Given there's not much else to read here in regards to signing. I'll post a excerpt from a letter written to the CEO some time last year and I will include the reply I received from Webb. Grateful he bothered to reply, but more than a year on I think it says enough about the continual inaction of our club to do what it needs to do and put the bed the torment of being grade A losers without the cattle to actually go for a trophy which is what it is all about.
Following the Dragons has been a major part of my life since I was 7 years old. Through my most impressionable years of the early and late 90s St George saw a lot of near success but we never quite reached the pinnacle. The thing is I was always proud that the team with the big red v consistently assembled a competitive team with clever coaches and inspiring individual players. It was a very bittersweet time to be a Dragons fan as it was usually a case of so close yet so far but, crucially, I'd always thank my lucky stars that we were at least a relevant and competitive team with an abundance of pride. My curious mind at the time had to try hard to imagine what it would be like to not be a competitive and proud team. "I wonder what it is like to be the struggling Wests or the Seagulls" I would think.
Well. Now I know. We all do.
And while you can't be at the top all the time it has now been a solid decade or more of shame for those who have always had an allegiance to the club.
You and I both know the story of what followed the 90s. For years our team of stars couldn't win a premiership so eventually our CEO lands a champion coach who brings instant success to the club...it's very little wonder that this brought us the success we'd long yearned for.
I realise you have only joined the scene in recent times but why does it feel the administration of our club is still trying to feed off the success of 2010?
Why are we not exerting a proper effort to get back to the top?
Why are the fans who keep the club afloat treated with such disdain that nothing is ever communicated to them? Completely left in the dark until another season has come and went.
Decisions are clearly clouded by disunity at the board ranks and usually based on what is most convenient - see the resigning of McGregor in 2019 and Griffin in 2022. If my assertion weren't the case we'd at least have an interim coach in now to send the message that "mediocrity is not accepted at this proud club". But alas we are shoveled the same silent treatment followed by the same amatuer performance on field, then before we know it September looms, no finals action and worse yet, zero plans are in place for the following season - rinse, lather, repeat.
Relevance as a club. Gone.
Pride for the club. Absent.
Sincere effort to compete. A distant memory.
I will tell you, now that my two children have reached that age when I fell in love with the Dragons I could not pay them enough to sit through a Dragons match and adopt the team as their own. Their novice understanding of the game is enough for them to know something is very wrong with the team. I can't blame them. I'm hanging around because I am a tragic but it really hurts by this stage, and to be honest I wish I wasn't rusted on so I didn't have to endure it week in, week out.
I realise nobody at the club will be content with what we are seeing but we've seen similar struggling clubs like the Cowboys, Broncos, Bulldogs and Tigers move heaven and Earth in the player market and off the field to bring success to the club. What do we have Ryan? What are we actually doing?
Webb's reply.
Thanks for the note.
In my relatively short time here I haven’t got the feeling that people are living off past successes.
Everyone is focused on building a winning club and frustrated with the recent results that see us positioned where we are. The guys are playing with heart (and feeling these losses) but are doing undisciplined things that expose them.
There are a lot of talks happening but all behind closed doors to ensure things are respectful and confidential. Hopefully in time you and other fans will see the outcome and understand the time it has taken.
Our biggest challenge isn’t getting talent to the club, it’s getting the best out of the players we have. We have a great stream of players under 23 coming through and need to take advantage of that.
I hope you start to see some positive signs shortly and that reinvigorates your passion for the club.
Kind regards,
Ryan
