The St George Illawarra Dragons have lost their identity
Provided by Sporting News
They are one of the proudest clubs in rugby league history with some of the most passionate fans - but the St George Illawarra Dragons have completely lost their identity.
This has been coming for some time mind you, but heading into the 2020 NRL season it appears that the Red V have lost all sense of what made them great to begin with.
The fall of the Dragons is more complicated than what is happening on the field, where they finished 15th in 2019 - the lowest in their history.
St George's issues are deeper than losing games and players under-performing - it is widespread and it is cultural.
The Saints had one of the lowest average attendances of any NRL club in 2019, and that is clearly a response to the poor management as much as it is the results on the field.
A lot of the blame for the Dragons issues are linked back to Paul McGregor, who in six seasons as head coach has managed to make the finals just twice for a highest finish of 7th.
Ahead of the 2018 season he declared that he 'finally had the squad he wanted' and the side managed to go very close to a preliminary final. We'll give that a pass mark.
In 2019, they picked up Corey Norman and Korbin Sims and looked set to challenge for the NRL premiership - but losing
Jack de Belin before the season had even started derailed things.
It set in motion a domino effect, amplified by the
injury to Gareth Widdop in round 3 - that almost led to the side boycotting a game against Newcastle during the season.
Players were dropped in and out of the side, and by the time the Origin period finished they had a chance against the Raiders to turn things around and make a run for the finals.
But despite playing against 12 men for the majority of the second half, they were defeated 36-14 and from there the season continued to spiral.
After their season finished, the club held a review - and, apparently, McGregor is still the man to lead the club forward. Since then there have been some huge concerns.
Ben Hornby - a club legend and premiership-winning captain - was
made a scapegoat and shown the door despite being well-liked and respected by players.
The former halfback has since moved to South Sydney and will hone his coaching craft under the legendary Wayne Bennett.
The man replacing Hornby is
disgraced former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan - who has been at the centre of not one, but TWO cheating scandals for peptides and salary cap anomalies.
When the Dragons were at their peak there is no way that Flanagan, despite his strong coaching record, would have been welcomed so easily into the fold after past indiscretions.
Despite
desperately needing outside backs, they opted to
sign veteran hooker Issac Luke even though they have an 80-minute rake in Cameron McInnes already at the helm.
Reports surfaced last week that local junior Matt Dufty embarrasingly found out he wouldn't be first-choice fullback for 2020 in the Sunday paper, showing a clear lack of communication from the coach.
The 23-year old has been told he can look elswhere despite a stellar debut season in 2018 that saw him ink a rich new deal until the end of 2021, and is one of the side's biggest threats in attack.
Speaking of threats in attack - the club for some unknown reason
released skilful back-rower Luciano Leilua to the Tigers despite the giant reportedly wanting to stay at the club long-term.
Another local junior, Leilua had been in the Dragons system since his early teens and was starting to come into his own in the NRL before being discarded by the Red V.
And his
replacement is former Dragon Trent Merrin - who despite having a wealth of experience, is about five seasons past his best football and underperformed in the UK Super League.
The list of baffling decisions and internal issues is a mile long, and it has led to Dragons fans becoming increasingly disheartened with the club they love.
I need ideas on who I can support if I punt the dragons. Any club that sign Issac Luke and plays McInnes in the back row I can no longer commit to. 40+ years gone because of the imbicile running and coaching at the joint
— Benny (@saintbenny63)
November 16, 2019
STGEORGE
#ILLAWARRAMAFIA DRAGONS RECRUITMENT
pic.twitter.com/nJSm5lObbE
— agrothedragon (@agrothedragon1)
November 29, 2019
The first thing Wayne Bennett did when arriving at
https://t.co/3Z7hM64Ok4 was fire that bum McGregor. Bennett doesn’t suffer fools. Good luck Ben Hornby, you might actually now learn what to do as a coach under Bennett, rather than what not to do under McGregor.
@Mcgrexit#redvhttps://t.co/vJ08cFql4w
— Saint Benny (@Saint_Benny)
November 28, 2019
Letting Leilua go for a bloke that severely underachieved in the Super League is the clubs way of admitting Mary and his coaching staff cannot develop talent. What a disgraceful decision
#themyththatismary#2020spoon#maryout
— Murray23 (@murray23)
November 29, 2019
2020 for the Dragons will largely depend on whether or not Jack de Belin successfully fights his sexual assault charges - but the issues are so deeply rooted.
Discarding club legends like Hornby or local juniors like Leilua is a clear sign that the Dragons have lost their way.
If things don't change soon, the once proud club will become even more of a shell of itself than it is right now.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/othe...a-dragons-have-lost-their-identity/ar-BBXCbk8
P.S Thanks Taxidriver
