Sydney Kings owner lashes Dragons

[BennyV]

Interesting how he calls out St George as the problem in the JV....

I don’t think there’s any doubt that St George is a massive contributor to the horrible culture within club management through the leagues club and contributing board members (hell, ‘twas them who chose to get involved in the JV to begin with) but this comment seems strange. If Smith was going to be taking ownership of the Illawarra side of the JV, this going into business with the St George side, who else would he butt heads with? Why would the now defunct Illawarra side have any say in anything?

For mine, most anti-Illawarra comments come from the state of our club currently compared with the state of the Steelers historically in terms of standards and expectations.

That, and McGregor!

 

[RedVDragon]

Under WIN we will not WIN. Would have been a far better option.

 

[muzby]

I don’t think there’s any doubt that St George is a massive contributor to the horrible culture within club management through the leagues club and contributing board members (hell, ‘twas them who chose to get involved in the JV to begin with) but this comment seems strange. If Smith was going to be taking ownership of the Illawarra side of the JV, this going into business with the St George side, who else would he butt heads with? Why would the now defunct Illawarra side have any say in anything?

For mine, most anti-Illawarra comments come from the state of our club currently compared with the state of the Steelers historically in terms of standards and expectations.

That, and McGregor!

I believe the anti Illawarra comments come from people who can’t look inwards for the answer and find it easier to point the finger at another party..

It’s McCarthyism at its best..

 

[Splinters]

I believe the anti Illawarra comments come from people who can’t look inwards for the answer and find it easier to point the finger at another party..

It’s McCarthyism at its best..

Except that - as the Venona decrypts have comprehensively proven - Senator McCarthy was 100% correct. The US State Department, Department of Justice, Treasury Department and other government bodies were in fact very deeply penetrated with Soviet agents and they had a history-changing impact on US policies and programs.

For example, Soviet agents in the State Department crucially influenced US China policy and guaranted that the Communists would come to power there.

Quite a few mass media figures were also Soviet agents. This accounts for how McCarthy has subsequently been treated in the media.

Many senior figures in the FDR and Truman administrations were Soviet agents. For example Harry Dexter White was a Soviet agent.

Harry Dexter White (October 9, 1892 – August 16, 1948) was a senior U.S. Treasury department official. Working closely with the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., he helped set American financial policy toward the Allies of World War II while at the same time he passed numerous secrets to the Soviet Union, which was an American ally for part of the time and an adversary at other times.[1]

He was the senior American official at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference that established the postwar economic order. He dominated the conference and imposed his vision of post-war financial institutions over the objections of John Maynard Keynes, the British representative. At Bretton Woods, White was a major architect of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

White was accused in 1948 of spying for the Soviet Union, which he adamantly denied. Although he was never a Communist party member, his status as a Soviet informant was later confirmed by declassified FBI documents related to the interception and decoding of Soviet communications, known as the Venona Project.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Dexter_White

Anyway, Venona has put this all beyond argument but the false "McCarthyist" meme lives on.

You may like to read up the truth of these matters in

Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies - M. Stanton Evans

 

[getsmarty]

DRAGONS


Dragons try meditation in bid to improve mental toughness
Author
Brad Walter NRL.com Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Fri 13 Dec 2019, 02:01 PM

St George Illawarra players have turned to kelee meditation practised by surfing champions Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore to help improve the team's mental toughness.

The Dragons finished 15th after a disastrous 2019 campaign marred by a huge injury toll and the uncertainty over the future of star forward Jack de Belin but players admit there can be no excuses next season.

An end-of-season review resulted in eight changes to the coaching and training staff, including the appointment of 2016 Cronulla premiership-winning mentor Shane Flanagan as an assistant to Paul McGregor.

Flanagan is due to officially start with the Dragons next week after completing a 12-month NRL-imposed ban, which precludes him from taking on a head coaching role for a further two years.

The Dragons have also engaged Gerard Murphy of Leadership by Design to aid a clearer focus in culture and leadership and mind and performance coach Matt Griggs.

