James Graham workhorse

[denis preston]

Listening to Graham on 360 say he was sacked as a measure to make his coaching role redundant and put that money into sales. SALES!!

No player, no coach or fan in their right mind would want to buy into the dismal Dragons who are the least professionally run club in the comp. I feel absolutely devalued by this club. I have contacted them with positive feedback as well as constructive and never got anything return.

Sales? Getting rid of a knowledgeable person and wonderful advocate like James Graham is a terrible call. It just rams home that we are a soulless brand rather than a proud club competing for glory.

Sorry guys but I get a sense we are screwed for a long time to come. Shame on you Ryan Webb or whoever made this call.

Really, how can anyone really comment on this if we don't have inside information to how well he performed in his role ? We have commented before about "jobs for the old boys " and MOST ex players don't make good coaches so understand your frustration BRV but was Graham someone we really had to keep and how do we know this ?

 

[Old Timer]

Bit of a harsh call OT, there were numerous times he could have sunk the boot into the Dragons via his media outlets but always showed support for us in different ways. As for his sacking, so that those funds could go into sales when its our football dept that needs all the support it can get is just bewildering. Will we ever get to see the facts by the club for his dismissal, probably not, are we entitled to it, probably not. The board and all the administrators of the club will do as they please. FFS they own the club and we can just F&%K off, end of story.

Looking at where we sit on the ladder, how our Reggie’s are going and how poor the players coming through perform I’d like to know what achievements Graham has to show to warrant us keeping him?

By his own admission his was a bits and pieces role across several departments and that is why we are like we are jacks of all trades masters of none and a haven for footballers whose best has long past that are given instant transition into coaching.

 

[justadragon]

Looking at where we sit on the ladder, how our Reggie’s are going and how poor the players coming through perform I’d like to know what achievements Graham has to show to warrant us keeping him?

By his own admission his was a bits and pieces role across several departments and that is why we are like we are jacks of all trades masters of none and a haven for footballers whose best has long past that are given instant transition into coaching.

I agree that the whole club is in a poor state, but who wears the blame for that, I dont think the whole lot can be attributed to Grahams role, what about Flanno's role, how would you say he has performed for the club ??

 

[Coffs dragon]

I agree. I think the recent sackings are to give the impression that things are changing when in fact the grand plan is for Hook to hold the fort untill Young Deano comes back. Only flaw I can see is if Deano is smart and has aspirations of a long and successful coaching career he would be wise to stay away from us a while longer.

My gut feeling is Dean Young will be head coach next year with maybe Flanno having a bigger role within the club & overseeing the entire coaching set up.
I cannot see Hook lasting more than the next 4 games.

 

[Dragon David]

My gut feeling is Dean Young will be head coach next year with maybe Flanno having a bigger role within the club & overseeing the entire coaching set up.
I cannot see Hook lasting more than the next 4 games.

Our results for this year are not flash as we all know and whilst I apportion a lot of it due to some very poor coaching, the lack of quality players in several positions, mainly in the forwards, has attributed to our overall "failure" to finish the season in a better position.

Our whole structure from management to players seemed to have disconnected and everyone seems to be lost with what they should be doing. To me communication has been lacking and besides this, recruitment and retention has somewhat gone down hill.

Hook doesn't have the managerial skills to have made this year more of a success. His team selections are a query and although he hasn't got much to choose from the squad we have, he relies on his older guys to get us wins, which has not worked out just like last year.

Whether or not someone like Dean Young or Shane Flanagan can be better at managing the team, if you don't have the good cattle, you are going to end up with tough meat to chew and that means poor outcomes and we will suffer more indigestion for a couple of more years.

I'm hoping that the club is doing the right thing - James Graham may not have been the person they were hoping he would be to help out at the club so they need better judgement for whomever they will get to work at the club in the future.

Clubs that are well managed will always be successful. Players and coaches can see this and will want to be at those clubs. That is what our aim should be.

