New centre of excellence

[AyiosYiorgos]

These are very valid questions.

If I ask the same questions of St George from 1982 to 1998, what would the answers be?

1985, 1992,1993, 1996 we mayn't have won the GF but at least we were competitive, 1984 we just missed out when Grothe scored in the last minutes or so we also won our first and only Midweek Trophy National Panasonic Cup(Yes i think Illawarra won a similar comp as well).. Besides the CYoung coaching years we at least were competitive.

 

[muzby]

1985, 1992,1993, 1996 we mayn't have won the GF but at least we were competitive, 1984 we just missed out when Grothe scored in the last minutes or so we also won our first and only Midweek Trophy National Panasonic Cup(Yes i think Illawarra won a similar comp as well).. Besides the CYoung coaching years we at least were competitive.

“Competitive” wasn’t one of the questions

 

[pinball_collector]

most of you wont agree - if one team will exist in years to come - it won't be st. george

if anything st. george will end up merged with cronulla and the illawarra will stand alone

bash the steelers all you want. in only their 2nd season the illawarra region was hit with the largest recession since the great depression. they recovered in less than 10 years.

then super league came along and did the same thing.

the joint venture over the last 10 years have been worse than the steelers were in their wooden spoon years.

 

[Old Timer]

Well rg

These are very valid questions.

If I ask the same questions of St George from 1982 to 1998, what would the answers be?

Well they didn’t go belly up
Had some good years on the paddock and were competitive
Were able to attract some good players
We’re able to attract quality sponsors
Had no need for a “mangy tail” trying to wag the dog
Had a “spiritual home” the envy of many other clubs

Did we lose our way and slide yes we did but did that warrant an Albatros to be hung around our neck certainly not

 

[muzby]

Well rg

Well they didn’t go belly up
Had some good years on the paddock and were competitive
Were able to attract some good players
We’re able to attract quality sponsors
Had no need for a “mangy tail” trying to wag the dog
Had a “spiritual home” the envy of many other clubs

Did we lose our way and slide yes we did but did that warrant an Albatros to be hung around our neck certainly not

But to answer your own questions..

In the same time the Steelers were around did St George:

Win premierships? No.
Attract great players? No. You’ve only mentioned “good”. Not great.
Built a sustainable financial foundation? No, hence the need for the merger
Built a great ground? No.
Built a great club house? No. Arguably the greatest fall from grace for the taj happened during this period
Garnered great sponsors? No. Penfolds would be the biggest, and that happened pre Steelers time (btw, ever heard of a company called BHP?)

St George’s heyday had already passed before the Steelers started.

 

[Old Timer]

But to answer your own questions..

In the same time the Steelers were around did St George:

Win premierships? No.
Attract great players? No. You’ve only mentioned “good”. Not great.
Built a sustainable financial foundation? No, hence the need for the merger
Built a great ground? No.
Built a great club house? No. Arguably the greatest fall from grace for the taj happened during this period
Garnered great sponsors? No. Penfolds would be the biggest, and that happened pre Steelers time (btw, ever heard of a company called BHP?)

St George’s heyday had already passed before the Steelers started.

Indeed their heyday had passed but they were in a totally superior position than the Steelers and there was no immediate need for a merger
We were sold a pup by the NRL in its misguided bid to keep a totally lacklustre underachieving outfit viable.
If the Illawarra had of been left to disappear and just remain a nursery for young players to go to the various clubs who had scouts out and about St George would have survived.
We didn’t and for that matter no other club need to grab into your shirt tails but you certainly needed to grab onto someone else’s or be faced with oblivion because of their total ineptness and inability to succeed despite its natural resources.

 

[Yow]

Indeed their heyday had passed but they were in a totally superior position than the Steelers and there was no immediate need for a merger
We were sold a pup by the NRL in its misguided bid to keep a totally lacklustre underachieving outfit viable.
If the Illawarra had of been left to disappear and just remain a nursery for young players to go to the various clubs who had scouts out and about St George would have survived.
We didn’t and for that matter no other club need to grab into your shirt tails but you certainly needed to grab onto someone else’s or be faced with oblivion because of their total ineptness and inability to succeed despite its natural resources.

For F!!!!! Sake we are now Saint George Illawarra some on here get over it I think some need to be taken out the back and given a good flogging

 

[Walpole]

I'm not sure why people think we'd be in such safe hands if we hadn't merged. Which side of the merger did Doust and Young come from? While nearly all of our best juniors in recent times have come from the Illawarra.

