DRAGONS NEW CEO TIM WATSFORD

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Good thinking.
Now Hurstville is in Dragons territory and has one of Sydney’s largest Chinese communities. Perhaps the Marketing dept can set up an information booth at Westfield Hurstville or better still recruit a young local Chinese marketing student/graduate and get them to look for sponsorship opportunities. Finally, there’s always Chinese New Year where we can outdo the Roosters brown paper bags and hand out Red Envelopes.

Great thinking! This running the club thing is easier than it sounds.

 

[OneEyedDragon]

What we need is for Langcaster to acknowledge that WIN Copr is in for the wrong reasons (Tax dodge). I imagine he has the casting vote and should use it to convince WIN to sell their shares to a more appropriate entity.

St George Leagues Club should also step up and arrange for both Craig Young and Peter Doust to be replaced on their BOD. These two have had their nose in the trough for too long, and so, it's time to give others a go.

Come on @possm, Andrew Lancaster (who I think is slowly getting the club to turn in the right direction) is the CEO of WIN Corp. He is not going to suggest they sell up and move out. Also blaming Illawarra for holding the Dragons back is wrong, as they no longer have anything to do with the running of the Dragons.Oust Doust's and Young's influence from the Board and we might finally get somewhere! The new, younger members of the Board, I think, would be keen for Dragon's success. I hope Daniel Anderson's appointment is the first of many steps in the right direction. I rely on the saying from the old ad - "It won't happen overnight, but it will happen".

 

[getsmarty]

Tigers toiler Tony provides timely counterpoint to wantaway star Galvin

Tony Sukkar was never a schoolboy star or courted by Phil Gould. And unlike Lachlan Galvin, he never wanted anything but the chance to play for Wests Tigers.

www.smh.com.au

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

What's the go with Squadron Energy? I remember a big fanfare rolled out when they were announced as our new major sponsor. Heard very little since. Are they putting anything extra in apart from naming rights? Doesn't feel that they are doing as much as Landry at the Bulldogs. Or are we just a tax deduction for them?

Not sure about the details, but I am sure they scramble to try to respond to sponsors making enquires.

I’m not sure about you guys, but our club packages and benefits are a tad dull.

Something I’d like your ceo to consider is to put together a package that is interesting for people who aren’t necessarily hard core fans but could benefit anyway.

So for a few weeks we had a producer of goods who was offering pretty generous member discounts. If you were in the market for that product, you’d save $ by simply becoming a wt member.

Your SGI membership should deliver the value on things you buy outside of any club interest.

As for Laundry, it’s still the Bulldogs.

Pigs wearing Lipstick.

 

[possm]

Come on @possm, Andrew Lancaster (who I think is slowly getting the club to turn in the right direction) is the CEO of WIN Corp. He is not going to suggest they sell up and move out. Also blaming Illawarra for holding the Dragons back is wrong, as they no longer have anything to do with the running of the Dragons.Oust Doust's and Young's influence from the Board and we might finally get somewhere! The new, younger members of the Board, I think, would be keen for Dragon's success. I hope Daniel Anderson's appointment is the first of many steps in the right direction. I rely on the saying from the old ad - "It won't happen overnight, but it will happen".

Saints have spent half this season without an effective CEO
Saints have spent half this season with a recruitment manager.
This is a BOD problem that could easily have been solved and that is a significant reason for the quality of our top 30.


We have a long list of injured players and our team seem to be gassed towards the later period of each game.
Prolems our fitness and medical staff should take care of.

 

[Inisai Toga]

Saints have spent half this season without an effective CEO
Saints have spent half this season with a recruitment manager.
This is a BOD problem that could easily have been solved and that is a significant reason for the quality of our top 30.


We have a long list of injured players and our team seem to be gassed towards the later period of each game.
Prolems our fitness and medical staff should take care of.

… as a result of a weak kicking game and poor chasing, wrong options and poor decision making at crucial times in games etc…all reduces pressure and forces the team to tackle more and then be too tired; been that way all year! Imo drop the fitness narrative as a rationale and excuse for our poor performances and substitute it with developing a team that possess greater on field intelligence with stronger strategic abilities in understanding game management.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Come on @possm, Andrew Lancaster (who I think is slowly getting the club to turn in the right direction) is the CEO of WIN Corp. He is not going to suggest they sell up and move out. Also blaming Illawarra for holding the Dragons back is wrong, as they no longer have anything to do with the running of the Dragons.Oust Doust's and Young's influence from the Board and we might finally get somewhere! The new, younger members of the Board, I think, would be keen for Dragon's success. I hope Daniel Anderson's appointment is the first of many steps in the right direction. I rely on the saying from the old ad - "It won't happen overnight, but it will happen".

