Steve Price

[Rebel]

Justin Morgan is a very underated coach. He took HKR to the finals twice in a row with a rather average squad.

Or if you guys are keen for a punt on another rookie, have a look at David Kidwell.

 

[TheRev]

Ok, I know Mary is despised by most Dragons fans, but so is Pricey. In terms of finishing off this season, which is the lesser of two evils - Price or McGregor?

I agree he cant be any worse, but to appoint McGregor means were going to burn another 12 months minimum before he gets the sack..and waste any momentum gained from our new players coming.

The replacement has to atleast be a potential longterm coach.. I dont know this Morgan bloke but he appears to have an amazing record and im also good with Taylor (esp as a halfback and goalkicker along with his record at Parra and experience in the NRL), im ok with others too, but I want it to be a potential long-termer.

 

[Rob Dragon]

I have got to the satge with Steve Price that I feel sorry for him. He is so inept and so out of his depth that it is embarrassing. If I were his father or a person who had close personal contact with Steve Price or some influence over him I would take him aside and say "Mate you have tried your best but it is not working. Get out of this caper and go and find something you are good at". The real issue here is the management who apponted him and who renewed his contract. He will not be coaching us in Round 1 in 2014.

 

[64 Dragon]

He will not be coaching us in Round 1 in 2014.

I would not bet on that.

 

[saint.nick]

To be honest, I don't know about you guys, but I think I need to take a break from the Dragons for a while. The overwhelming stupidity, ineptitude and the lack of foresight which is in the club at the moment is too much for me to bear. Reading all of the statements and excuses from Steve Price additionally just makes me wonder how the hell he got this job. Right now, my brain is in overdrive with frustration. I need a cooling down period!

By keeping Price in here, not only will we just continue on as a shit team, we will lose exposure, which can lead to losing fans, game revenue and merchandise revenue. We may be arguably the biggest Sydney team across Australia, but we won't be anymore if Doust does nothing about this. All the kids will start choosing teams like Souths, Roosters and Bulldogs, and we'll just be a team relying on the support of pensioners. I take great pride in the fact my local team is such a big entity in the NRL, owing to its fame and support base, and it would hurt to see this diminish

 

[64 Dragon]

Speaking of exposure, we have one match on free to air for the rest of the year - round 22 against the Broncos, Aug 11 at Lang Park.

 

[saint.nick]

Speaking of exposure, we have one match on free to air for the rest of the year - round 22 against the Broncos, Aug 11 at Lang Park.

Yep, see my point? It's sad how the club has just let itself fall to these levels. No way in hell in 2011 could I have foreseen us stooping to Parra's levels only 2 years later. And while we're still on the topic of exposure- the f**king dogs**ts opened up a merchandise store in Hurstville Westfields. Man that makes me livid!

 

[TonyTrugett]

I would not bet on that.

Much as it hurts me, have to agree. Dragons just don't sack coaches

 

[FlameThrower]

To be honest, I don't know about you guys, but I think I need to take a break from the Dragons for a while. The overwhelming stupidity, ineptitude and the lack of foresight which is in the club at the moment is too much for me to bear. Reading all of the statements and excuses from Steve Price additionally just makes me wonder how the hell he got this job. Right now, my brain is in overdrive with frustration. I need a cooling down period!

By keeping Price in here, not only will we just continue on as a shit team, we will lose exposure, which can lead to losing fans, game revenue and merchandise revenue. We may be arguably the biggest Sydney team across Australia, but we won't be anymore if Doust does nothing about this. All the kids will start choosing teams like Souths, Roosters and Bulldogs, and we'll just be a team relying on the support of pensioners. I take great pride in the fact my local team is such a big entity in the NRL, owing to its fame and support base, and it would hurt to see this diminish

Matey, I've sated this earlier, that the diehard fan from the 60-70-80-90's know the history and legend, but Gen -Y have no idea, young players and fans don't hold the awe and passion like we do. What's is happening, is dangerous to the club, we will just end up another club living on the glory days no one gives a stuff about that now....., look at Souths, 40 years in wilderness, countless wooden spoons, and for a time a retirement village for cash hungry players. I also have a real concern about Dougan getting cold feet and holding off new contract... as soon as that happens watch other teams circle again.

