Dragons Squad June 30 Deadline

[Dr Fruitbasket Returns]

We don't need to recruit for depth. We need to recruit high quality first graders around the age of 25. We have plenty of depth. That's all we have. Outside of Norman, Hunt, McInnes, Lomax, Vaughan, the Sims brothers, Frizzell and (maybe) Lawrie, we do not have a single first grader in the squad of 30. We are a roster of reserve graders and bench monkeys.

Excluding Widdop and De Belin, neither of whom will play for us again and who will leave us no cap space because we cannot (still!) manage the cap effectively..

 

[BLM01]

We don't need to recruit for depth. We need to recruit high quality first graders around the age of 25. We have plenty of depth. That's all we have. Outside of Norman, Hunt, McInnes, Lomax, Vaughan, the Sims brothers, Frizzell and (maybe) Lawrie, we do not have a single first grader in the squad of 30. We are a roster of reserve graders and bench monkeys.

Excluding Widdop and De Belin, neither of whom will play for us again and who will leave us no cap space because we cannot (still!) manage the cap effectively..

Recruitment is on fire ATM...look at all these women good players they have signed.
Maybe Basil has his hands full signing the opposite sex or is that someone else's job. If it is maybe they can swap roles.

To be fair I would still add Graham & Lafai when come back as 1st grade standard..just. That is 11 out of 17. Yeh so 6 reggies players.
As I keep saying those Top 11 just mentioned take nearly 2/3rds of our cap assuming little TPA's. Do the math to see why we cant have a decent squad across the last 6 places in our 17..then fill another 13.

 

[SBD82]

The illawarra boys club faction is what's driving this club to the scrap heap.
Any wonder there's some hate there.
Mary's doing well guiding us towards a battle for the spoon this season...

Remember when the JV started and we were told that it would be a superclub? The promise was that with the strength of the Illawarra juniors and the elite club management of St George we would win a bunch of premierships.

The juniors have continued to flow. So Illawarra have lived up to their side of the bargain.

Our management is dogshit.

Just saying*

*i was reminded of this fact recently by a mate. If you want credit, let me know and I’m more than happy to oblige.

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Remember when the JV started and we were told that it would be a superclub? The promise was that with the strength of the Illawarra juniors and the elite club management of St George we would win a bunch of premierships.

The juniors have continued to flow. So Illawarra have lived up to their side of the bargain.

Our management is dogshit.

Just saying*

*i was reminded of this fact recently by a mate. If you want credit, let me know and I’m more than happy to oblige.

SBD82,

You mention the St George management but is it fair to assume that Illawarra have taken over that department as well?

Gordon and his son are seemingly running the club and calling the shots.

Am l right in this assumption?

If so, what spineless jellyback or persons from the St George board allowed this to happen. In truth, it's criminal and a complete bastardisation of our once great club.

 

[SBD82]

SBD82,

You mention the St George management but is it fair to assume that Illawarra have taken over that department as well?

Gordon and his son are seemingly running the club and calling the shots.

Am l right in this assumption?

If so, what spineless jellyback or persons from the St George board allowed this to happen. In truth, it's criminal and a complete bastardisation of our once great club.

Even if what you’re saying is true, (doubtful when Brian Johnston is the CEO) how do you account for the years leading up to 2019?

 

[Mickthedragon]

Remember when the JV started and we were told that it would be a superclub? The promise was that with the strength of the Illawarra juniors and the elite club management of St George we would win a bunch of premierships.

The juniors have continued to flow. So Illawarra have lived up to their side of the bargain.

Our management is dogshit.

Just saying*

*i was reminded of this fact recently by a mate. If you want credit, let me know and I’m more than happy to oblige.

Yes, the whole place seems to be struggling at present. Doust and now Brian J have alot to answer for as well, i agree. The place needs a cleanout and a fair bloody start would of been to sack Mary and bring in a decent coach but it seems to me as if the Gordon family takeover means they make the decisions, which in turn means BJ had his hands tied and had to resign our illustrious leader who is an illawarra old boy.

