The De-Merge Thread

[Morotti]

The joint venture holds the licence, so it’s a simple case of winding up the JV.

So if the JV dissolved, the licence doesn’t automatically go to St George (sorry to disappoint some people out there who have some bizarre entitled view that St George would get it).

Illawarra wouldn’t automatically get it either.

The NRL would look to see the best place to put the licence.

That could be Queensland somewhere. Could be central coast. Could be south coast.

But sure as hell wouldn’t be another Sydney team.

If the JV dissolves you’d most likely see St George running around with Newtown.

Probably being a feeder club to Cronulla given the proximity.

It would go to either south east qld or back to st george.

Because channel nine would tell the nrl which was best for ratings and broadcast revenue and three nrl would go with that.

On that basis i think st george would end up with it given history and its ability to get gods traditional rivalries with bunnies, bulldogs, Broncos etc that the others couldn't.

 

[Miller was a legend]

The joint venture holds the licence, so it’s a simple case of winding up the JV.

So if the JV dissolved, the licence doesn’t automatically go to St George (sorry to disappoint some people out there who have some bizarre entitled view that St George would get it).

Illawarra wouldn’t automatically get it either.

The NRL would look to see the best place to put the licence.

That could be Queensland somewhere. Could be central coast. Could be south coast.

But sure as hell wouldn’t be another Sydney team.

If the JV dissolves you’d most likely see St George running around with Newtown.

Probably being a feeder club to Cronulla given the proximity.

OMG that last part will explode heads! Lol

 

[goldiesaintz]

As a Kogarah/Carlton/Hurstville boy watching my first game (that I can remember) in 1969 I’ve got StG in my blood.

That said I spent a lot of time in the Gong as a kid visiting many of our relatives and we would always go to Saints v Steelers games together as rivals but it was awesome when as adults with kids we went to the games on the same side. Then I lived there for a couple years only a few years ago. We could could see and hear the crowds from my balcony but the ocean and escarpment views were stunning. I love the gong and anyone suggesting it isn’t a great place to live even for youngsters has no clue.

I was disappointed when we became a JV but have personally embraced it and thought it the perfect marriage really in terms of history and brand. Couldn’t imagine merging with Roosters or Sharks. Sure I don’t support the BOD/Boys Club management but still happy with the SGI JV.

Also I remain optimistic for improvement this year. One thing I’ve learned over the years is trial form means shit. WTF are people going on about? Wooden spoon? Really? A red hot Bunnies squad pulled our pants down in a trial and we’re wooden spooners? Demerge? Sack Griffin? FMD.

Give the coaches and squad a go people.

Get behind the coaches/players FFS you horrible f**kcers.

Very good post, ALSGI.

l can relate to much of you have said and at the time, felt that the Saints & Illawarra were the perfect choice as a joint venture.

Since Bennetts time with us, l felt the Illawarra component took over the club decisions with their placements of coaches and board decisions. Everything was aimed squarely at catering for the explayers into positions, rather than the best people. Successive failures at coaching appointments and the duration of them told me that the board were catering to their own interest and not of the club.

I blame the St George board for allowing this to happen and the Illawarra board for their short sightedness in not addressing the issues sooner.

I'm still ok with the JV as a whole but feel the Gordons have let the club and the fans down immensely.
So much so since the buyout, the clubs decisions seem to have the club listing in favour of Illawarra, with an attitude and lust for mid table mediocrity, for which the St George fan component find offensive.

We not only expect much better, we demand it, hence the reason why the Dragons have had the largest fan base of all. That of course has probably been eroded over the past 10 years.

I have no real expectations for this season, other then sheer hope of a somewhat improved position on the ladder and a complete change in attitude from both players & coaching ability
Anything must be better than McGregor ............... anything.

 

[thebigredv]

Very good post, ALSGI.

l can relate to much of you have said and at the time, felt that the Saints & Illawarra were the perfect choice as a joint venture.

