The Rumours Thread

[RedVee_8]

These guys are all off contract at the end of the year. So not sure why they would specifically mention that they are free to look elsewhere - we aren't renewing their contracts anyway. The DT has moved onto the next target to throw shit at.

Difficult to see how they have derived that our cap is in a bad position.

Not even Burns ?

 

[BIG RIG]

These guys are all off contract at the end of the year. So not sure why they would specifically mention that they are free to look elsewhere - we aren't renewing their contracts anyway. The DT has moved onto the next target to throw shit at.

Difficult to see how they have derived that our cap is in a bad position.

Well they stated that Lomax is on 550 k every year till 2026 which is ridiculous IMO

Suli and Molo both on 500 k

Sullivan and Amone have upgrades in there contract over the next few years

JDB on 700 k which is ridiculous IMO

 

[redv13]

According to the Daily Telegraph we are in a very bad salary cap position were we cannot sign any players for next year

Telegraph has stated that

All of
- Josh McGuire
- Tautau Moga
- Jackson Ford
- Billy Burns
- Jack Gosiewski
- Poasa Fa’amusili

have been told they are free to negotiate and leave the club

Also stated in the article is that Josh Kerr has requested to test his value on the open market which has been granted

And it has also been said that they may need to tap someone on the shoulder and tell them they are no longer required - Both Jack De Belin and Zac Lomax have been names as potential options

Ben Hunt may need to take a 400 000 dollar pay cut to stay at the club

whilst it looks like George Burgess will be tapped in the shoulder to leave and Aaron Woods will not have his 1 year option taken up

Moose going to ESL

Moga is no loss

Ford, great for Reggie’s, can’t handle the step up to 1st grade. Reminds me of Lee Murphy back in the day.

Burns definitely keep

Gosie hasn’t been to bad when given the chance. Probably keep for depth, not much coin

Poasa has been very disappointing and can go elsewhere

 

[Dragon David]

Boy do I ever dislike the journos and media people. They just like to create a monster out of a mole hill every time. How the hell do they know what our salary cap situation is like? How do they know who is going and who is staying? How do they know that Hook is under pressure?
How do they know???????

Best to close your eyes and ears when these attention grabbing grovellers say anything.

I think that True Believers comments are the best for us to bear in mind for our future. It is all going to take time and I know that most on here are fed up with how things are travelling with us at the moment and the same scenario happens each year and it seems like forever, but somehow I think that we can be really going great guns from next year.

 

[jak]

Boy do I ever dislike the journos and media people. They just like to create a monster out of a mole hill every time. How the hell do they know what our salary cap situation is like? How do they know who is going and who is staying? How do they know that Hook is under pressure?
How do they know???????

Best to close your eyes and ears when these attention grabbing grovellers say anything.

I think that True Believers comments are the best for us to bear in mind for our future. It is all going to take time and I know that most on here are fed up with how things are travelling with us at the moment and the same scenario happens each year and it seems like forever, but somehow I think that we can be really going great guns from next year.

at our age dave i hope your right when you say as from next year, i refuse to drop of the perch until the dragons are back were they should be.

 

[Dragon David]

at our age dave i hope your right when you say as from next year, i refuse to drop of the perch until the dragon are back were they should be.

You and me both jak. I'm turning 76 early next year just before the first ball is kicked to start the 2023 comp. I hope that the good lawd allows me to witness the Dragons winning game after game and eventually take out the competition as we have all been waiting for.

 

[True_Believer]

Not even Burns ?

Ah I didn't see Burns there. As @redv13 has listed them out, I pretty much am of the same thoughts. We still need depth so I'd say we'll potentially keep a couple of them. Am not thinking that many of these players are on much money anyway.

 

[True_Believer]

Well they stated that Lomax is on 550 k every year till 2026 which is ridiculous IMO

Suli and Molo both on 500 k

Sullivan and Amone have upgrades in there contract over the next few years

JDB on 700 k which is ridiculous IMO

So just out of those players you've mentioned (and assuming those figures are correct), adding in Hunt for next year (basing it on the supposed $1.2mill), you've got approx $3.5 mill out of $10 mill for 2023. Players like Sullivan, Amone, Ramsay, Rav, the Feaguis' and the Molo brother will be on not much at all so any upgrades will have minimal impact on the cap. Sua is probably on maybe 500? Bird on 550 from next year.

We are also still performing a clean out which includes $700k from Sims. So I'd struggle to see how we wouldn't have money in the cap.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

certainly helps set the ceiling in negotiations

very clever leak

we have $

 

[Yow]

certainly helps set the ceiling in negotiations

very clever leak

we have $

Last week the papers said how Broncos are letting go of 5 to 6 players go to sign Walsh are they going with a squad of 25 ? Or were is that money coming from?

 

[Gardenia]

pre judgment without knowing is a very shallow thing to throw around at total strangers, you know piff about me, i live breath sleep dragons and ride every play...since 1975, im not as old as some of course! but im a former player from Qld , a great country club, live league , but dragons mad since a child, but i live in the bush and i literally mean, in trees , in a very remote place, the actual bush in a bus, so dont have f all net coverage nor partake of screen life except dragons games alone and lately joining thus forum, i dont watch tv nor go near ANY media in 30 years, i only speak for myself and am never a follower pfft!

I wouldnt be too concerned Bud. She/He gets their ideas from home and away reruns.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

I tend to agree though I think there are certain times to strike aka last year we could have picked up a Mahoney, Papali or Hynes and not broke the bank. Sometimes it is timing and opportunity but essentially you are correct. Things will get extra tight with Bennett and a 17th team entering.

I look at the Tigers paying too much for Kieran Foran, a good player way at the end of his career and I just think "really"? I don't see that ending too well. They look at us with Macca, Woods and Mbye and think the same but at least they barely factor into the cap.