 

[SBD82]

Yes, the whole place seems to be struggling at present. Doust and now Brian J have alot to answer for as well, i agree. The place needs a cleanout and a fair bloody start would of been to sack Mary and bring in a decent coach but it seems to me as if the Gordon family takeover means they make the decisions, which in turn means BJ had his hands tied and had to resign our illustrious leader who is an illawarra old boy.

Even if BJ has his hands tied who is to blame for that? What sort of management agrees to terms that don’t ensure that they retain control of the football club.

I’m not as well versed as many people on here in the politics of the club, but St George had the majority vote for two decades, and poor management put us into a hole. If Gordon was able to negotiate terms that were wholly in his favour (and I don’t know that’s necessarily the case) how did we get to a stage that the club was in such a poor place that it couldn’t negotiate a better deal?

The re-signing of Mary was clearly a bad decision. But he was originally signed and re-signed under the old board. Where St George held the majority vote.

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Yes, the whole place seems to be struggling at present. Doust and now Brian J have alot to answer for as well, i agree. The place needs a cleanout and a fair bloody start would of been to sack Mary and bring in a decent coach but it seems to me as if the Gordon family takeover means they make the decisions, which in turn means BJ had his hands tied and had to resign our illustrious leader who is an illawarra old boy.

MTD,
There in lies the problem.
A family owned business rather than a group of people running a business as a business.
I've experience first hand, a family run national company with 22 branches Australia wide for which l was a branch manager.
The owner was like a Hitlar and everybody frighten of the person and unable to grow the business from their angle and or from a combined thought process.
Why.......... cause he was a control freak, ruthless as f**k and an assole of a human being.

He was successful but an absolute barsteward to work for. I'm not say ing Gordon is like that but the 'family mentality' is always the same .................... Don't do it yourway, do it my way, regardless of whether it makes good business sense. That's the problem.

Even if what you’re saying is true, (doubtful when Brian Johnston is the CEO) how do you account for the years leading up to 2019?

I really don't know, mate.
From someone on the outside looking in, it seems the Saints side of things rolled over.
More and more strength was given to the lllawarra component with Gordon coming on board and the privatisation captialised on it. If he is the major shareholder, one can only assume he has the say, especially if he has 'others' leaning his way.

To me, Johnston is strictly a faceplate for Gordon. l have nothing against Johnston with the exception he's a puppet for Gordon. Again, l foresee a gradual but major shift of moving everything to lllawarra.

The club will be sold off because its losing coin.
Jubilee Oval will be conviently passed in as a unsubstainable costs, relegating it to second and third tier games for the Saints juniors, local schools and alike ..............not up to nrl compliance for future games.

The writing has been on the wall for some time.
The privatisation allowed the club to action stage 1 of their grand plan.

Jubilee Oval granted a one year ground sponsership lease for almost zero dollars, based on the fact that there would be no games played there between mid April to August 2019.
The middle of the nrl season!

Talk about a real kick up the ass for local and longtime Dragons fans.

As l've said before, l was very happy for the merge of the two clubs to happen but over the past couple of years, its really starting to stink.

I don't trust them for the simple fact that commonsense is not prevailing.

 

[boardlumps62]

I was thinking of starting a new thread. "We Stink". This however makes me so sad. It was Brian Smith one of our coaches who never quite got us across the line with a far better squad than Mm art has the likes we won't see again. He said St George has a smell about it and departed to another club. Why aren't we the pinnacle of the NRL as a Football Club. I just don't understand.

 

[muzby]

I was thinking of starting a new thread. "We Stink". This however makes me so sad.

Why so sad?

Do you not know how to start a new thread?

Are there too many threads on here already?

Are you easily saddened by odours?

Do you wish you could think of a longer title?

Are you worried the thread may get hijacked and become a discussion about whether rexona is better than lynx?