We get a rebirth every few years as well.

But it’s sustaining it that’s hard.

Looking at Bennet this year, we find that the experienced coaching is only part of the solution.

So maybe the key issue is how to attract quality players to come and then to stay.

And the essence of that is getting into their heads and establishing a point of difference.

And a big part of that is getting the right people who know how to achieve this on board. Find out what young up and coming players want, then deliver it.

Anderson is an excellent operator as a start.

Who are the Storm back room operators? What do they see in young players? Drag them up to Sydney.

 

[Unsainty79]

We get a rebirth every few years as well.

But it’s sustaining it that’s hard.

Looking at Bennet this year, we find that the experienced coaching is only part of the solution.

So maybe the key issue is how to attract quality players to come and then to stay.

And the essence of that is getting into their heads and establishing a point of difference.

And a big part of that is getting the right people who know how to achieve this on board. Find out what young up and coming players want, then deliver it.

Anderson is an excellent operator as a start.

Who are the Storm back room operators? What do they see in young players? Drag them up to Sydney.

Ben Haran came from the storm

 

[Hound of Dracula]

Ok…hear me out…there are heaps of rich chinese businessmen out there. The Chinese love dragons. It’s their national symbol. They are also very superstitious. So if we can convince a chinese businessman to offload a few million into the “dragons” club for good luck and prosperity, it’s a win/ win for both parties. Anyone on here have any connections?

Let's contact Sum Ting Wong
He'll understand!

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Ben Haran came from the storm

And support?

Something has to give… I think we all agree.

I’ve got to have a swing anyway.

 

[The Word]

What we need is for Langcaster to acknowledge that WIN Copr is in for the wrong reasons (Tax dodge). I imagine he has the casting vote and should use it to convince WIN to sell their shares to a more appropriate entity.

St George Leagues Club should also step up and arrange for both Craig Young and Peter Doust to be replaced on their BOD. These two have had their nose in the trough for too long, and so, it's time to give others a go.

The first paragraph is never going to happen, and is not the answer anyway. Having two owners each owning 50% was never going to work. We need a single owner, and the Leagues club is not the answer.

The second paragraph I agree with.

 

[possm]

The first paragraph is never going to happen, and is not the answer anyway. Having two owners each owning 50% was never going to work. We need a single owner, and the Leagues club is not the answer.

The second paragraph I agree with.

The Leagues club is not the answer if Young and Doust are on the leages club board.

 

[Smithtown]

Wrong forum!

 

[matPORTS]

Tim,

First of all, I would like to pay homage to your career to date - you've been instrumental in both Rugby codes in event operations + fan engagement, and more recently in the Supercars Series as Chief Operating Officer... securing several strategic partnerships, locking in key events critical the future of the series, and deliverance of many strategic initiatives. I also note that some of the detail of your achievements as COO of Supercars was discussed previously in this interview with Craig Lowndes (more on this below).

On behalf of all stakeholders of the St George Illawarra Dragons - our paying club members, our ticketed game day members and all of our fans... I'm sure that you can agree & empathise that this is quite possibly one of the lowest points in the history of this great and multiple premiership winning franchise (dating back to the glory days of the great St George Teams of the 1950s and 1960s - of which you no doubt read about on the walls of the Leagues Club each and every day).

On a personal note -two of my greatest passions in life are:

- The Mighty Red V of the St George Illawarra Dragons

- Motorsport, specifically the Formula 1 World Championship & Australian Supercars Series

Having spent considerable time around motorsport yourself, I'm sure that you can attest that the best and most competitive drivers have the following three (among many other physical and mental) attributes:

- Speed... the ability to naturally get in the car and drive it fast

- Skill... the abilities to do multiple things at once behind the wheel to keep the car on the track and provide feedback to their engineering team about where to improve the car set up so that both they and the car can go around track faster

- The ability to remain calm under pressure... given that many variables can and will likely happen within a race -- safety car periods wiping out big leads or gaps to opponents, mechanical issues, botched pit stops, opponents tussling with them, etc

You would also agree that when it comes to race teams - the best & most successful have the best access to the necessary tools to do the job... excellence in management from the top down, world class engineering teams, a culture of accepting nothing less than bringing trophies back to their headquarters to proudly display - and this also resulting in ability to attract the best & most skilled drivers in class to drive their cars, and this also thus ensures that the drivers have the best tools available to do the job.

