Do Something

[Collateral]

Doubt it

Your right. I don't think Doust would be smart enough to be using interns.

 

[BennyV]

I struggle to believe that it is Brownie coming home. I think Brownie has a big job to do at Newcastle, a job that could well define his career (more so than the ESL Title) and I think he will see it through one way or another. At the very least, he will want to lift them to a Top 8 team in the next few years.

 

[St Georgio]

I struggle to believe that it is Brownie coming home. I think Brownie has a big job to do at Newcastle, a job that could well define his career (more so than the ESL Title) and I think he will see it through one way or another. At the very least, he will want to lift them to a Top 8 team in the next few years.

I agree, Browny will be there for the long journey, We will have to accept mediocrity until the end of McGregors contract, hopefully they will appointment Tony Smith!

 

[Dragonbaal]

I am meeting up with about 5 dragon supporter friends on Saturday to try to organise a petition to be signed by disgruntled supporters.

Yes it may be fruitless, fall on deaf ears, but at least I can say tried something, because I like all on here have had more than enough!!

 

[rainman44]

Fair enough..what about the following to "Old Boys" ..Tony Smith and Brian Smith ?

Tony Smith or Nathan Brown i would be very happy with.

 

[Forster Dragon]

Smithy would be a good fit.

 

[coast_dragons]

Tony Smith had an oppurtunity to come back and said no thanks.

Brownie if he has any brains what so ever would say no thanks to.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

This is probably unfair, but to me, Tony Smith reminds me somewhat of Millward, ( Who also won a few comps, many years ago in the ESL). Maybe because he has been in the ESL for so long.
If we are getting someone from the ESL, needs to be someone fairly young (Under 50) with a lot of energy, like Robinson/Madge. Smith is 49, so I suppose he is still pretty young. I though he was much older.
His CV is impressive. But he does seem pretty settled in England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Smith_(rugby_league,_born_1967)

 

[coast_dragons]

He's very settled in the UK and why come back to a club thats on the slide.

 

[Objective View]

If the NRL has loaned us money, well then they are entitled to have someone sitting on the board.

Might be a good idea to cc the NRL.

Straight Shooter

 

[epDragon62]

My email on Tuesday:

Hello Peter,

Thank you for your previous reply.

Last night my son, Adrian, and I attended the Manly match and felt great disappointment.

Suffice it to say that, if several months after your previous response you still maintain that Paul McGregor is the right man to take our once mighty club forward, we are watching Dragons games through very different lenses.

I am one of many fans who feel disillusioned. While I will never turn my back on the Dragons and I have no doubt that Paul and his coaching staff are trying hard, it is clear to see the difference between well coached teams and our own. That twice now we've been in a position to cement a position in the top eight and turned in such appalling efforts is a reflection that all is not well and to ignore it is to risk further disenfranchisement from the supporter base.

I'm sure you can pull together some interesting statistics to argue why I am wrong but many years of watching rugby league and my ability to observe well coached teams overwhelms any argument you might put forward. In 2015 we were brave; 2016 has seen us regress.

Change is needed, please accept the reality and act accordingly.

 

[since77]

My email on Tuesday:

Hello Peter,

Thank you for your previous reply.

Last night my son, Adrian, and I attended the Manly match and felt great disappointment.

Suffice it to say that, if several months after your previous response you still maintain that Paul McGregor is the right man to take our once mighty club forward, we are watching Dragons games through very different lenses.

I am one of many fans who feel disillusioned. While I will never turn my back on the Dragons and I have no doubt that Paul and his coaching staff are trying hard, it is clear to see the difference between well coached teams and our own. That twice now we've been in a position to cement a position in the top eight and turned in such appalling efforts is a reflection that all is not well and to ignore it is to risk further disenfranchisement from the supporter base.

I'm sure you can pull together some interesting statistics to argue why I am wrong but many years of watching rugby league and my ability to observe well coached teams overwhelms any argument you might put forward. In 2015 we were brave; 2016 has seen us regress.

Change is needed, please accept the reality and act accordingly.

Too much logic there. Very well worded.

 

[thebigredv]

This thread is the only thing giving me hope right now. Well done people.

p.s. loving the new upgrade Willow

 

[hazzbeen]

Update is looking good....

 

[St Georgio]

I have emailed the club seeking a change in coach.
We need more to do the same.
P.s My recommendation isTony Smith

 

[Dragonbaal]

Here is my email to the club I've had enough

To the members of the St George Illawarra board, the CEO and the Head Coach,

D is for Dragons-the club us supporters, fanatics, tragics love with all our hearts, support through the good and bad times, however, for the last 4 years we have felt nothing but heartache at the way our once proud club is/has been run, so to that end-

D is also for:

Disillusioned
Digruntled
Dismayed
Depressed
Distressed
Deflated
Disenfranchised
Disconsolate
Dismal
Dejected
Disgusted

These are the D's us supporters are feeling for the following reasons:

1. Inept retention of top line juniors-Yes we know they can not all be kept, but to let Jack Bird leave, and then this year try to sign him back for 2017 is absolutely laughable and embarrassing. I have made my feelings know about other juniors currently in our club that are possibly in danger of being not re-signed because they "do not fit into the clubs plans going forward".

