St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust told a members' forum the reason the Dragons hadn't been able to sign England halfback Rangi Chase was because the money he had earned in Super League this year would have to be included in the club's 2013 salary cap.
Doust outlined details of the Dragons' recruitment strategy during a two-hour question-and-answer session with about 160 Red V members on Monday night, at which he also explained why the club had extended the contract of coach Steve Price after missing out on Craig Bellamy.
The Dragons boss said the club had not finished recruiting for next season and hoped to add a halfback and back-rower to the list of new signings already announced, which include Gareth Widdop, Dylan Farrell, Joel Thompson and Warrington prop Mike Cooper.
Chase and Feleti Mateo were the two players initially targeted for those roles and Doust said it had been hoped they would join the club before the June 30 deadline for player transfers.
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However, St George Illawarra did not have enough room in this season's salary cap to accommodate Chase after being told they had to include the value of his sizeable Castleford contract as well as what they were going to pay him.
Doust said their bid for Mateo also did not come off as the Warriors would not grant the back-rower a mid-season release. He has since re-signed with the Warriors.
Asked about the appointment of Price to replace Wayne Bennett at the start of last season, Doust explained that the seven-time premiership coach had committed himself to the Dragons for ''as long as it took'', which was interpreted as being up to five years.
But after steering the club to grand final success in his second year, Bennett decided to leave at the end of the 2011 season and recommended Price, who also had the support of the playing group.
He was given a two-year contract as that coincided with Bellamy coming off contract with Melbourne at the end of this season.
After missing out on Bellamy, the Dragons reasoned that only Bennett or Canterbury's Des Hasler were of the same calibre and there were no better alternatives to Price available so they re-signed him for a further season.
But Doust said Dragons' management was disappointed with recent results. He also told members the retirements of Ben Hornby and Dean Young were unexpected so they had not been replaced and the impact of their loss on the team should not be underestimated, while the Dragons have also had injuries in key positions this year.