In my 35 years of supporting the Dragons (pre-merger St George & now the combined club), the last two weeks have probably been the most disappointing in my time. The club has unfortunately been going steadily backwards since our last premiership victory in 2010, but the last two weeks has really bubbled to the surface for me the following issues:

- The club playing roster is completely devoid of the speed and skill needed to be successful with the way the modern game is played

- Our players do not remain calm under pressure and under the many variables that now happen with the way the modern game is played

I'm completely lost, as I'm sure most of our other stakeholders also are, as to whether we have excellence from the top down around how we many manage all attributes within the club, whether we have a world class footballing department, whether we have a culture of accepting nothing less than winning - and this is clearly having an impact on our ability to attract (and also keep from within our own ranks at the junior level) the best possible playing talent + support staff. We are clearly devoid of the right tools at this moment in time to do the job that must be done (winning NRL matches and premierships).

In fact, I think the questions may need to be - why don't we have excellence in management, why don't we have a world class footballing department, why don't we have a culture of accepting nothing less than winning, and why don't we have the best possible playing talent + support staff? We are a club with a very proud and rich history, and earlier this Saturday evening, they were booed off their sacred ground by their unwavering fans (a lot of which would have been generational going all the way back to when this proud and rich history was at it's absolute finest).

In your interview with Craig Lowndes at the time you were COO of Supercars, you mentioned a couple of key things:

- You wanted Supercars to be the biggest sporting series behind the football codes and the biggest touring car series in the world

- Introduction of Gen3, leveling the playing field so that anyone had a chance of winning

- You're driven to do what you do as a leader by the fans

With respect to this, and your current post as CEO of the St George Illawarra Dragons:

- What is your vision for the St George Illawarra Dragons? I'm sure our fans would like to hope that it is to make the club the best in the NRL (if not the best Rugby League club in the world - because we are a place of such great potential)

- With the entire NRL competition overall on such a level playing field right now where anyone has a chance of winning (or at least should), but with the Dragons seemingly being so far behind the mark at this point in time, what is your immediate action plan to at least get us back on that level playing field with a chance to win games every single week (because right now our playing group looks totally disinterested out on the field)?

- The fans were quite vocal in what their opinion of the current situation is earlier this Saturday evening... are you on our side in also having the same opinion that this is not acceptable? What are the board, the footballing department and yourself doing to ensure that the ship is to be steered in the correct direction starting from right now? What help do you need from the fans and club partners with this as well? I'm sure that everyone is hurting very deeply right now - but are all equally as keen to get us back to more pleasant times.

Tim, all club stakeholders appreciate you taking the time to address these matters, and we remain hopeful of a brighter future + adding to our very proud and rich history.

Best Regards...

 

[jeffdragon]

The board has no balls and won't do anything.
We are not seeing the green shoots.
My mate at the ground said the players dont care as they are still getting paid.
We the fans care and hurt more.
I think the board doesn't as ll.
Thats the impression most fans have as long as they keep their snotty nosed position.
Ie Doust who should of pissed off in the stone age.

 

[Forster Dragon]

Tim,

First of all, I would like to pay homage to your career to date - you've been instrumental in both Rugby codes in event operations + fan engagement, and more recently in the Supercars Series as Chief Operating Officer... securing several strategic partnerships, locking in key events critical the future of the series, and deliverance of many strategic initiatives. I also note that some of the detail of your achievements as COO of Supercars was discussed previously in this interview with Craig Lowndes (more on this below).

On behalf of all stakeholders of the St George Illawarra Dragons - our paying club members, our ticketed game day members and all of our fans... I'm sure that you can agree & empathise that this is quite possibly one of the lowest points in the history of this great and multiple premiership winning franchise (dating back to the glory days of the great St George Teams of the 1950s and 1960s - of which you no doubt read about on the walls of the Leagues Club each and every day).