Murphy has worked with the likes of West Ham, the Great Britain Olympic team, England rugby league and rugby union sides and AFL clubs Geelong, Richmond and Port Adelaide, while Griggs has been involved with world champion surfers Mick Fanning, Tyler Wright and Stephanie Gilmore.



Five key matchups of the Dragons' 2020 draw

A former professional surfer, Griggs teaches a five-point holistic high performance model, and is also facilitating lessons on Kelee meditation for St George Illawarra players.

Griggs uses meditation to inspire greater self-awareness and detachment of mental limitations that steal energy and compromise performance.

Dragons centre Tim Lafai said mental lapses during games had cost the team dearly last season and was an area they were working to improve.

"I think we will be doing a lot of work on that, not just the physical side of things but the mental side of things on and off the field, through workshops and culture groups and things like that," Lafai said.

"You can see already just the maturity of the young boys, they are really eager and the older blokes are leading by example."

With the likes of Tyson Frizell, Paul Vaughan, Ben Hunt, Corey Norman, Tariq and Korbin Sims, Cameron McInnes and James Graham in their squad, the Dragons have been widely criticised for their performances last season.

In many games, they either started well and fell away and came from behind in the second half but lacked consistency over 80 minutes and across the season.

"That is a question we were all asking ourselves," Lafai said.

"We have got the squad and the depth so it is just a matter of fixing the things that we need to bring out the best in each player because individually we have got some great players.

"I think a lot of it in those games was to do with our mentality and our toughness.

"You could see in a lot of our games we would start poorly and then in the second half we would start so well – there is just a gap there and I think it has just got to do with our mental approach and just the toughness of staying in those games."


https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/12/13/dragons-try-meditation-in-bid-to-improve-mental-toughness/

 

[muzby]

Good lord we have a lot of conspiracy theorists on this site..


I guess that does explain how the Illawarra mafia conspiracy came about..

 

[BennyV]

I believe the anti Illawarra comments come from people who can’t look inwards for the answer and find it easier to point the finger at another party..

It’s McCarthyism at its best..

Oh, those comments. I thought you were referring to the reasonable ones.

As you were!

 

[Willow]

Good lord we have a lot of conspiracy theorists on this site..


I guess that does explain how the Illawarra mafia conspiracy came about..

You go and mention McCarthy... now look what you started.

You could have just invoked the fifth amendment.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

There's never been any doubt that Danny Robinson is a huge huge reason for the club's predicament

Principally because he has no interest in Rugby League.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Well now that Illawarra Rugby Leagues Club are no longer a partner and do not hold any shares, it would be very difficult to blame them for the current state of affairs. Thank God they are out of the equation, who knows where we would be today if they were still involved.

So yes, part of the old boys club still remains and these people are still the main reason the Dragons are in a mess. I suppose the next step is to take these people out of the equation by selling the St George Leagues club shares to Smith. Maybe only then will some sensible decisions at SGI will begin to be made. The Leagues Club could justify this sale by using the funds to redevelop the Taj. The St George Football Club would then become a mouth piece for matters football on the Board with a 20% share, 10% from both entities. Full members of the St George Leagues Club could then vote for there representatives on the Board.

The current Board and current management staff, Mary and Millward, are not held accountable for their poor decision and their performance. The article rightly questions the recruitment of Merrin and Luke when players like Arrow and Fifita are up for grabs and a birght young Dragons junior like Robson had to leave the club to be given an opportunity to develop into a regular first grade player.

Our back five is our weakest link and yet we retain our poor performing centres when players like Michell and Scott were on the market. In addition, we put up with the below standard of Hunt our most expensive player, move arguably our best centre to fullback. The wingers in our club are of reserve grade standard with only Saab showing any signs of a possible rise to first grade standard.

It is time SGI got tough with its senior players and insisted on a much higher standard that is being offered. We need Aitken and Lafai gone and two top first grade centre to take their place. Failing this we need to work hard to transform players within the club into first grade centres. Players should clearly understand and expect that they will be dropped to CC if they perform poorly in first grade.

If Smith was part owner, I doubt very much that Johnston would have been appointed CEO and Andrew Gordon would be chairman of the Board. I feel sure that ALL of the old boys including Millward and Mary would have been sacked. SGI would have experienced a very much needed clean out and be on its way to greatness again.