Add to this we were told at the beginning of the season we had signed David Warwick from Manly as the recruitment manager, but now it appears any time there is news of us again missing out on signing another player we get Mr Millward making comment, so is he the recruitment manager? I thought he was director of pathways??

2. Right game, Right venue-due to the parlous state of our clubs finances, I understand the Dragons need to play games out of ANZ, but this season, we have had 1 game at our spiritual ground of Uni of Wollongong Stadium at Kogarah on a Thursday night, which was in May, and only get our second game there next week-again a night game. Well guess what, we will be lucky to get a crowd of 7000, because I can tell you I am aware of supporters who are going to boycott the rest of our home games as part of a protest.

3. Boring and monotonous Rugby League from our 1st Grade team-I will watch the Dragons play no matter what, but the football dished up to us for the LAST 4 YEARS is boring, unimaginative, and uninspiring. All of this lays at the feet of the Head coach because he clearly has no idea how to produce a game plan against teams, it the same one out up the middle, kick on the last tackle and hope for the best. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

It is the very reason we cannot entice top name players to the club because the actually want to play football, not hit the ball up time after time. In fact players in our team have gone backwards since being under the guidance of the head coach. I do not wish to disrespect Mr MacGregor, I am sure he loves the club as much as we all do, however, he just does not have the skill set to be a first grade coach.

4. What is the point of bringing players to the club such as Havili and Kurt Mann, gibing them 10 minutes on the field in the case of Havili, and giving Kurt Mann two or three games in which he scored 4 tries I may add and then dropping them again , or having under 20's players playing out of their skin if they do not get a chance in first grade?? Other teams do it, are doing it. I will tell you the reason-the head coach and yourselves are content with mediocrity, and as long as the 1st grade hold their own and manage to jag an win here or there, that satisfies you. Well I am sorry to say, it does not satisfy the supporters paying their hard earned money, driving or catching a train to either Wollongong or Kogarah when we do happen to have a home game, or the monolith ANZ stadium which is barely fifth full, paying a fortune to park, paying a fortune to eat or even have a drink-No it is not good enough!!!

5. There is no avenue anymore for paying members to have their say on the way OUR club is being run-we used to have members forums, then supposedly a committee of 4 or 5 chosen supporters was set up to represent all of us, but as a member I never hear anything from them. So what has happened to that?

It pains me greatly to have to write to you and express my feelings, but I frustrated that our club is becoming a laughing stock and nobody in charge seems to care!!

Please come down from your ivory towers and give us some leadership and tell us where our club is headed because many of us fear we will not have a team to follow within the next 5 to 10 years.

Regards,

 

[saint16]

Here is my email to the club I've had enough

To the members of the St George Illawarra board, the CEO and the Head Coach,

D is for Dragons-the club us supporters, fanatics, tragics love with all our hearts, support through the good and bad times, however, for the last 4 years we have felt nothing but heartache at the way our once proud club is/has been run, so to that end-

D is also for:

Disillusioned
Digruntled
Dismayed
Depressed
Distressed
Deflated
Disenfranchised
Disconsolate
Dismal
Dejected
Disgusted

These are the D's us supporters are feeling for the following reasons:

1. Inept retention of top line juniors-Yes we know they can not all be kept, but to let Jack Bird leave, and then this year try to sign him back for 2017 is absolutely laughable and embarrassing. I have made my feelings know about other juniors currently in our club that are possibly in danger of being not re-signed because they "do not fit into the clubs plans going forward".

Add to this we were told at the beginning of the season we had signed David Warwick from Manly as the recruitment manager, but now it appears any time there is news of us again missing out on signing another player we get Mr Millward making comment, so is he the recruitment manager? I thought he was director of pathways??

2. Right game, Right venue-due to the parlous state of our clubs finances, I understand the Dragons need to play games out of ANZ, but this season, we have had 1 game at our spiritual ground of Uni of Wollongong Stadium at Kogarah on a Thursday night, which was in May, and only get our second game there next week-again a night game. Well guess what, we will be lucky to get a crowd of 7000, because I can tell you I am aware of supporters who are going to boycott the rest of our home games as part of a protest.

3. Boring and monotonous Rugby League from our 1st Grade team-I will watch the Dragons play no matter what, but the football dished up to us for the LAST 4 YEARS is boring, unimaginative, and uninspiring. All of this lays at the feet of the Head coach because he clearly has no idea how to produce a game plan against teams, it the same one out up the middle, kick on the last tackle and hope for the best. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

It is the very reason we cannot entice top name players to the club because the actually want to play football, not hit the ball up time after time. In fact players in our team have gone backwards since being under the guidance of the head coach. I do not wish to disrespect Mr MacGregor, I am sure he loves the club as much as we all do, however, he just does not have the skill set to be a first grade coach.

