Saints are a proud club with a long an illustrious history. Fans expect more from those who wear the red v probably more than any other club. I have said previously whilst the merger was a necessary evil, I am not sure it has benefited the club in the long term. We have learned to accept mediocrity from our once proud club.
The Bennett fix was savage and we lost good players due to it. He did do what he was asked to do by the board though and won a premiership, albeit we should have won a couple. The fallout from that fix though has left us in tatters. Reliance on fringe players due to the salary cap restrictions and pay over for these fringe players. We have had a few years now to recover from that but we do not seem to be building.
Players like Dugan, packer, Ah Mau, Cooper, De Belin (he did have a bad one last week but his form has been pretty good), are the players to lead this club. I still have mixed feelings on Widdop but believe the talent is there in him. We have filled the team with fringe dwellers other than these. Creagh should have retired and freed up money over a year ago. Nightingale, as much as I love him, needs to consider this his last year. WHilst he brings guts and destination to the side and is still great on the wing, he is fading.
So having said that what do we have. A procession of inadequate coaches who have been given jobs from the old boys school. This once worked well for the dragons back in the 60's, and 70's. That idea does not work in this modern game. We need a clearance of all old boys from the coaching and support staff and bring in a team of professionals. I would even go so far as to suggest something along the American football standard where these coaches come through the ranks from lower divisions for years before having a crack at big league teams.
If we are to see any glory in the red v we need a massive clear out now. Do it before the June 30 deadline. Cut players, remove the coaching staff and rebuild. Do not wait till the end of the season as we effectively write off next year as well. We are reasonably positioned only due to other failures with other clubs. A fresh broom through now would give us half a season to experiment, not with Dugan at centre (what a mistake that is), Strip Widdop of the captaincy and give it to Dugan who shows so much passion it's a crime to see the anguish on his face each week. That may encourage our players, including the fringe dwellers to pick up there game.
The trouble is though we have a weak management regime who will not jeapodise their positions to be innovative. If you stand in the same spot you will find yourself at the back of the pack. That is what we have done in the past few years. We have two playmakers in Widdop and Marshall who can win games. They are not being coached properly to move forward and let run the show how they feel. The path of least resistance seems to be sideways. Pull them aside and tell them that's $5000 every time they do it in a game. That should smarten them up a bit. Both would have been more than $50000 down on last weeks game.
Spend the money and buy a coaching staff that has runs on the board. Anything is better than the tripe we are being served up each week with excuses running rampant after each match. It saddens me deeply watching our once proud club run around like a mediocre side each week. It is the culture that now seems to be imbedded in the side though since the merger. This is not the Dragons I have watched and loved for more than 45 years. This is not the side that has any chance of competing in this lopsided competition.
Changes now not later.