Smith would have made sure that SGI would have access to third party agreements on par with the top level clubs. I'm sure the extra cash he was offering could have been put towards the recruitment of a top level coaching staff and the purchase of the latest training facilities. I am very sure he would not be relying on advice from Craig Young with regards to football matters.

In my opinion we missed a great opportunity to move forward mainly because the old boys club did not want to loose the cushy jobs and perks they have enjoyed over the years.

Yes- Smith is a winner and, unlike the Gordons, has an extensive background in sports management. Under TSE leadership, the Kings are the most dynamic and successful club in the NBL right now- crowds and revenue are huge.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Principally because he has no interest in Rugby League.[/QUOTE

Just rang the St George Leagues Club to ask if they were showing the Horn- Zerafa fight (knew they weren't but wanted to chuck a hand grenade in). The phone was answered by a female staffer who when asked the question responded in her best Mrs Slocombe (Are you being served?) impression- "No - we don't show fights here"- I resisted the temptation to inform her that I'd witnessed quite a number of live late night fights there over the years!

I'll broaden my criticism of Danny Robinson to include that he has no interest in sport- full stop- only gambling.

 

[SEAT 1A]

Smith sold his business Repucom for 260 million a few years ago.

After WIN pulls out, we had a passionate Dragon supported who knows the business of sport, puts two and two together money and the clubs brand and we decline.

Self interest is the number one priority for our mob.

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Smith sold his business Repucom for 260 million a few years ago.

After WIN pulls out, we had a passionate Dragon supported who knows the business of sport, puts two and two together money and the clubs brand and we decline.

Self interest is the number one priority for our mob.

I know l’m stating the obvious but yes, you are correct. They would of all lost their jobs so the inferior model prevails.
........ Criminal.

 

[Carrera28]

This is a rehash of an article that was published previously by Andrew Webster. Before people bag the management of the club or suggest they somehow ignored his bid, you need to understand who owned the NRL licence. It was owned 50% by St George Leagues Club and 50% by Illawarra.

The portion of the licence that was on the market was owned by Illawarra Leagues Club, the decision about who they sold it do was a decision made by the Illawarra Leagues Club not by the joint venture and the St George Leagues didn't have a dog in the fight. No different to if you own shares in BHP and sell them to someone else BHP doesn't have a say in the sale provided it complies with corporations law and any restrictions that may exist on the shareholding.

When the Illawarra Leagues Club got into debt the St George Leagues Club offered to buy the the Illawarra half of the licence, this offer was made on numerous occasions and declined. The stated reason for declining the offer was they didn't want Illawarra to be ignored. The Illawarra Leagues Club made the decision to sell to the WIN Corproation because they felt it was the best option for the Illawarra district.

The WIN Corporation did not make a payment to the JV or to the St George Leagues they made a payment to the Illawarra Leagues Club. The Illawarra Leagues club made a payment to the JV to repay their debt. This was not a capital injection it was repayment of the running costs for the club that Illawarra had been unable to pay.

There is a widespread unhappiness with the JV, however in this instance it is misplaced. The decision as to who it was sold to rested with the licence holder Illawarra. If you are unhappy with who it was sold to then at least blame the party that made the decision.

The St George Illawarra Club did not reject his offer, his offer was never made to the St George Illawarra JV, his offer was made to the Illawarra Leagues Club. As it is not a publicly listed company there may be some restrictions on how the transfer of shares are made but that is normally about the structure of the deal rather than the buyer themselves. Ie the St George Leagues club would have had some rights to negotiate with a prospective buyer but they would not have had any say in who the buyer was. This is why when the deal was announced the St George Leagues club got an extra seat on the board, that would have been the St George Leagues club exercising its rights.

The only reason the club has WIN as a shareholder is a decision of the Illawarra Club and the only reason the JV is not completely owned by the St George Leagues Club is because of a decision by the Illawarra Leagues Club.