 

[possm]

Doust and Young were/are a big part of the problem mainly because self-interest is put before the best interests of the Club.

• It was Illawarra who needed the merger.
• It was Illawarra who was delinquent with regard to regular contributions to the Club.
• It was Illawarra who owed just on 6m to the Gordons and WIN Corp.
• It was Illawarra who needed to sell their shares in order to avoid bankruptcy.
• It was Doust and Young who arranged the deal with the Gordons to ensure they recovered their debt, even though the offer was well short of the market price.

I say get rid of Doust and the backroom deals in order for the Dragons to have a chance of moving forward.

 

[getsmarty]

Community & High Performance Centre officially named The Bruce Gordon Centre

The Dragons are proud to announce that the club’s under-construction Community & High Performance Centre will be named The Bruce Gordon Centre.

www.dragons.com.au

 

[possm]

Your right Dennis it will be a great asset also a few on here not sure they do think

There needs to be a plan developed whereby the Unit and the Leagues Club both contibute an annual sum to invest in further development and upgrades.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

I'm not sure why people think we'd be in such safe hands if we hadn't merged. Which side of the merger did Doust and Young come from? While nearly all of our best juniors in recent times have come from the Illawarra.

If we hadn’t merged, we still could have signed them. It’s not like our club is actually holding on to the best juniors anyway.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Community & High Performance Centre officially named The Bruce Gordon Centre

The Dragons are proud to announce that the club’s under-construction Community & High Performance Centre will be named The Bruce Gordon Centre.

www.dragons.com.au

The Bruce Gordon centre. Next year there will also be an award called “the Bruce Gordon award for outstanding achievement in the field of excellence”

 

[twinkletoes]

I’m surprised it wasn’t named “The Craig Young” centre of excellence

 

[Trifili13]

I’m surprised it wasn’t named “The Craig Young” centre of excellence

Probably leaving that as an option if WIN Stadium gets redeveloped.

 

[Dea]

I hope he donated lots of money to get the naming rights? We don’t seem to see or hear of his influence around the club or players, like we do with Politis at the Roosters. I also wonder if naming the COE might have been a sponsorship opportunity for the club to get ongoing income towards it running and further development?

 

[ground zero]

Newcastle named its COE Newcastle Permanent COE = Sponsorship each year.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Mixed feelings about all this. Good to know the COE is almost upon us. How often do we read of players being asked to tour a new club's facilities and with the geographical divide of the two partners to our club, this would have been a messy and maybe offputting exercise for some players. Now, there is a single focal point and an ongoing connection to a tertiary education facility for the high-performance stuff, we have a facility with playing/training fields we can be proud of.

At the same time, despite the ownership connection, it feels like we are honouring someone who has spent his whole life building media interests and personal wealth including an extensive personal property portfolio which has seen him live overseas and on the periphery of this fledgling club. The name Bruce Gordon and that of his children does not scream passionate Rugby League supporters for mine and this feels like something bought rather than earned.

Am I being too harsh? Feel free to tell me if you do.

 

[twinkletoes]

The Dragons press release makes Gordon sound like a bloody saviour and saint...he'll be canonised next we know.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Mixed feelings about all this. Good to know the COE is almost upon us. How often do we read of players being asked to tour a new club's facilities and with the geographical divide of the two partners to our club, this would have been a messy and maybe offputting exercise for some players. Now, there is a single focal point and an ongoing connection to a tertiary education facility for the high-performance stuff, we have a facility with playing/training fields we can be proud of.

At the same time, despite the ownership connection, it feels like we are honouring someone who has spent his whole life building media interests and personal wealth including an extensive personal property portfolio which has seen him live overseas and on the periphery of this fledgling club. The name Bruce Gordon and that of his children does not scream passionate Rugby League supporters for mine and this feels like something bought rather than earned.

Am I being too harsh? Feel free to tell me if you do.

I feel much the same as you. Bruce Gordons contribution to the Dragons appears to be limited to commercial decisions like buying out the Illawarra side of the joint venture, and purchasing the sponsorship rights for WIN stadium. Maybe there's a lot more to it than that but I can't see it.

Still, who do you name the Centre of Excellence after if it's not Bruce Gordon? The other big names that spring to mind are Craig Young, Peter Doust or Bob Millward. Can you imagine the outcry, even if they have all probably contributed a lot more to St George-Illawarra than Bruce Gordon.