 

[saint.nick]

Matey, I've sated this earlier, that the diehard fan from the 60-70-80-90's know the history and legend, but Gen -Y have no idea, young players and fans don't hold the awe and passion like we do. What's is happening, is dangerous to the club, we will just end up another club living on the glory days no one gives a stuff about that now....., look at Souths, 40 years in wilderness, countless wooden spoons, and for a time a retirement village for cash hungry players. I also have a real concern about Dougan getting cold feet and holding off new contract... as soon as that happens watch other teams circle again.

At least Souths are rising back up again. I still hold a lot of hope for Dugan because he said he's excited about the prospects with good recruits next year, but who knows. I guess I'm one of the few select bunch of Gen Yers who have encapsulated the raw passion and awe of the club. Most Gen Yers will just be concerned with the on field results. I think beyond that and ponder about our standing, our fans, our fame, tradition, history, and everything else. Heck, I even get pissed off because the Broncos have officially the biggest exposure and fan base in the game, because they're a young 'franchise' who can hog a city population of 3 million to themselves. I will admit I 'haven't read never before, never again' yet, the unofficial bible of the club apparently, but it's sitting in my room and I shall start it soon!

 

[FlameThrower]

.....I think u can wait till September to start reading the un-official bible...

 

[Black Forest Dragon]

I agree he cant be any worse, but to appoint McGregor means were going to burn another 12 months minimum before he gets the sack..and waste any momentum gained from our new players coming.

The replacement has to atleast be a potential longterm coach.. I dont know this Morgan bloke but he appears to have an amazing record and im also good with Taylor (esp as a halfback and goalkicker along with his record at Parra and experience in the NRL), im ok with others too, but I want it to be a potential long-termer.

 

[Black Forest Dragon]

I strongly agree with the above - any possible caretaker Coach must at least have long term potential so we can start the repair job.

(sorry ..accidently hit post before I typed)

 

[Black Forest Dragon]

I've sat back and watched this unfold and it's ashamedly getting from bad to worse and is now at a point of NO return! Surely it is impossible to continue with Price. This is a results driven game and he just can't get the results! I've never written on here before but wanted to voice my opinion.

What's needed is to replace him with quality and to do it now! The only problem is that there are not many coaches not contracted somewhere else that could be available say next week. Some of the names tossed up are just as bad as Price! I follow both the NRL and UK SL and take an interest in the Aussies over there. When talking to some UK friends about the plight of the Dragons a name was tossed up and I did some more research after remembering watching a few games of his. I remember this person as a player in the NRL before he moved away to cut his teeth in the coaching ranks. And cut his teeth he did.

The person I refer to is Justin Morgan. Some of you might recall him being a Parramatta junior and playing several seasons under Brian Smith. He spent a year in Canberra before playing for the NZ Warriors under Daniel Anderson for a few years. And then he retired. Not a super star player but one that put the hard yards in and got the job done.

He then moved to Toulouse France to start his coaching career. Had had an amateur team and got them up to the Grand Final after a couple of years there after a dominant season. But more noteworthy were his achievements in the Challenge Cup. His part time team defeated a full time SL team and went all the way to the semi finals where he faced Tony Smith's team. A close game by all accounts but they lost to the stronger team of the SL. It was the first time a French amateur team ever played in the Challenge Cup Semi Final.

After this winning streak, he was head hunted by Hull Kingston Rovers who were in the National League then. Again he had a basic team and the goal of securing them a place into the SL. It took him one full season to achieve that and that year his team won nearly all their games over the entire season. Not only did his team make and win the grand final to secure their first year in SL, but back then there was a relegation system in place so they had to stay up in the SL by not getting the wooden spoon - something that happened to nearly all the teams that were promoted.

Morgan's team did more than that. They surprised many and were competitive in the competition and made the play offs every year Morgan was there. He built a formidable team and blooded many UK youngsters and lured many an Aussie player, to name a few, Clint Newton, Mick Vella, Ben Galea, Willie Mason, Blake Green and Michael Dobson. Some of those players have left KR better players. Clint Newton returning to the NRL and Dobson following next season to Newcastle. Morgan's players are loyal with nearly a dozen leaving the year he did and with Dobson leaving this season that's the majority of his players gone.