 

[SBD82]

I really don't know, mate.
From someone on the outside looking in, it seems the Saints side of things rolled over.
More and more strength was given to the lllawarra component with Gordon coming on board and the privatisation captialised on it. If he is the major shareholder, one can only assume he has the say, especially if he has 'others' leaning his way.

To me, Johnston is strictly a faceplate for Gordon. l have nothing against Johnston with the exception he's a puppet for Gordon. Again, l foresee a gradual but major shift of moving everything to lllawarra.

The club will be sold off because its losing coin.
Jubilee Oval will be conviently passed in as a unsubstainable costs, relegating it to second and third tier games for the Saints juniors, local schools and alike ..............not up to nrl compliance for future games.

The writing has been on the wall for some time.
The privatisation allowed the club to action stage 1 of their grand plan.

Jubilee Oval granted a one year ground sponsership lease for almost zero dollars, based on the fact that there would be no games played there between mid April to August 2019.
The middle of the nrl season!

Talk about a real kick up the ass for local and longtime Dragons fans.

As l've said before, l was very happy for the merge of the two clubs to happen but over the past couple of years, its really starting to stink.

I don't trust them for the simple fact that commonsense is not prevailing.

It would be an absolute travesty for the Dragons to lose our connection to our traditional heartland. But the more that St George supporters point the finger at the Illawarra side of the JV, and forgive or ignore the sins of the St George leadership, the more it will happen.

Strong board members implement strong decisions. IMO the St George board members will have a lot to answer for if more of the history of the club is eroded.

 

[muzby]

It would be an absolute travesty for the Dragons to lose our connection to our traditional heartland. But the more that St George supporters point the finger at the Illawarra side of the JV, and forgive or ignore the sins of the St George leadership, the more it will happen.

Strong board members implement strong decisions. IMO the St George board members will have a lot to answer for if more of the history of the club is eroded.

Exactly.. It’s rather amusing to watch the old guard still having tantrums, even after 20 years..

They say they want to get rid of the south coast connection, yet what they don’t realise is that without it, the Dragons would have folded..

 

[boardlumps62]

Why so sad?

Do you not know how to start a new thread?

Are there too many threads on here already?

Are you easily saddened by odours?

Do you wish you could think of a longer title?

Are you worried the thread may get hijacked and become a discussion about whether rexona is better than lynx?

But can we make a song then to make me happy. There is a few we can make from the points U raise. No xxx an I be frustrated instead.

 

[boardlumps62]

Christ I'm a Dragon St George and Illawarra what FFS is wrong with that. Just get together and point the ship f**k I hate those that have a negative agenda within our club

 

[D4L_Dave]

I agree with some of what you say but I will correct you regarding Brian Smith and his opinion of his time at the Dragons from a direct conversation I had with him while he was at the Roosters when I he asked me about which team I support [at corporate lunch with my former NGOvwork place who had an ongoing relationship with the Roosters 2010-12]. "My time at the Dragons was the most enjoyable part of my coaching career". His exact words

Some my remember how he took the club from near bottom of the ladder, to missing the top 5 by 1 comp point then two GF appearances. He oversaw many of the philisiphophical off field changes that led to being able to count on one hand off field incidents, players planning for life after football and most incredibly, he deliberately didn't use the full salary cap for a third of the season yet we were in top 5, something Craig Young the previous coach didn't get close to doing in his 2 year tenure with a more experienced and expensive roster. Maybe we need him to come right this ship once again

I was thinking of starting a new thread. "We Stink". This however makes me so sad. It was Brian Smith one of our coaches who never quite got us across the line with a far better squad than Mm art has the likes we won't see again. He said St George has a smell about it and departed to another club. Why aren't we the pinnacle of the NRL as a Football Club. I just don't understand.

 

[possm]

We don't need to recruit for depth. We need to recruit high quality first graders around the age of 25. We have plenty of depth. That's all we have. Outside of Norman, Hunt, McInnes, Lomax, Vaughan, the Sims brothers, Frizzell and (maybe) Lawrie, we do not have a single first grader in the squad of 30. We are a roster of reserve graders and bench monkeys.

