the new game day rules and ticketing process are very much appreciated. We look forward to welcoming our partners to our remaining home games.

Our major partner St.George Bank recently conducted their Footy Grants program again. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, St.George were able to reposition the existing program from helping the footy community to play to helping them survive financially. Additionally, St.George doubled its commitment from last year, increasing the funding pool to $200,000, in their efforts to galvanise our grassroots communities. It is a great program and another reason why we are proud of our association with St.George Bank.

NRL Women's Premiership

Our NRLW program will begin in late-August with an eye towards Round 1, which is again set down for the first week of the NRL finals. All NRLW games will be played before NRL matches with the grand final to be played prior to the NRL grand final. Our Dragons squad of 22 players is being put together and will be finalised in the coming weeks. The NRLW team will be placed under Apollo protocols by the NRL for the duration of the competition.

Indigenous Round

I wanted to make mention of the fantastic efforts of our staff around the recent Indigenous Round, in particular, to their work on the production of our fantastic Indigenous jersey that I believe was the best of any club.

Finally, thanks to everyone for your continued support of the club. Please take care of yourselves and those around you as we continue to make our way through these challenging times.

Yours faithfully,
Ryan Webb
CEO - St George Illawarra Dragons
Click to expand...

There are 5 key points in this message:

1. The process and criteria around appointing a new head coach.
2. The strategic planning that will bring about change.
3. The (expected) re-signing of more of our promising juniors
4. Clarification of the Saab situation
5. Admission we havent been an 80 min football team

I would add that in the Podcast the other day he mentioned about the Panthers heing a role-model for the way they have retained and promoted their best junior talent. This is also an important step direction which will, with the right coach, self reliant and move away from the 'journeyman' syndrom which has permeated our club over recent years.
Another point from the Podcast was that if we cannot find a coach that ticks all the boxes, they will appoint someone 'close enough' and add support staff that will help fill the deficiencies.

Like most I'm impressed with the way things appear to be heading, however, it is tempered by the 'action speaks louder than words' feeling as the past will attest to. I gather that is the skepticism installed into us from the last 7 years.

I guess we'll start to find out soon enough.
 
SGMax

SGMax

Juniors
Messages
441
getsmarty said:
Saab has fielded interest from several Sydney rivals including Wests Tigers and Manly over the course of 2020, but the Dragons preference is for a player swap to hasten his release.
Click to expand...


Has Saab any idea where Manly and Brookvale are located?
They may be a longer commute than the Gong.
Can't release him on compassionate grounds if he signs with a club with longer travel time or goes interstate.
 
R&WTILLIDIE

R&WTILLIDIE

First Grade
Messages
5,283
Dragonslayer said:
There are 5 key points in this message:

1. The process and criteria around appointing a new head coach.
2. The strategic planning that will bring about change.
3. The (expected) re-signing of more of our promising juniors
4. Clarification of the Saab situation
5. Admission we havent been an 80 min football team

I would add that in the Podcast the other day he mentioned about the Panthers heing a role-model for the way they have retained and promoted their best junior talent. This is also an important step direction which will, with the right coach, self reliant and move away from the 'journeyman' syndrom which has permeated our club over recent years.
Another point from the Podcast was that if we cannot find a coach that ticks all the boxes, they will appoint someone 'close enough' and add support staff that will help fill the deficiencies.

Like most I'm impressed with the way things appear to be heading, however, it is tempered by the 'action speaks louder than words' feeling as the past will attest to. I gather that is the skepticism installed into us from the last 7 years.

I guess we'll start to find out soon enough.
Click to expand...
Exactly what I was thinking. He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk?
 
Walpole

Walpole

Juniors
Messages
2,418
Have to say, I think Webb has been good so far. He walked into an absolute basket case and things slowly seem to be turning around. He's let Lafai, Graham, Luke, Aitken all go and is talking up developing the vast junior base we have. If he rounds it out with a competent, qualified coach we might just be going places.
 
D

denis preston

First Grade
Messages
8,210
Puff said:
But will Pete and Harry high pants give him a chance. They are the heart and soul of the club
Click to expand...
If thats the case then Webbie can do us all a favor if he is prevented from implementing his vision & resigns : spill the beans big time on the corruption & incompetence of the board & basically telling the NRL to act.Mind you CEO's generally just move on to the next gig and dont burn their bridges.

I prefer to be positive and look forward to the changes he makes.
 
Lethal25

Lethal25

Juniors
Messages
1,492
Surely point 4. Comes from a culture of success (knows how to win) rules Dean Young out. He only made four points about the coaching gig, ignoring 25% of that to employ Young wouldn't show him in a good light
 
possm

possm

Coach
Messages
15,591
Dragonslayer said:
There are 5 key points in this message:

1. The process and criteria around appointing a new head coach.
2. The strategic planning that will bring about change.
3. The (expected) re-signing of more of our promising juniors
4. Clarification of the Saab situation
5. Admission we havent been an 80 min football team

I would add that in the Podcast the other day he mentioned about the Panthers heing a role-model for the way they have retained and promoted their best junior talent. This is also an important step direction which will, with the right coach, self reliant and move away from the 'journeyman' syndrom which has permeated our club over recent years.
Another point from the Podcast was that if we cannot find a coach that ticks all the boxes, they will appoint someone 'close enough' and add support staff that will help fill the deficiencies.

Like most I'm impressed with the way things appear to be heading, however, it is tempered by the 'action speaks louder than words' feeling as the past will attest to. I gather that is the skepticism installed into us from the last 7 years.

I guess we'll start to find out soon enough.
Click to expand...
I'd say, if we are to retain a higher percentage of our juniors, a good look at our pathways program needs to be had. I would love to see an injection of skill coaching by professionals and mentoring by former greats, be introduced into the program.
 
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