Morgan stepped into the NRL as assistant coach to Furner at Canberra last year and they made a late surge for the play offs. He was up there in the final three for the NZ Warriors job last year according to the NZ press. Morgan is currently working under Daniel Anderson again as a Video Referee, Mentor and Match Reviewer. He is free from a contract at any club. At the moment his Linked In profile (his CV is quite impressive) says he is waiting for his next NRL Club. Well here is one he can take!

Morgan could be just what is needed here! He has served as a Head Coach for nearly 10 years and had a great deal of success in turning down and out clubs and players into regular play off teams and according to all reports in the UK he did it with Hull KR on limited funds. We've seen some great things this season in other coaches that have some from the SL; Maguire, Potter and Robinson. It was Morgan who gave Trent Robinson his coaching break when he played in his French team. He became Morgan's assistant.

Price has got to go and we need a replacement immediately, it can't wait till the end of the season. What have we got to lose? I think Morgan would do a better job than Price. And if the board are weary of a non-big name coach then at least offer it to him till the end of the season to see what he can do. The Tigers have taken a punt with Potter. I'd definitely back Morgan. Who else is there for right now?

The other thing to keep in mind is that with three clubs in the hunt for new head coaches we need to be the first off the blocks. When you look at who's out there and available surely Morgan has to be near the top of that list. We can not go on with Price as it's becoming embarrassing and the fans are growing more and more unsettled. I really hope the board ring in the changes this week. And if they read the voice of the fans I hope they talk to Morgan as he is available to coach now and he's got a good track record in the SL.

SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN NOW!

Terrific Post - really sensible and compelling and a great read. Thank you David007 for going to the trouble of writing it for us to see.

Do you have Justin Morgan's email address / mob ph. no. to pass onto our Chief Executive Officer?

This whole situation has turned into a debacle. It is terrible thing to happen to OUR GREAT CLUB, and so much of it could have been prevented.

36-0 at Kogarah ???!!!!!!! ....God, I'm still in shock.

THERE MUST BE ACTION TAKEN

 

[jenninga]

To be honest, I don't know about you guys, but I think I need to take a break from the Dragons for a while. The overwhelming stupidity, ineptitude and the lack of foresight which is in the club at the moment is too much for me to bear. Reading all of the statements and excuses from Steve Price additionally just makes me wonder how the hell he got this job. Right now, my brain is in overdrive with frustration. I need a cooling down period!

By keeping Price in here, not only will we just continue on as a shit team, we will lose exposure, which can lead to losing fans, game revenue and merchandise revenue. We may be arguably the biggest Sydney team across Australia, but we won't be anymore if Doust does nothing about this. All the kids will start choosing teams like Souths, Roosters and Bulldogs, and we'll just be a team relying on the support of pensioners. I take great pride in the fact my local team is such a big entity in the NRL, owing to its fame and support base, and it would hurt to see this diminish

Do us all a favour and please do take a break.What dribble,losing fans,you mean bandwagon fans.True supporters don't choose other teams when their team struggles.Look at Souffs fans,they have been awful for a long time but have always had a large supporter base like us.
All teams go through sh*t periods,look at the Broncos,we are going through one now and true supporters who are angry will still stick with the team in their hearts and see this through.
You however better take time off .

 

[Back O'Bourke Scorcher]

I was never opposed to Price taking charge of the Dragons. After all he had success with Junior teams and had learned from the best, or so it seemed.

When Bennett came to the dragons he brought with him;
Weyman - Playing for Canberra but Languishing in the QLD cup. Prone to giving away silly penalties and having misguided aggression. (Later played for Australia and NSW under Bennett)
Costigan - Playing for Canberra. Languishing in the QLD cup. (Made a return for QLD under Bennett)
Smith - Bench player for Melbourne (Became a much sort after enforcer)
(Later brought in) Cuthbertson - A Manly and Cronulla discard (played for City under Bennett)
and so on....

Bennett took each of these players and the rest of the Saints team and made them better by inspiring each of them to reach their own individual potential, not by getting them to do this or do that on the field but by getting in their heads and making them believe in themselves and one another.

