Some positivity via this article by Dragons man - Andrew Webster.. we may finally have a Chairman that takes action..
THE DRAGONS AREN'T THE BASKET CASE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE
SMH
Andrew Webster
May 19, 2023 — 5.00am
I read with interest earlier this week that St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin had been sacked after two-and-a-bit years of mediocre performances, silly signings, bubble-bursting barbecues, and player-less presentation nights.
Didn’t see that coming. Who would ever have thought Griffin – previously sacked at the Broncos and Penrith – wasn’t the right man for the job?
After months of speculation, Anthony Griffin was finally given his marching orders by the Dragons
It’d be easy to write a blistering critique of the club and, particularly, the dysfunctional Dragons board that has heaped this torment upon all concerned, not least its exhausted fans who are presently suffering the indignity of being sledged by Wests Tigers supporters.
Yet there’s genuine reason for optimism. The Dragons aren’t a broken toy waiting to be thrown out. They’re ripe for a rebuild, a reset, a renaissance. They have an opportunity here to put the “joy” back into “joint-venture”.
They have a rich history, deep pockets, a new centre of excellence at Wollongong Uni under construction, but mostly a junior nursery bursting with young talent that can have them pushing for premierships again. Indeed, the next crop of Dragons juniors is being compared to that of the mid-2000s which resulted in the 2010 premiership.
The club simply needs to put the right people in place to make sure they cash in: head coach, head of football, head of recruitment. Back them and give them time.
Clearly, chairman Andrew Lancaster is taking a greater hands-on approach since being elevated into the role in November last year and this is a good thing.
For years, the Dragons board has been split straight down the middle. Less St George Illawarra than St George and Illawarra. Or St George and WIN Corporation, which bought out Illawarra in 2018.
It’s long been suggested the reason for the dysfunction is an ongoing personality clash between Lancaster, WIN’s chief executive, and Peter Doust, who stepped down as club chief executive before stepping onto the board soon after.
Those who know the pair reckon they’ve been arguing for the best part of 25 years, but they respect each other. As Lancaster pointed out at a members’ forum on Tuesday night, heated debate between directors is healthy.
Dragons problems coming well before the sacking of Anthony Griffin.
Doust has been pushing Jason Ryles as the next coach for months. They have a relationship from Ryles’ days as a player before Wayne Bennett pushed him out in 2008. Doust is also close to influential agent George Mimis, who represents Ryles.
Late last year, Doust also approached Shane Richardson about taking on a role as head of football. After initial reluctance from WIN-aligned board members, Lancaster agreed to meet Richardson.
The St George and WIN factions may never be on each other’s Christmas card lists, but they certainly need to find a harmonious working relationship if their club is to become a powerhouse again.
That Lancaster is amenable to Ryles taking over – and caught up with Richardson, even as a matter of courtesy – shows the Dragons are ready to make significant change.
Richardson is a long way off joining the club, although he’d be perfect in such a role, mapping out the pathways for the next wave of juniors coming into the system as he did in his two stints at South Sydney.
Ryles, however, is nudging closer to becoming a done deal.
Only weeks ago, he was telling those close to him that he didn’t want the Dragons job, spooked by the enormity of turning the entire operation around. But when the penny dropped that Craig Bellamy could be signing one-year deals at the Storm until he’s 90, his perspective started to change.
The Roosters aren’t happy he’s been negotiating with the Dragons and Storm but won’t stand in his way despite him being contracted as an assistant to Trent Robinson until the end of next year. I’m told they’ll let him out of his existing deal for $100,000.
Curiously, both clubs meet on Friday night at Jubilee Stadium where Ryles can cast an eye over the talent that will be available to him.
Billy Slater has backed Jason Ryles to take on the head coaching role at St George Illawarra Dragons.
It’s taken Dragons caretaker coach Ryan Carrone match to push back on the panicky selections Griffin has made this season. Zac Lomax is back in the side, Jacob Liddle returns and starts while Moses Mbye drops out of the 17 altogether.
Perhaps Carr will shift Lomax back to his customary position of right centre, from which he was moved in the off-season because he tried too many right-handed flick passes.
Maybe Carr will ask Ben Hunt to do for his club what he does for Australia and Queensland, wreaking havoc out of dummy half. Hunt doesn’t like playing hooker, and he wasn’t signed as a hooker, but when your side doesn’t have a quality hooker that’s where you play him, don’t you? At hooker?
The Dragons do not have a terrible roster, as claimed, but a young one ready to be shaped in the right way with quality, skills-based coaching. Like all young teams do.
They are loaded with prodigious talent with more to come. If they play it right and show patience, the Dragons’ junior nursery can have the same influence as that of Penrith, who are reaping the rich rewards of tapping their younger players.
It’s why Ryles wants to coach them, Richardson wants to run them, and Dragons fans should have optimism – if ever so slightly – better days are ahead.
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