Seeing red and not white: Dragons fans accuse management of club slide
By Paul Haigh
March 20, 2015, 4:45 p.m.
St George Illawarra Dragons fans are breathing fire.
They want
action from the administration to arrest the club’s slide since 2012.
The Dragons have missed the finals for the past three years.
Social media has been smoking in recent days with angry Dragons fans venting their frustration at chief executive Peter Doust and management.
Doust, who has been in charge of the Dragons since 2000, has felt the brunt of the outbursts.
The ‘‘Oust Doust’’ campaign has begun again, reminiscent of the 1995 Save Our Saints campaign, and a group of supporters is considering a ‘‘Save Our Saints March’’ and meeting at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah, in the near future.
SaveOurSaints has published a petition they want fans to sign on Facebook which they will forward to the club.
It reads:
‘‘This is important because for a long time, our great club has been made a mockery of over the past three years. St George Illawarra Dragons won the premiership in 2010, one year after enlisting the services of Wayne Bennett. We were the minor premiers in 2009. We won the World Club Challenge in 2011. During Bennett’s time, we were the top defensive side of the competition.
‘‘Then everything changed when Steve Price was appointed as coach.
‘‘From 2012 onwards, our club began to spiral downwards. We became the laughing stock of the NRL in terms of competition. From the top defensive side to wooden spoon favourites. For the first time in years, we missed out on the finals. Long standing traditional events that we had always won in the past were lost.
‘‘It was complete chaos and the Dragons fans all over the world cried out in outrage.
‘‘Who was the bright genius that allowed these events to take place? Peter Doust and his board.
‘‘Peter Doust has allowed our club to fall into a state of chaos and the majority of the Dragons fans are sick of it.
‘‘So this is what we’re going to do.
‘‘We’re going to show that we have strength in numbers and show Mr Doust and the rest of the board that we will not stand for incompetence any longer.
‘‘So this is what we want from the NRL and the St George Illawarra Dragons:
‘‘We want a board that will act in the interests of the fans of the St George Illawarra Dragons rather than their own.
‘‘We want a board that will not have the mentality of being a ‘boys club’ where significant roles within the club will be handled internally by those who have been moulded by the board in the past.
‘‘We want fresh new faces, who are knowledgeable in how to steer our club out of financial debt and into a surplus.
‘‘But most importantly, we want the voices of members to be heard.
‘‘All of those who agree that Peter Doust and the rest of the board should step down, please sign this petition. We have strength in numbers and we can make a difference by exerting this strength.
‘‘We are Dragons supporters who want a change to happen. So let’s work together to get it done.
#SaveOurSaints
The Dragons have responded with a statement outlining their strategy and future direction:
''The St George Illawarra Dragons Board and Management acknowledge that elements of our supporter base are unsettled and are communicating accordingly.
Similarly, the Dragons Board and Management acknowledge the passion and commitment of our supporter base and the key role this plays in our business.
Our Red V Members, Partners and supporters have always been a priority for the Dragons, when making decisions about the Club, and its future overall, and we will continue to communicate as thoroughly and completely as possible at the appropriate times.
Our start to the season is not ideal, no one at the Dragons is happy about that; it is not ideal for any Club to lose their opening two games.
The Board and Management also understand that there are a number of matters around the Club that have frustrated supporters, such as: Recruitment, Right Game Right Venue and other strategic factors which we would ask people to note, have been addressed individually, at various stages, over the past months.''
http://www.theleader.com.au/story/2...fans-accuse-management-of-club-slide/?cs=2382