I cannot think of one player that has excelled this year or last for that matter under Price. Dugan maybe but his inspiration is drawn from elsewhere.

“Get the Buy In, Coach the Mind, The Rest then Follows”
- Robin Clarkson, Contributed by Robin Clarkson

People have said we have an aging roster etc etc. At the end of the day we do have a couple of guys that are over the hill but so does Newcastle. Look at Willie Mason, couldn't get a gig anywhere, was playing pathetically for North QLD before being given the punt O/S, goes to a good coach, lifted his game and was being talked about as possibly playing origin this year.

We see numerous examples every year from washed up players that go to Melbourne only to resurrect their careers.

Leadership is based on a spiritual quality, the power to inspire the power to inspire others to follow. I just cant see Price doing this...

The persistence in some aspects of his coaching borders on insanity. This isn't just the assessment of a never was, but good analysts such as Brandy.
The Definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Sound familiar......

I for one feel that Price is not only not inspiring players to be better, he is damaging them which will make it infinitely harder for whoever takes his place. The longer this goes on the worse it will get.

I am a passionate Saints supporter and will follow the team through good and bad. I just hope that change comes soon.

“Two cars parked side by side one is a supercar the other an old family sedan both have the same potential until someone gets in to the supercar and drives it flat out, The coach can have the best strategy but unless its driven its potential means nothing.”
- John Schuh

 

[saint.nick]

Do us all a favour and please do take a break.What dribble,losing fans,you mean bandwagon fans.True supporters don't choose other teams when their team struggles.Look at Souffs fans,they have been awful for a long time but have always had a large supporter base like us.
All teams go through sh*t periods,look at the Broncos,we are going through one now and true supporters who are angry will still stick with the team in their hearts and see this through.
You however better take time off .

Sorry, but when I meant break, I didn't mean making a temporary refusal to watch their games. I will still watch their games and attend the home matches at kogarah (even though they're nothing to look forward to anymore). I rather meant taking a break from reading about the problems of the club and etc. You're acting like I'm just going to stop supporting the club altogether, but I understand how you misinterpreted me. I don't think I will be taking this break anymore. Despite the whips and scorns of it, it's starting to get interesting. Additionally, I'm not necessarily talking about losing the bandwagon fans. I'm talking about the new generation fans who are now just starting to watch footy and pick their favourite teams.

 

[possm]

I'm of the belief that there was never any need for our Club to struggle to the extent it has. Most of our problems are self-inflicted and most can be traced back to mistakes made by our club officials.

Appointing Price after spending the past 10 years as a reasonably successful coach in the juniors and 3 years as assistant coach to Bennett, was a reasonable decision however, extending his contract after such a poor performance in 2012 was a grave mistake.

Whoever was in charge of recruiting since the Bennett days can only be described as highly incompetent. The recruitment of so many cheap marginal first graders that have not lived up to the desired potential is a fair example that the people responsible either don't know what they are doing or have other priorities other than recruiting the very best players available within the salary cap.

Keep Price on because he is cheap is rediculas. Keeping Price on because there is no other suitable coach available is a cop out. Hinting that Macgreger, Holbrook, Hornby and Young are our options in the future is another example of the rediculas.

The Dragons are in a worse position now than they were in when they recruited Bennett and a much worse position than when Bennett left. It will take a top line coach an enourmus effort to turn things around and none of the names mentioned above have the talant or experience to get the job done. Maybe a couple of these guys may in the future be suitable for an assistant coach postion however, I expect a new top line coach will want to pick his own coaching staff give the size of the job in front of him.

My view is that we need a certain type of coach to turn things around and then another type of coach to keep things going at the right level. For the first stage 'turning things aroud we need a high salary coach like:
Sheens
B Smith
Bennett
Belemy
Maguire

Once things are back on track we would need a level headed coach to keep the team up there, someone like;
T Smith
Brown
Stone

So in my opinion we should terminate Price's contract this week and appoint an interim coach for the remainder of the year. For 2014 we should appoint on a two year deal, with an option in favour of the Club for a further year, one of the only two suitable coaches available;
Sheens - wants to coach NRL again but after his World Cup commitments
B Smith - contracted as an assistant coach for the remainder of this year

For me, I would be comfortable with either of these two guys to be appointed head coach on a two year deal starting November this year.