The sale of the licence was not about getting a partner who could help develop the club; it was about getting the Illawarra Leagues Club out of debt and was about them trying to save the Illawarra presence in the club by selling it to a Corporation with a strong Wollongong presence rather than to someone who's focus is Sydney centric.

 

[Frank Facer]

This is a rehash of an article that was published previously by Andrew Webster. Before people bag the management of the club or suggest they somehow ignored his bid, you need to understand who owned the NRL licence. It was owned 50% by St George Leagues Club and 50% by Illawarra.

The portion of the licence that was on the market was owned by Illawarra Leagues Club, the decision about who they sold it do was a decision made by the Illawarra Leagues Club not by the joint venture and the St George Leagues didn't have a dog in the fight. No different to if you own shares in BHP and sell them to someone else BHP doesn't have a say in the sale provided it complies with corporations law and any restrictions that may exist on the shareholding.

When the Illawarra Leagues Club got into debt the St George Leagues Club offered to buy the the Illawarra half of the licence, this offer was made on numerous occasions and declined. The stated reason for declining the offer was they didn't want Illawarra to be ignored. The Illawarra Leagues Club made the decision to sell to the WIN Corproation because they felt it was the best option for the Illawarra district.

The WIN Corporation did not make a payment to the JV or to the St George Leagues they made a payment to the Illawarra Leagues Club. The Illawarra Leagues club made a payment to the JV to repay their debt. This was not a capital injection it was repayment of the running costs for the club that Illawarra had been unable to pay.

There is a widespread unhappiness with the JV, however in this instance it is misplaced. The decision as to who it was sold to rested with the licence holder Illawarra. If you are unhappy with who it was sold to then at least blame the party that made the decision.

The St George Illawarra Club did not reject his offer, his offer was never made to the St George Illawarra JV, his offer was made to the Illawarra Leagues Club. As it is not a publicly listed company there may be some restrictions on how the transfer of shares are made but that is normally about the structure of the deal rather than the buyer themselves. Ie the St George Leagues club would have had some rights to negotiate with a prospective buyer but they would not have had any say in who the buyer was. This is why when the deal was announced the St George Leagues club got an extra seat on the board, that would have been the St George Leagues club exercising its rights.

The only reason the club has WIN as a shareholder is a decision of the Illawarra Club and the only reason the JV is not completely owned by the St George Leagues Club is because of a decision by the Illawarra Leagues Club.

The sale of the licence was not about getting a partner who could help develop the club; it was about getting the Illawarra Leagues Club out of debt and was about them trying to save the Illawarra presence in the club by selling it to a Corporation with a strong Wollongong presence rather than to someone who's focus is Sydney centric.

Thanks for that post.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

This is a rehash of an article that was published previously by Andrew Webster. Before people bag the management of the club or suggest they somehow ignored his bid, you need to understand who owned the NRL licence. It was owned 50% by St George Leagues Club and 50% by Illawarra.

The portion of the licence that was on the market was owned by Illawarra Leagues Club, the decision about who they sold it do was a decision made by the Illawarra Leagues Club not by the joint venture and the St George Leagues didn't have a dog in the fight. No different to if you own shares in BHP and sell them to someone else BHP doesn't have a say in the sale provided it complies with corporations law and any restrictions that may exist on the shareholding.

When the Illawarra Leagues Club got into debt the St George Leagues Club offered to buy the the Illawarra half of the licence, this offer was made on numerous occasions and declined. The stated reason for declining the offer was they didn't want Illawarra to be ignored. The Illawarra Leagues Club made the decision to sell to the WIN Corproation because they felt it was the best option for the Illawarra district.

The WIN Corporation did not make a payment to the JV or to the St George Leagues they made a payment to the Illawarra Leagues Club. The Illawarra Leagues club made a payment to the JV to repay their debt. This was not a capital injection it was repayment of the running costs for the club that Illawarra had been unable to pay.

There is a widespread unhappiness with the JV, however in this instance it is misplaced. The decision as to who it was sold to rested with the licence holder Illawarra. If you are unhappy with who it was sold to then at least blame the party that made the decision.