 

[Old Timer]

I agree that the whole club is in a poor state, but who wears the blame for that, I dont think the whole lot can be attributed to Grahams role, what about Flanno's role, how would you say he has performed for the club ??

100% correct I would love anyone to highlight what "The Great Flanno" has done to have so many sycophants in this place.

He has been here with us for a fair while now and we are still a basket case in all areas so f**k Flanno.

Just like Madge there is this "he won "a" comp so he must be a quality coach lets get him long term" mentality.

Flanno and Madge got lucky and have long since proven their ineptitude as has Sticky

 

[dannyt]

100% correct I would love anyone to highlight what "The Great Flanno" has done to have so many sycophants in this place.

He has been here with us for a fair while now and we are still a basket case in all areas so f**k Flanno.

Just like Madge there is this "he won "a" comp so he must be a quality coach lets get him long term" mentality.

Flanno and Madge got lucky and have long since proven their ineptitude as has Sticky

Excellent points. So what would be your ideal solution?

 

[Old Timer]

My gut feeling is Dean Young will be head coach next year with maybe Flanno having a bigger role within the club & overseeing the entire coaching set up.
I cannot see Hook lasting more than the next 4 games.

I think Young will stay where he is until they either win the comp and defend the title or their window actually closes due to a declining roster.

In between we will languish taking short term fixes as no one other than a Dragon's faithful will want to enter our system.

Also I believe that Young and Ryles for that matter would only want to come when the centre of excellence is up and running and proven itself.

 

[Dragon David]

I think Young will stay where he is until they either win the comp and defend the title or their window actually closes due to a declining roster.

In between we will languish taking short term fixes as no one other than a Dragon's faithful will want to enter our system.

Also I believe that Young and Ryles for that matter would only want to come when the centre of excellence is up and running and proven itself.

Great. I might as well go to bed and hope that I sleep for the next 5-10 years and wake to see maybe -

* the Centre of Excellence has been excellent;
* the club has won a back to back grand final somewhere in that timeline;
* the forum doesn't have a Sack coach thread at that time;
* we are all around and alive and kicking;
* the Board has finally changed and the one in has been selected by members voting;
* Anthony Griffin not heard of or seen anywhere.

 

[Inisai Toga]

Great. I might as well go to bed and hope that I sleep for the next 5-10 years and wake to see maybe -

* the Centre of Excellence has been excellent;
* the club has won a back to back grand final somewhere in that timeline;
* the forum doesn't have a Sack coach thread at that time;
* we are all around and alive and kicking;
* the Board has finally changed and the one in has been selected by members voting;
* Anthony Griffin not heard of or seen anywhere.

Mmmm, couldn’t guarantee you wouldn’t see asterisk 3 DD! Zzzzz, sweet dreams

 

[justadragon]

100% correct I would love anyone to highlight what "The Great Flanno" has done to have so many sycophants in this place.

He has been here with us for a fair while now and we are still a basket case in all areas so f**k Flanno.

Just like Madge there is this "he won "a" comp so he must be a quality coach lets get him long term" mentality.

Flanno and Madge got lucky and have long since proven their ineptitude as has Sticky

All of the above I will agree with you 100%, I never liked him in the role he is in, what has he done, when he was the AC , what did he do and now we havent seen or heard boo about our R+R, but we do know our salary cap is stuffed, WTF , with the players we have ??? So lets hear from the great Flanno, maybe the redv podcast can get him on to explain all these issues.

 

[BLM01]

100% correct I would love anyone to highlight what "The Great Flanno" has done to have so many sycophants in this place.

He has been here with us for a fair while now and we are still a basket case in all areas so f**k Flanno.

Just like Madge there is this "he won "a" comp so he must be a quality coach lets get him long term" mentality.