 

[Pomoz]

I cannot think of one player that has excelled this year or last for that matter under Price. Dugan maybe but his inspiration is drawn from elsewhere.

?Get the Buy In, Coach the Mind, The Rest then Follows?
- Robin Clarkson, Contributed by Robin Clarkson

Great commentary BOBs. I am a huge fan of Bennett, he is a brilliant leader. My favourite story is when Shane Webke's father passed away, he was a young reserve grader. He tells the story of placing the coffin down as a pall bearer and turning round at the front of the church to go to his seat. He was surprised to see Wayne Bennett stood at the back of the church. Webke said that previously Bennett had barely spoke two words to him because he was just a junior, in fact he didn't think Wayne new he even existed and yet he drove five hours to to be there for his father's funeral. Suffice to say, with leadership like that as inspiration, its no surprise Webke played a grand final with a broken arm.

I agree 100% choosing Price was the right decision given the situation at the time. But one thing you didn't expand on much is the impact of recruitment. I am coming to the view that the recruitment/salary cap manager is the second most important man in the club after the coach and equal to the CEO. Not many people are aware that when Gus Gould joined the Panthers, five players - Lewis, Jennings, McKendry, Grant and Coote took up 2/3rds of the Panthers salary cap (this was confirmed by the chairman in an interview). It made it almost impossible for the coach to build a winning team. I mean, who pays their two props and a centre top dollar? The results the Panther's have achieved with that inept recruitment speaks for itself. Only now, after radical measures, are things improving.

Sadly, Price has suffered greatly at the hands of your recruitment team. Champions like Gasnier have been lost and not replaced, not even by a gun junior who will be a star in the future. The lack of depth in the backs is a major issue. You got Dugan by accident. What if he had gone to the Broncos, that was just one twitter remark away from happening? You at least now have a few good players coming, but it is all too late for Price, he has been left high and dry. I'm not saying he is a great coach, but given what he had to work with, he wasn't given much of a chance. If that poor recruitment continues, even with the addition of Farrell and Widdop, it will be difficult to build a winning team again.

 

[Smurf]

I'm or the belief that there was never any need for our Club to struggle to the extent it has. Most of our problems are self-inflicted and most can be traced back to mistakes made by our club officials.

Appointing Price after spending the past 10 years as a reasonably successful coach in the juniors and 3 years as assistant coach to Bennett, was a reasonable decision however, extending his contract after such a poor performance in 2012 was a grave mistake.

Whoever was in charge of recruiting since the Bennett days can only be described as highly incompetent. The recruitment of so many cheap marginal first graders that have not lived up to the desired potential is a fair example that the people responsible either don't know what they are doing or have other priorities other than recruiting the very best players available within the salary cap.

Keep Price on because he is cheap is rediculas. Keeping Price on because there is no other suitable coach available is a cop out. Hinting that Macgreger, Holbrook, Hornby and Young are our options in the future is another example of the rediculas.

The Dragons are in a worse position now than they were in when they recruited Bennett and a much worse position than when Bennett left. It will take a top line coach an enourmus effort to turn things around and none of the names mentioned above have the talant or experience to get the job done. Maybe a couple of these guys may in the future be suitable for an assistant coach postion however, I expect a new top line coach will want to pick his own coaching staff give the size of the job in front of him.

My view is that we need a certain type of coach to turn things around and then another type of coach to keep things going at the right level. For the first stage 'turning things aroud we need a high salary coach like:
Sheens
B Smith
Bennett
Belemy
Maguire

Once things are back on track we would need a level headed coach to keep the team up there, someone like;
T Smith
Brown
Stone

So in my opinion we should terminate Price's contract this week and appoint an interim coach for the remainder of the year. For 2014 we should appoint on a two year deal, with an option in favour of the Club for a further year, one of the only two suitable coaches available;
Sheens - wants to coach NRL again but after his World Cup commitments
B Smith - contracted as an assistant coach for the remainder of this year

For me, I would be comfortable with either of these two guys to be appointed head coach on a two year deal starting November this year.