The St George Illawarra Club did not reject his offer, his offer was never made to the St George Illawarra JV, his offer was made to the Illawarra Leagues Club. As it is not a publicly listed company there may be some restrictions on how the transfer of shares are made but that is normally about the structure of the deal rather than the buyer themselves. Ie the St George Leagues club would have had some rights to negotiate with a prospective buyer but they would not have had any say in who the buyer was. This is why when the deal was announced the St George Leagues club got an extra seat on the board, that would have been the St George Leagues club exercising its rights.

The only reason the club has WIN as a shareholder is a decision of the Illawarra Club and the only reason the JV is not completely owned by the St George Leagues Club is because of a decision by the Illawarra Leagues Club.

The sale of the licence was not about getting a partner who could help develop the club; it was about getting the Illawarra Leagues Club out of debt and was about them trying to save the Illawarra presence in the club by selling it to a Corporation with a strong Wollongong presence rather than to someone who's focus is Sydney centric.

All of what you say makes sense.

However for me at least, bagging the board and management feels way more productive than watching the team try and play footy.

 

[TonyT6]

There's never been any doubt that Danny Robinson is a huge huge reason for the club's predicament

10000000%, The Black Prince is the reason we are a shambles. He has run that club for pure personal gain, happy to brag to anyone about his $750k salary and penthouse in Cronulla. The sooner he is gone the better.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

This is a rehash of an article that was published previously by Andrew Webster. Before people bag the management of the club or suggest they somehow ignored his bid, you need to understand who owned the NRL licence. It was owned 50% by St George Leagues Club and 50% by Illawarra.

The portion of the licence that was on the market was owned by Illawarra Leagues Club, the decision about who they sold it do was a decision made by the Illawarra Leagues Club not by the joint venture and the St George Leagues didn't have a dog in the fight. No different to if you own shares in BHP and sell them to someone else BHP doesn't have a say in the sale provided it complies with corporations law and any restrictions that may exist on the shareholding.

When the Illawarra Leagues Club got into debt the St George Leagues Club offered to buy the the Illawarra half of the licence, this offer was made on numerous occasions and declined. The stated reason for declining the offer was they didn't want Illawarra to be ignored. The Illawarra Leagues Club made the decision to sell to the WIN Corproation because they felt it was the best option for the Illawarra district.

The WIN Corporation did not make a payment to the JV or to the St George Leagues they made a payment to the Illawarra Leagues Club. The Illawarra Leagues club made a payment to the JV to repay their debt. This was not a capital injection it was repayment of the running costs for the club that Illawarra had been unable to pay.

There is a widespread unhappiness with the JV, however in this instance it is misplaced. The decision as to who it was sold to rested with the licence holder Illawarra. If you are unhappy with who it was sold to then at least blame the party that made the decision.

The St George Illawarra Club did not reject his offer, his offer was never made to the St George Illawarra JV, his offer was made to the Illawarra Leagues Club. As it is not a publicly listed company there may be some restrictions on how the transfer of shares are made but that is normally about the structure of the deal rather than the buyer themselves. Ie the St George Leagues club would have had some rights to negotiate with a prospective buyer but they would not have had any say in who the buyer was. This is why when the deal was announced the St George Leagues club got an extra seat on the board, that would have been the St George Leagues club exercising its rights.

The only reason the club has WIN as a shareholder is a decision of the Illawarra Club and the only reason the JV is not completely owned by the St George Leagues Club is because of a decision by the Illawarra Leagues Club.

The sale of the licence was not about getting a partner who could help develop the club; it was about getting the Illawarra Leagues Club out of debt and was about them trying to save the Illawarra presence in the club by selling it to a Corporation with a strong Wollongong presence rather than to someone who's focus is Sydney centric.

Thank you for significant insight.
In the same context, why didn't the St. George Leagues Club have first option?
This whole discussion harks back to the original terms and conditions of the JV.
Whoever negotiated this deal on behalf of St. George, should be drawn and quartered.
Brought nothing to this grand old club and, through deals done back in 1998, gave very little opportunity for the stronger financial partners to take control in case of insolvency.
Dud deal that has buried this once mighty club.