Since Bennetts time with us, l felt the Illawarra component took over the club decisions with their placements of coaches and board decisions. Everything was aimed squarely at catering for the explayers into positions, rather than the best people. Successive failures at coaching appointments and the duration of them told me that the board were catering to their own interest and not of the club.

I blame the St George board for allowing this to happen and the Illawarra board for their short sightedness in not addressing the issues sooner.

I'm still ok with the JV as a whole but feel the Gordons have let the club and the fans down immensely.
So much so since the buyout, the clubs decisions seem to have the club listing in favour of Illawarra, with an attitude and lust for mid table mediocrity, for which the St George fan component find offensive.

We not only expect much better, we demand it, hence the reason why the Dragons have had the largest fan base of all. That of course has probably been eroded over the past 10 years.

I have no real expectations for this season, other then sheer hope of a somewhat improved position on the ladder and a complete change in attitude from both players & coaching ability
Anything must be better than McGregor ............... anything.

Very well put - great post.

 

[muzby]

My question was more, who votes? Is it the football club members? Surely if ever they were going to do this, the members in some way would be the ultimate decision makers?

But your post is very informative.

Not 100% sure how that would all work - given half the licence is held by a corporation, essentially they have the call on their side..

RedV members wouldn’t get a vote. They’re just revenue streams, not proper members like you would be of a registered club..

But even if members could vote and voted to dissolve the JV, essentially the licence still belongs to the NRL, not to either party in the JV.

 

[muzby]

It would go to either south east qld or back to st george.

Because channel nine would tell the nrl which was best for ratings and broadcast revenue and three nrl would go with that.

On that basis i think st george would end up with it given history and its ability to get gods traditional rivalries with bunnies, bulldogs, Broncos etc that the others couldn't.

Whilst I believe you are significantly overestimating the “pulling power” of st George, even if all of that was true, the Sydney market is over saturated with clubs.

You won’t see a licence granted to a stand-alone Sydney team in a long, long time.

 

[muzby]

Very good post, ALSGI.

l can relate to much of you have said and at the time, felt that the Saints & Illawarra were the perfect choice as a joint venture.

Since Bennetts time with us, l felt the Illawarra component took over the club decisions with their placements of coaches and board decisions. Everything was aimed squarely at catering for the explayers into positions, rather than the best people. Successive failures at coaching appointments and the duration of them told me that the board were catering to their own interest and not of the club.

I blame the St George board for allowing this to happen and the Illawarra board for their short sightedness in not addressing the issues sooner.

I'm still ok with the JV as a whole but feel the Gordons have let the club and the fans down immensely.
So much so since the buyout, the clubs decisions seem to have the club listing in favour of Illawarra, with an attitude and lust for mid table mediocrity, for which the St George fan component find offensive.

We not only expect much better, we demand it, hence the reason why the Dragons have had the largest fan base of all. That of course has probably been eroded over the past 10 years.

I have no real expectations for this season, other then sheer hope of a somewhat improved position on the ladder and a complete change in attitude from both players & coaching ability
Anything must be better than McGregor ............... anything.

Ahh.. The old Illawarra bogeyman..

He’s great to blame for everything from on field performances to the pokies at the Taj..

The only constant during the post Bennett time has been the st George board & St George CEOs.

We need to drain the swamp before we can get better

 

[Willow]

Speaking of plain hard facts, here are some more:
View attachment 46260 View attachment 46261

De-merge the teams. Give the licence to Illawarra as clearly Kogarah is a wasteland.

Those graphs are very skinny on detail, are unsourced and without verification.

But even with the absence of detail, I know more games have been played at WIN since the JV started. So details like that should be included.

Any argument deserves the facts to be presented in good faith and open to scrutiny.

 

[Willow]

And what did St George win from 1982 to 1998 that makes them more successful than Illawarra?

More semi-finals, more grand finals. No wooden spoons.