On a personal note -two of my greatest passions in life are:

- The Mighty Red V of the St George Illawarra Dragons

- Motorsport, specifically the Formula 1 World Championship & Australian Supercars Series

Having spent considerable time around motorsport yourself, I'm sure that you can attest that the best and most competitive drivers have the following three (among many other physical and mental) attributes:

- Speed... the ability to naturally get in the car and drive it fast

- Skill... the abilities to do multiple things at once behind the wheel to keep the car on the track and provide feedback to their engineering team about where to improve the car set up so that both they and the car can go around track faster

- The ability to remain calm under pressure... given that many variables can and will likely happen within a race -- safety car periods wiping out big leads or gaps to opponents, mechanical issues, botched pit stops, opponents tussling with them, etc

You would also agree that when it comes to race teams - the best & most successful have the best access to the necessary tools to do the job... excellence in management from the top down, world class engineering teams, a culture of accepting nothing less than bringing trophies back to their headquarters to proudly display - and this also resulting in ability to attract the best & most skilled drivers in class to drive their cars, and this also thus ensures that the drivers have the best tools available to do the job.

In my 35 years of supporting the Dragons (pre-merger St George & now the combined club), the last two weeks have probably been the most disappointing in my time. The club has unfortunately been going steadily backwards since our last premiership victory in 2010, but the last two weeks has really bubbled to the surface for me the following issues:

- The club playing roster is completely devoid of the speed and skill needed to be successful with the way the modern game is played

- Our players do not remain calm under pressure and under the many variables that now happen with the way the modern game is played

I'm completely lost, as I'm sure most of our other stakeholders also are, as to whether we have excellence from the top down around how we many manage all attributes within the club, whether we have a world class footballing department, whether we have a culture of accepting nothing less than winning - and this is clearly having an impact on our ability to attract (and also keep from within our own ranks at the junior level) the best possible playing talent + support staff. We are clearly devoid of the right tools at this moment in time to do the job that must be done (winning NRL matches and premierships).

In fact, I think the questions may need to be - why don't we have excellence in management, why don't we have a world class footballing department, why don't we have a culture of accepting nothing less than winning, and why don't we have the best possible playing talent + support staff? We are a club with a very proud and rich history, and earlier this Saturday evening, they were booed off their sacred ground by their unwavering fans (a lot of which would have been generational going all the way back to when this proud and rich history was at it's absolute finest).

In your interview with Craig Lowndes at the time you were COO of Supercars, you mentioned a couple of key things:

- You wanted Supercars to be the biggest sporting series behind the football codes and the biggest touring car series in the world

- Introduction of Gen3, leveling the playing field so that anyone had a chance of winning

- You're driven to do what you do as a leader by the fans

With respect to this, and your current post as CEO of the St George Illawarra Dragons:

- What is your vision for the St George Illawarra Dragons? I'm sure our fans would like to hope that it is to make the club the best in the NRL (if not the best Rugby League club in the world - because we are a place of such great potential)

- With the entire NRL competition overall on such a level playing field right now where anyone has a chance of winning (or at least should), but with the Dragons seemingly being so far behind the mark at this point in time, what is your immediate action plan to at least get us back on that level playing field with a chance to win games every single week (because right now our playing group looks totally disinterested out on the field)?

- The fans were quite vocal in what their opinion of the current situation is earlier this Saturday evening... are you on our side in also having the same opinion that this is not acceptable? What are the board, the footballing department and yourself doing to ensure that the ship is to be steered in the correct direction starting from right now? What help do you need from the fans and club partners with this as well? I'm sure that everyone is hurting very deeply right now - but are all equally as keen to get us back to more pleasant times.

Tim, all club stakeholders appreciate you taking the time to address these matters, and we remain hopeful of a brighter future + adding to our very proud and rich history.

Best Regards...

I certainly hope you forwarded this onto him,not just this forum.
Well said and I absolutely agree

 

[coastiedragon]

Call the leagues club press 3 for football department and give it to em

 

[saints4ever]

And what will that prove? Or improve? Or change?

You'll be yelling at a person on the phone who has nothing whatsoever to do with the football team.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

You'll just get a stupid response along the following lines: "Rugby League can be cruel, but together we are building something stronger. It's a great time to be a Dragon". Or some similar meaningless rubbish.

 

[jay mac]

The board has no balls and won't do anything.
We are not seeing the green shoots.
My mate at the ground said the players dont care as they are still getting paid.
We the fans care and hurt more.
I think the board doesn't as ll.
Thats the impression most fans have as long as they keep their snotty nosed position.
Ie Doust who should have pissed off in the stone age.

Say what you will about Doust but he didn’t preside over the darkest age in the history of the Dragons. We have been an absolute rabble since he left his post, lurching from one calamity to the next. What I wouldn’t give to take back everything I ever said and return to the Doust days right now.