Flanno and Madge got lucky and have long since proven their ineptitude as has Sticky

He won a comp. Yes he won a comp. You can say luck but some say that about us as Melbourne were kicked out in 2010.
Flanno mostly had his team in the Top 8 and whinges and demands performance from his team and NRL. No one has said he is "great" BTW. They are your words OT
Madge won a comp but has struggled outside of that year, big difference
There is no point judging Flanno when not in roles where he could of made a real difference in a short amount of time.
12 months under a failing Mary then moved on, brought back in for 6 months thus far when our roster is below average.
He is not a miracle worker
Enough for me to vote a Yes for Flanno at this stage as a forward step albeit baby one
Sorry Jammer. Wrong thread for this discussion.

 

[Old Timer]

Excellent points. So what would be your ideal solution?

Ideally a truthful explanation from the BOD as to

1. Where we are today
2. Where we are aiming for as of tomorrow.
3. How long will it take to get there
4. Who will be in charge of the getting there part
5. Ramifications of for those that don't succeed and meet KPI's

Of course we all know that we are never going to get that so alternatively a plan as to

1. Who we are approaching to coach us and an explanation as to why some we approached have declined.
2. The criteria to assess the applicants
3. Who is responsible for the final selection
4. What power does the coach actually have and what powers allow the BOD to interfere

Of course we all know that we are never going to get that so right now

1. Select a 1st grade coach that has credentials to get our team into an attacking frame of mind so as to at least make the game a decent spectacle with ball in hand.
2. Select a reserve grade coach that has credentials to get our team into a proper defensive set up that will ensure our players know how to tackle and where to stand to be most effective in not leaving gaping holes in the line.
3. Select a JF coach that has great man management credentials to ensure our juniors are well grounded and understand that they might be big stars in the small gold fish bowl but that doesn't count for shit when they get to the big gold fish bowl full of sharks and piranha's.

That way we would at least cover some of the strategies that we most lack in at this moment in time because for sure right now we are in no position to attract a head coach that encapsulates all of the qualities.

 

[dannyt]

Ideally a truthful explanation from the BOD as to

1. Where we are today
2. Where we are aiming for as of tomorrow.
3. How long will it take to get there
4. Who will be in charge of the getting there part
5. Ramifications of for those that don't succeed and meet KPI's

Of course we all know that we are never going to get that so alternatively a plan as to

1. Who we are approaching to coach us and an explanation as to why some we approached have declined.
2. The criteria to assess the applicants
3. Who is responsible for the final selection
4. What power does the coach actually have and what powers allow the BOD to interfere

Of course we all know that we are never going to get that so right now

1. Select a 1st grade coach that has credentials to get our team into an attacking frame of mind so as to at least make the game a decent spectacle with ball in hand.
2. Select a reserve grade coach that has credentials to get our team into a proper defensive set up that will ensure our players know how to tackle and where to stand to be most effective in not leaving gaping holes in the line.
3. Select a JF coach that has great man management credentials to ensure our juniors are well grounded and understand that they might be big stars in the small gold fish bowl but that doesn't count for shit when they get to the big gold fish bowl full of sharks and piranha's.

That way we would at least cover some of the strategies that we most lack in at this moment in time because for sure right now we are in no position to attract a head coach that encapsulates all of the qualities.

Nice. I especially like how your expectations become lower with reality.

 

[thebigredv]

Really, how can anyone really comment on this if we don't have inside information to how well he performed in his role ? We have commented before about "jobs for the old boys " and MOST ex players don't make good coaches so understand your frustration BRV but was Graham someone we really had to keep and how do we know this ?

He's the only one in the media aside from soward come out in defence of our club in relation to a series of issues eg bias judiciary, poor reffing and BBQs etc

You don't hear Jack all from the board members or coaches or useless CEO.

Cant think of many better mentors to take our young forwards under their wing.

As I've said before the ppl extending coaches and standing aimlessly by as our club withers away are the once out the door first.