 

[Willow]

Remember that time when St George were so broke they tried to merge with the Roosters?

And easts rejected them..

If only Illawarra had been just as selective with their merge partner.. We wouldn’t be in this mess..

Misinformation. The Easts merger attempt was rejected by Saints fans. Easts fans didn't give a crap.

Our then CEO was chased out of town for his involvement.

St George have never been 'broke'. Club admin looking for a self serving buck yes, but broke no.

 

[Willow]

Going to throw this or there also, doors anyone know the process to de-merge?

The Joint Venture (not merger) gets reviewed every 5-6 years or by EGM.

What happens before and after is subject to 'business'.

The current JV is between St George and WIN Corp. Illawarra isn't a financial stakeholder.

 

[redv13]

Remember that time when St George were so broke they tried to merge with the Roosters?

And easts rejected them..

If only Illawarra had been just as selective with their merge partner.. We wouldn’t be in this mess..

Incorrect

 

[Willow]

My question was more, who votes? Is it the football club members? Surely if ever they were going to do this, the members in some way would be the ultimate decision makers?

But your post is very informative.

Football club and Leagues Club members don't vote in St George Illawarra Dragons business matters.

As a St George Leagues Club member, you can vote in new board members, in theory at least. This is a hard road but in my experience, the presence of an opposition ticket tends to shake up the board a bit.

And no disrespect to muzby, but his posts in this thread have been more misleading than 'informative'.

 

[Gareth67]

I disagree.

If we really want to be a premiership threat this year we should jettison the St George baggage and let Illawarra lead us to premiership glory.

Afterall, every single bit of silverware that has been won since 1999 has involved Illawarra.

It’s either been Illawarra stand alone or St George Illawarra.

Absolutely nothing has been won by St George by themselves.

Time to free ourselves of those dinosaur losers and focus on the future.

Viva la Illawarra.

St George can relive past glory in the NSW cup.

Take a couple of BEX powders old boy and have a good lie down .

 

[muzby]

More semi-finals, more grand finals. No wooden spoons.

Still doesn’t answer what was actually won though..

 

[muzby]

And no disrespect to muzby, but his posts in this thread have been more misleading than 'informative'.

I speak nothing but fact..

 

[muzby]

Misinformation. The Easts merger attempt was rejected by Saints fans. Easts fans didn't give a crap.

Our then CEO was chased out of town for his involvement.

St George have never been 'broke'. Club admin looking for a self serving buck yes, but broke no.

Was they the Saints fans who were making death threats against the ceo?

Classy folk them..

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

OMG that last part will explode heads! Lol

Shite Mills that last team would do my head in for good

 

[Willow]

Still doesn’t answer what was actually won though..

70s, 80s, 90s... we fans always thought we were a chance. There was brief dip in the 80s, at the time it was intolerable. But that was nothing compared to what we've seen post-2000.

Conversely, we now a situation where a brief upturn in fortunes over 20 years is the norm.

We now have a generation of supporters who simply don't have those old expectations.

Sorry if memories piss people off. But these expectations were genuine.

 

[muzby]

70s, 80s, 90s... we fans always thought we were a chance. There was brief dip in the 80s, at the time it was intolerable. But that was nothing compared to what we've seen post-2000.

Conversely, we now a situation where a brief upturn in fortunes over 20 years is the norm.

We now have a generation of supporters who simply don't have those old expectations.

Sorry if memories piss people off. But these expectations were genuine.

We did pretty damn well up till Creeping left us..

1st 10 seasons of the JV we made a grand final, 2 prelim finals + made the finals a few other times..

Then add on 2 minor premierships and a premiership in the next couple of years and we’re flying..

We achieved more in the first 12 seasons than St George and Illawarra could over the previous 20 seasons..

We’ve just had a really, really, really shit patch after Bennett left, and we’ve only just cleaned out the dead wood last season..

And I believe modern day supporters also have high expectations..

You only have to look at the drop off in memberships to see that..