 

[muzby]

This is a rehash of an article that was published previously by Andrew Webster. Before people bag the management of the club or suggest they somehow ignored his bid, you need to understand who owned the NRL licence. It was owned 50% by St George Leagues Club and 50% by Illawarra.

The portion of the licence that was on the market was owned by Illawarra Leagues Club, the decision about who they sold it do was a decision made by the Illawarra Leagues Club not by the joint venture and the St George Leagues didn't have a dog in the fight. No different to if you own shares in BHP and sell them to someone else BHP doesn't have a say in the sale provided it complies with corporations law and any restrictions that may exist on the shareholding.

When the Illawarra Leagues Club got into debt the St George Leagues Club offered to buy the the Illawarra half of the licence, this offer was made on numerous occasions and declined. The stated reason for declining the offer was they didn't want Illawarra to be ignored. The Illawarra Leagues Club made the decision to sell to the WIN Corproation because they felt it was the best option for the Illawarra district.

The WIN Corporation did not make a payment to the JV or to the St George Leagues they made a payment to the Illawarra Leagues Club. The Illawarra Leagues club made a payment to the JV to repay their debt. This was not a capital injection it was repayment of the running costs for the club that Illawarra had been unable to pay.

There is a widespread unhappiness with the JV, however in this instance it is misplaced. The decision as to who it was sold to rested with the licence holder Illawarra. If you are unhappy with who it was sold to then at least blame the party that made the decision.

The St George Illawarra Club did not reject his offer, his offer was never made to the St George Illawarra JV, his offer was made to the Illawarra Leagues Club. As it is not a publicly listed company there may be some restrictions on how the transfer of shares are made but that is normally about the structure of the deal rather than the buyer themselves. Ie the St George Leagues club would have had some rights to negotiate with a prospective buyer but they would not have had any say in who the buyer was. This is why when the deal was announced the St George Leagues club got an extra seat on the board, that would have been the St George Leagues club exercising its rights.

The only reason the club has WIN as a shareholder is a decision of the Illawarra Club and the only reason the JV is not completely owned by the St George Leagues Club is because of a decision by the Illawarra Leagues Club.

The sale of the licence was not about getting a partner who could help develop the club; it was about getting the Illawarra Leagues Club out of debt and was about them trying to save the Illawarra presence in the club by selling it to a Corporation with a strong Wollongong presence rather than to someone who's focus is Sydney centric.

Whilst I appreciate the effort you put into your post, there are a number of areas which are factually incorrect. And unfortunately I’m the sort of jerk who lets facts get in the way of an opinion fight.. eg I found Hansel & Gretel non believable not for the witch (she may have just been a crazy cat lady) but due to the fact that the gingerbread house would have no structural integrity if it did indeed have a large oven inside..

Anyway, I digress.. Where your facts are wrong include:

- You have made multiple references to the Illawarra leagues club. The Illawarra leagues club, (ABN 38001005027), is a separate entity that was not involved in the JV at all.

- Where you claim the payment was made to the JV by Illawarra, this was made to the NRL, it didn’t go to the JV.

- St George Leagues club did see a financial advantage through the deal. It recognised an $800k advantage in the latest financial year, in the form of a reduced grant to the JV due to the increased liquidity of the venture. This is recognised on page 29 of the St George leagues club annual report. This $800k represented 60% of the total gain in profitability for the club (page 13 if anyone wants to check)

- The reference to the 50% share being equivalent to trading BHP shares is completely wrong. Not withstanding the rules governing obtaining a controlling share in a publicly company require approval from other shareholders (which in this case would be the St George Leagues club if the dragons were publicly listed).. However, the JV is not publicly listed and is covered by the Partnership Act of 1963. Under this act, a change in ownership can only be approved by the other partner (which is St George)


So again whilst I acknowledge the effort put into your post, unfortunately it’s riddled with factual errors as no deal could be made without the approval of St George.

 

[Saints Forever]

However, the JV is not publicly listed and is covered by the Partnership Act of 1963.

This is partly correct. The reality is the JV agreement governs all key issues and may specifically negative any sections of the Partnership Act.

The Partnership Act only applies if a key issue has not been dealt with, within the JV agreement.