New Dragons boss Gordon opens up on vision for the Red V
Adrian Proszenko10 November 2018 — 7:00pm
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New St George Illawarra chairman Andrew Gordon has spoken for the first time about his vision for the club, believing the Dragons have the potential to become an “international brand”.
The joint-venture outfit underwent the biggest overhaul in its history when WIN Corporation took a 50 per cent stake in the Dragons by taking on the Steelers’ share in August. The move extinguished the debt the Dragons owed the NRL and effectively secured Illawarra’s position as an equal stakeholder in the Red V.
Dragons chair Andrew Gordon has big plans for the club.CREDIT:MERCURY
As part of the transaction, long-time director Gordon - the son of WIN owner Bruce Gordon - became the chairman of the famous sporting franchise.
Gordon, who has kept a low profile since becoming a Dragons board member back in 2006, predicted a bright future for the Dragons nationally and even abroad.
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“I’d like it to become an international brand,” Gordon told Fairfax Media. “I have that kind of faith in the code and the club. It is an incredible brand, one of the pre-eminent sporting brands in the nation.
“Longer term, through the experience of living overseas at points of my life, I think league has a certain cut-through and the ability to separate itself from a lot of other sporting codes in the world and thereby create its own interest.”
League already has taken the first tentative steps towards penetrating the American market. Denver hosted an England-New Zealand Test this season, the NRL remains hopeful of staging a season-opening fixture in 2020 and the World Cup is slated for the United States in 2025.
“It’s a difficult balance through the regular season because it can be of detriment to clubs,” Gordon said in reference to the Denver Test. “I would say that was a factor in our own performance being affected by such endeavours.
“There are the pros and cons to such things and it’s about making that work in our favour.”
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The WIN-Dragons deal was several years in the making. There were other prospective owners seeking to take the Steelers’ share, including a Qatari consortium and a US bidder. However, Gordon said it was important that an party with an affinity with the region won out.
“It would probably have caused some difficulties having people come in from the outside, especially foreigners getting a grasp of the trials and tribulations of rugby league,” he said. “It’s important to have the south coast involvement to make us what we are.
“It’s a tremendous breeding ground for players, one of the best NRL nurseries in the country.
“That’s added to the depth we’ve had over the years, it something we never wanted to see disappear from the brand or the environment.”
The new ownership arrangement ensures the Dragons will continue to have a strong presence in Illawarra, including the staging of home games in the region. While matches will continue to also be played in the club’s other spiritual home of Kogarah, Gordon revealed consideration was being given to shifting some home fixtures to the new Western Sydney Stadium.
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“We’re very open-minded to see what’s going on with stadia across the state,” he said.
“Going forward, we will certainly evaluate whether we can take a game or two [to Western Sydney], what the benefits could be. It’s got the potential to be a very good venue, we definitely want to evaluate that.
“It could also be expansionary for our club to play out there to a western suburbs audience.”
One of the first big decisions facing the new-look Dragons hierarchy is the future of coach Paul McGregor. "Mary" is in the last year of his contract, but Gordon said there is no rush to make a call on his future.
“We certainly don’t have a lot to be down in the mouth about in terms of Mary’s performance with the team,” he said. “We also have to look at the overall market and what’s going on. Stability is the key for us right now.
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“This is something we won’t jump into at this stage of the season. There’s a bit of time. We’ll focus on this coming year rather than pre-empting that, it’s a little too far forward.”
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