 

[Dragon David]

All of the above I will agree with you 100%, I never liked him in the role he is in, what has he done, when he was the AC , what did he do and now we havent seen or heard boo about our R+R, but we do know our salary cap is stuffed, WTF , with the players we have ??? So lets hear from the great Flanno, maybe the redv podcast can get him on to explain all these issues.

Yes, let's hear from Flanagan. Let us know what has been done in his time this year with R & R at the Dragons and his expectations on what he is wanting to achieve. I doubt that we will hear one word from him on these issues.

 

[justadragon]

He won a comp. Yes he won a comp. You can say luck but some say that about us as Melbourne were kicked out in 2010.
Flanno mostly had his team in the Top 8 and whinges and demands performance from his team and NRL. No one has said he is "great" BTW. They are your words OT
Madge won a comp but has struggled outside of that year, big difference
There is no point judging Flanno when not in roles where he could of made a real difference in a short amount of time.
12 months under a failing Mary then moved on, brought back in for 6 months thus far when our roster is below average.
He is not a miracle worker
Enough for me to vote a Yes for Flanno at this stage as a forward step albeit baby one
Sorry Jammer. Wrong thread for this discussion.

if you are going to have a cleanout of coaches etc for under performance, then you would have to include flanno in that. if he was put in a role that best doesnt suite the dragons, then why is he there, we havent heard anything or seen anything that he has done for R and R. im not saying its totally his fault once again who put him there if he wasnt the best fit, but he must have accepted the role and in doing that he must accept the consequences and criticism that go with the role. Once again if the club had a more open communication with members and we got the odd update for certain parts of the organisation it might help to give us a clearer picture. Like he might be doing a great job behind the scenes but how would we know this, therefore he must be judged as we are seeing it.

 

[BLM01]

if you are going to have a cleanout of coaches etc for under performance, then you would have to include flanno in that. if he was put in a role that best doesnt suite the dragons, then why is he there, we havent heard anything or seen anything that he has done for R and R. im not saying its totally his fault once again who put him there if he wasnt the best fit, but he must have accepted the role and in doing that he must accept the consequences and criticism that go with the role. Once again if the club had a more open communication with members and we got the odd update for certain parts of the organisation it might help to give us a clearer picture. Like he might be doing a great job behind the scenes but how would we know this, therefore he must be judged as we are seeing it.

But in 5 months what has he done wrong? Appointed late Feb.
He is only a consultant. So the signings this year are not his,
we have resigned most players this forum cried out to be resigned.
We are turfing the players we want to go
Yes no one yet for 23, but our cap supposedly in a mess
You cant put where we are on Flanagan

 

[denis preston]

Our results for this year are not flash as we all know and whilst I apportion a lot of it due to some very poor coaching, the lack of quality players in several positions, mainly in the forwards, has attributed to our overall "failure" to finish the season in a better position.

Our whole structure from management to players seemed to have disconnected and everyone seems to be lost with what they should be doing. To me communication has been lacking and besides this, recruitment and retention has somewhat gone down hill.

Hook doesn't have the managerial skills to have made this year more of a success. His team selections are a query and although he hasn't got much to choose from the squad we have, he relies on his older guys to get us wins, which has not worked out just like last year.

Whether or not someone like Dean Young or Shane Flanagan can be better at managing the team, if you don't have the good cattle, you are going to end up with tough meat to chew and that means poor outcomes and we will suffer more indigestion for a couple of more years.

I'm hoping that the club is doing the right thing - James Graham may not have been the person they were hoping he would be to help out at the club so they need better judgement for whomever they will get to work at the club in the future.

Clubs that are well managed will always be successful. Players and coaches can see this and will want to be at those clubs. That is what our aim should be.

Good post. The high performance centre at the uni, when completed, will also help as everyone will be together and help with exchange of ideas, communication and help club loyalty. The centre will also be a great lure for recruitment & project a far more professional club than it does at present.

 

[shiloh dc]

2047 - I cant wait till we are back on top!