Excluding Widdop and De Belin, neither of whom will play for us again and who will leave us no cap space because we cannot (still!) manage the cap effectively..

MIllward Mess

 

[Dragonslayer]

I agree with some of what you say but I will correct you regarding Brian Smith and his opinion of his time at the Dragons from a direct conversation I had with him while he was at the Roosters when I he asked me about which team I support [at corporate lunch with my former NGOvwork place who had an ongoing relationship with the Roosters 2010-12]. "My time at the Dragons was the most enjoyable part of my coaching career". His exact words

Some my remember how he took the club from near bottom of the ladder, to missing the top 5 by 1 comp point then two GF appearances. He oversaw many of the philisiphophical off field changes that led to being able to count on one hand off field incidents, players planning for life after football and most incredibly, he deliberately didn't use the full salary cap for a third of the season yet we were in top 5, something Craig Young the previous coach didn't get close to doing in his 2 year tenure with a more experienced and expensive roster. Maybe we need him to come right this ship once again

Craig Young, previous failure as a coach and previous failure as a recruiter, is now on the BOD, go figure!

 

[Slippery Morris]

Craig Young, previous failure as a coach and previous failure as a recruiter, is now on the BOD, go figure!

Tell me about it, He may have been a club legend on the field but off it he has been disaster. Every role he has had has turned to crap. Why do they feel they have to keep him at the club regardless of how poor he is performing in the role? The only way he will go is retirement.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

Patrick Kaifusi (Melbourne) has just been announced signed by SGI for the rest of the year.

Break out the Moet,

 

[TruSaint]

Dragons sign Patrick Kaufusi
Author
Dragons.com.audragons.com.au
Timestamp
Fri 21 Jun 2019, 01:20 PM
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St George Illawarra have announced Melbourne Storm front-rower Patrick Kaufusi will join the Dragons for the remainder of the season.

The Tongan international and former Queensland Under-20s representative has played 25 NRL games to date across stints with North Queensland and Melbourne.

Kaufusi played 22 games for the Cowboys in 2015-17 before a season-ending foot injury derailed his final season at the club, where he played the first nine rounds. He joined the Storm in 2018 where he featured three times.


"Patrick is a welcomed addition to our roster for 2019, he's a quality person from a tremendous squad and system," Dragons Director of Rugby League Pathways and List Management Ian Millward said.

"He's a player capable of playing in the middle and back row, who is keen and willing to play first grade.

"With the current spate of injuries in the team, it's a really good opportunity for Patrick and the Dragons to see what impact he can bring to the club and playing squad. From there, we can consider our options with him for the 2020 season."

A positional equivalent to Jack de Belin as a middle forward, Kaufusi fits the NRL's criteria for salary cap dispensation and will fill the Dragons' 30th roster spot as required before June 30.

"You don't replace a player of Jack de Belin's calibre with ease, particularly midway through the season," Millward said.

"This entire process and circumstance has been extremely complex. It is complicated by not only the rules and regulations but also by the existing injury toll across the competition. This means clubs are unwilling to release players, as the representative period is back in full swing too.

"There has also been no clarity over salary cap dispensation for 2020 or when a determination of Jack's matters will be reached, which makes it very difficult to both accurately plan as a club and offer prospective players any certainty beyond 2019 – particularly with 23 players already under contract for next year.


"It has been a lengthy process to get to this point but we are pleased we have been able to come to this arrangement with Patrick and the Melbourne Storm."

The current NRL development player squad will also become available for first grade selection post-June 30. The Dragons' 2019 development players are Eddie Blacker, Jackson Ford, Hayden Lomax, Joe Lovodua, Steven Marsters and Jason Saab.

Kaufusi will arrive for St George Illawarra Dragons training this weekend.


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/201...BKYuuUlZ-95irxR1hdyUHvdbrHILZpSCG6r0j2_LZOfQA