The Panthers are the pioneers of how to build success from grassroots. They give a blueprint for how it is done.I don't have a problem with giving recognition to other clubs as I mature as an individual but isn't everyone getting sick of looking over at Robinson, Bellamy and the Panthers etc covetously.. I don't know what is up with our structure and personnel but we have been really missing out with junior development for quite some time.
Some you hear of and wait and wait and wait for, many are lost (Schiller's try yesterday, Garrick every week...), and some just underwhelm when they hit the big time at Dragons due to a combination of problems, none the least the first grade coach.

I'm thinking we need to consider looking to super league for some recruits. Maybe those players don't know how bad we are yet.

Schiller's try was top draw and as you say Garrick is a class act-on and off the field- a case could easily have been made for keeping them but we seem to produce or recruit those sorts of players regularly. The loss of Robson however was criminal. Attracting and developing quality hookers and big aggressive, damaging forwards seems to be our problem. The Sharks found Royce Hunt and Hamlin-Uele- why couldn't we?

How is team that has been miles from making the 8 under salary cap pressure? Either club incompetence, officials lacking the skills to run a football organisation or the salary cap system is a joke, or combination of the 3. Given our woeful performances and still being under salary cap pressure if you believe the press, what chance do we, or other lower ranked teams have in attracting quality players that cost more and remain under the cap. As Toovey said "there needs to be an enquiry".

Well, these are fair questions but I'd word the first one a little differently- how can a team that relies so heavily on one player, that has a terrible for and against record and that blows a very favourable draw to be now out of the eight, be having salary cap problems? I don't expect to get an official reply.

 

[BLM01]

According to the Daily Telegraph we are in a very bad salary cap position were we cannot sign any players for next year

Telegraph has stated that

All of
- Josh McGuire
- Tautau Moga
- Jackson Ford
- Billy Burns
- Jack Gosiewski
- Poasa Fa’amusili

have been told they are free to negotiate and leave the club

Also stated in the article is that Josh Kerr has requested to test his value on the open market which has been granted

And it has also been said that they may need to tap someone on the shoulder and tell them they are no longer required - Both Jack De Belin and Zac Lomax have been names as potential options

Ben Hunt may need to take a 400 000 dollar pay cut to stay at the club

whilst it looks like George Burgess will be tapped in the shoulder to leave and Aaron Woods will not have his 1 year option taken up

Woods option is in his favour not ours. It is up to him not to take it

 

[BLM01]

How long did the Panthers take to rebuild? We laugh at the "5 year plan" of Gould, but the reality is that's at least what it takes.

They started to rebuild in 2011 after finishing 2nd on the ladder. Dropped out of the 8 for 3 years and then have yoyo'd in and out of the 8 for the next 6 years. It wasn't until 2020 that they really started to reap the benefits of their junior program.

We on the other hand have wallowed in obscurity for pretty much the same period. Relying on unproven rookie coaches to pull us out of the mire. No grand plan in mind. Made a couple of finals appearances in that time but in reality we were always just making up the numbers.

Webb arrives in 2020 and we immediately take steps to move on Mary. Since then he's slowly chipped away at a plan to build a more consistent club with a goal of keeping it in the top 8. Covid hits and we lose the NSW cup. Sets us back a couple of years. In Hooks first year BBQ gate creates another disruption to the process but we take action and remove the instigator. We also start to offload some deadwood and bring the cap back into a respectable space. The CoE has been approved and we are taking our first steps to establishing a more professional approach to our pathways and nrl team.

We bring in experience on low cost short contracts to buy time to find the right players to recruit and build juniors. Still difficult with quality players unavailable to fill the gaps without paying overs and juniors only just starting to get time in NSW cup. Still, we recruit players like Suli, Sua and Molo which starts the ball rolling.

Yes, we still have a ways to go, but if we step back and have a good look, we are really only in the first year of the rebuild.

Anybody who thinks this is a quick fix is kidding themselves.

Agree but if performances dont improve from past 2 efforts Hook wont be part of it

 

[Dragonslayer]

I would take what has been written by him with a very large grain of salt.

 

[BIG RIG]

Woods option is in his favour not ours. It is up to him not to take it

It’s actually a mutual option also dependent on if he plays a certain amount of games

 

[RedVDave]

Really McCullough has avoided the tap on the shoulder? He's probably at least on $300K worst player at the club by a country mile.

 

[Gareth67]

at our age dave i hope your right when you say as from next year, i refuse to drop of the perch until the dragons are back were they should be.

I was only thinking the same thing this morning jak . However the Dragons have been towards the lower end of the ladder for so many years ( except for 2018 when our Mary guided the mighty Dragons to the semis - those were the days ! ) now I was wondering if I had another 12 years of life left ?

All I can say is that I hope they have Foxtel up their where they hand out the angel wings .

 

[jak]

I was only thinking the same thing this morning jak . However the Dragons have been towards the lower end of the ladder for so many years ( except for 2018 when our Mary guided the mighty Dragons to the semis - those were the days ! ) now I was wondering if I had another 12 years of life left ?

All I can say is that I hope they have Foxtel up their where they hand out the angel wings .

good to hear from you ol fela

 

[Gareth67]

good to hear from you ol fela

Thanks my friend . I had been crook for a while and only posted occasionally , however I am back to my old self once again . The doc told me not to do anything too strenuous in future , so I have delegated the mowing of the lawns to my darling Ethel who promptly told me what to do with it .

But back to the Dragons , sincerely hope that there is a complete clean out of the club’s hierarchy and have the right people in place to bring back some respectability to the St.George Illawarra club , players , fans and their regions .