4. What is the point of bringing players to the club such as Havili and Kurt Mann, gibing them 10 minutes on the field in the case of Havili, and giving Kurt Mann two or three games in which he scored 4 tries I may add and then dropping them again , or having under 20's players playing out of their skin if they do not get a chance in first grade?? Other teams do it, are doing it. I will tell you the reason-the head coach and yourselves are content with mediocrity, and as long as the 1st grade hold their own and manage to jag an win here or there, that satisfies you. Well I am sorry to say, it does not satisfy the supporters paying their hard earned money, driving or catching a train to either Wollongong or Kogarah when we do happen to have a home game, or the monolith ANZ stadium which is barely fifth full, paying a fortune to park, paying a fortune to eat or even have a drink-No it is not good enough!!!

5. There is no avenue anymore for paying members to have their say on the way OUR club is being run-we used to have members forums, then supposedly a committee of 4 or 5 chosen supporters was set up to represent all of us, but as a member I never hear anything from them. So what has happened to that?

It pains me greatly to have to write to you and express my feelings, but I frustrated that our club is becoming a laughing stock and nobody in charge seems to care!!

Please come down from your ivory towers and give us some leadership and tell us where our club is headed because many of us fear we will not have a team to follow within the next 5 to 10 years.

Regards,

Great Post...

 

[GKJ79]

Hey Mcgregor, you are a babbling fwit who cant coach, you need to piss off so we can start winning again.

Hey Doust, your an even bigger fwit for giving Mcgregor the job in the first place, you have continually made poor decisions that have turned our club into a laughing stock, piss off and take the rest of your gang with you, so we can become successful again.

Pretty simple really,
Straight shooter.

 

[coast_dragons]

Even if Doust and Mary are gone i don't think the club will be successful.

The damage has well and truly been done and it will take something monumental to turn things around.

The NRL basically own the club and imo are happy for them to be the whipping boys of the league along with the Knights.

 

[thebigredv]

My Effort...

Dear Peter Doust,

I have remained quite patient up until now in watching the performance of our first grade team over the current season, and previous 4 long, disappointing NRL seasons. I write to you now to voice my utter frustration and sadness at the performance of our club, and the failures to secure coaches and players worthy of wearing the Red V. I fear greatly for our lack of vision. What is the long term plan when excellent juniors are getting over looked for fringe first graders, and leaving our club for opportunities elsewhere? I fear persisting with the current halves another year (or some other discarded player in the most crucial play making position) will leave all sorts of shaming records against our name on the annals of history. I fear we have already become the laughing stock of the league. Even when we have managed a victory there is no positive press for us because of slow, boring way we go about playing rugby league. Surely this is worrying you? The coach doesn't seem bothered and is more interested in shifting blame and talking about 'next week'. These grievances are simply the tip of the iceberg - and the reason fans are turning away in great numbers.

Please allow me to elaborate on what I believe is our biggest issue - the coach. The team is quite clearly in need of a different coach, one who has first grade credentials. I feel there have been far too many chances given to rookie coaches - whose stubbornness and error-ridden strategies and decisions have been tolerated a painstakingly long time. Fans, young and old are turning away not only because of our failure to win, but because of the negative style in which the team attacks on field week in, week out, season after season. Sadly this has been even more pronounced in 2016. Paul McGregor has demonstrated some attributes of a good coach and undoubtedly his approach has impacted on our goal line defence. However, his methods have been proven ineffective and he simply has not coached our team to victory enough to justify retaining him in this position any longer. You simply only have to look at his statistics. Goal line defence alone will not bring about success.

For most of the last 4 and half seasons we have been lucky with injuries and available troops, and I don't believe Mr McGregor can deflect criticism onto any other factor but himself. The team was extremely unprepared for last round's match, and we were continuously back-pedalling against the 3rd last team all game, waiting for their inspired attack to come to us. It wasn't the first time that a Paul McGregor-coached side has put in such a poor showing over the last 2 years. The number of line breaks the team made could be counted with one finger. This is not the St George Illawarra Dragons I have grown to know and love. I can handle the losses but not without the assurance that bigger and better things are around the corner. They clearly are not. We need a coach that can get us a premiership, not one who battles hard to inspire his team into 8th place. It is evident that one of our failures to secure quality players, especially half backs, is due to their unwillingness to want to play under a coach who has somehow created such a insipid, disjointed, and confused team that lacks self-belief. I can't blame a player from wanting to avoid the mess we are in right now.

Mr Doust, I hope you are as concerned as I am of our prolonged inability to compete at the top end of the competition. I hope that you are taking action on the obvious problems that exist with our club right. Time is very much of the essence.

I thank you for your time.