The Rumours Thread

[John moz]

Don't feed the trolls! That guy has never posted anything legit as far as rumours go. He just either makes stuff up or regurgitates news stories that everyone else already knows about.

You are a dead set idiot it was on Peter Ossulivan recruitment manager from Dolphins.

 

[since77]

You are a dead set idiot it was on Peter Ossulivan recruitment manager from Dolphins.

lol dude

1. well known EVERYWHERE that we were chasing him.
2. you can't even spell his name properly.

Zero credibility. Can't wait for your next hot rumour.

 

[Sage63]

You are a dead set idiot it was on Peter Ossulivan recruitment manager from Dolphins.

Dear JMozz, can I kindly suggest that you hold off submitting any rumours unless they are substantiated or confirmed.!?
I realize that you're probably seeking acknowledgement &/or significance, but your rumours are currently not respected or credited
By most forum members.

 

[Wolfgang90]

We nearly had POS but got pipped at the last minute. We have a problem closing deals...

 

[Parko1310]

We nearly had POS but got pipped at the last minute. We have a problem closing deals...

These idiots never learn. Get the f**king contract printed and get it signed. Just. Get. It. DONE. God they're useless

 

[John moz]

Again this rumour was back in May they had a new recruitment manager in POS verbally agreed again it took weeks to get him to officially sign then he is with Newcastle.
Repeat of Wayne Bennett leaving Newcastle agreed to sign with Dragons with in 24 hours he officially signed with Broncos.
The Board is still divided and always some Board member leaks it to the media before it's a done deal .

 

[Old Timer]

Maybe we get linked to players etc that we should never be linked to and the false link is for no other reason than it gives S F some form of credibility in the media and of course the "oh it's always the BOD fault" arguement means people look elsewhere to apportion blame.

Maybe it's location, maybe it's Hunt, maybe it's D Y in waiting, maybe it's the BOD, maybe it's S F or maybe it's bits and pieces of all of the above but just maybe the very best players and their managers don't rate us as a club, Wollongong as a home or any of our coaches post 2011.

S F was for all intents and purposes is supposed to be the honey pot and if he can't attract the bees and the bears then let's not f**k around for 3 years.

If we have turned the corner and are on the improve as some people believe then nothing less than 2 premier signings will be sufficient and for mine Cook is not a premier signing.

 

[Sage63]

Maybe we get linked to players etc that we should never be linked to and the false link is for no other reason than it gives S F some form of credibility in the media and of course the "oh it's always the BOD fault" arguement means people look elsewhere to apportion blame.

Maybe it's location, maybe it's Hunt, maybe it's D Y in waiting, maybe it's the BOD, maybe it's S F or maybe it's bits and pieces of all of the above but just maybe the very best players and their managers don't rate us as a club, Wollongong as a home or any of our coaches post 2011.

S F was for all intents and purposes is supposed to be the honey pot and if he can't attract the bees and the bears then let's not f**k around for 3 years.

If we have turned the corner and are on the improve as some people believe then nothing less than 2 premier signings will be sufficient and for mine Cook is not a premier signing.

"S F was for all intents and purposes is supposed to be the honey pot and if he can't attract the bees and the bears then let's not f**k around for 3 years."
So, tell us all ,what is your well-intentioned suggestion to improve matters with this club.
By the way, good on you OT, you've got a thumbs up from that fanatically-devoted Saints supporter, I'm Hornby.
well done mate!!

 

[FlickFlano]

just wait until all these positive juniors we have playing ball and flegg for St George and the JV realise they dont have to commute from the western suburbs to wollongong .. they can actually get a gig with a decent sydney club ...

The likes of Tonga/Halangahu/Latu ...

That is going to be fun.

 

[RedVee]

The Tigers telecast suggested that 5 of their SG Ball squad of 2 years ago had now played NRL for them.
I guess that’s what we need to implement over the next few years.

 

[Old Timer]

"S F was for all intents and purposes is supposed to be the honey pot and if he can't attract the bees and the bears then let's not f**k around for 3 years."
So, tell us all ,what is your well-intentioned suggestion to improve matters with this club.
By the way, good on you OT, you've got a thumbs up from that fanatically-devoted Saints supporter, I'm Hornby.
well done mate!!

As you would already know I was never on the S F bus.

Unless you are getting Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson or Webster forget all the existing coaches and all the established past coaches as well.

Move forward and get out of the time warp we are caught in and start a new era and ditch all the shit that we keep sifting through time and time again..

Our signings this year to me represent that willingness to keep going back to the well that supposedly served coaches well years ago or the propensity to get flawed players that they somehow think will become reliable or seek those players that perform adequately in very short stints at very good clubs with great rosters and established systems.

Nu Brown, Leilua, Eisenhuth, Sele, C T all reek of those elements and in the meantime we seem to think that some 19 year old's have shown enough to say they won't make it due to the very flaws some of the aforementioned have in spades.

Hannay, Ryles, Hornby have done their apprenticeships and now is their time so let's get on a rollercoaster with them & get some fresh air in our hair rather than getting an eye full of soot as we ride yet another slow coach steam train to nowhere.

 

[since77]

As you would already know I was never on the S F bus.

Unless you are getting Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson or Webster forget all the existing coaches and all the established past coaches as well.

Move forward and get out of the time warp we are caught in and start a new era and ditch all the shit that we keep sifting through time and time again..

Our signings this year to me represent that willingness to keep going back to the well that supposedly served coaches well years ago or the propensity to get flawed players that they somehow think will become reliable or seek those players that perform adequately in very short stints at very good clubs with great rosters and established systems.

Nu Brown, Leilua, Eisenhuth, Sele, C T all reek of those elements and in the meantime we seem to think that some 19 year old's have shown enough to say they won't make it due to the very flaws some of the aforementioned have in spades.

Hannay, Ryles, Hornby have done their apprenticeships and now is their time so let's get on a rollercoaster with them & get some fresh air in our hair rather than getting an eye full of soot as we ride yet another slow coach steam train to nowhere.

You seem to be judging SF based on who he has signed (and yeah I know you have some "moral" issues as well).
This is a bit of a red herring. SF is severely hamstrung by the predicament the club got itself into with the McGregor and Griffin fiascos. There's just no one out there to sign. Are you seriously telling me all the rookies you've nominated as supposedly better choices would have signed anyone better? Because you're deadset dreaming if you think they were going to recruit better than what SF has in his first year.
SF was stuck picking the best of a really bad bunch. As he is on record saying many times this year - the pickings are really slim. We're still paying for more than a decade of incompetence by our board. Still paying for the braindead decision to continue with Griffin for another year - ironically so the club could supposedly recruit better.....
I agree that some (but not all) of our new recruits are "mediocre" - the sad thing is they are improvements on what we had. But you're just plain wrong on Eisenhuth - he was an astute signing. Not elite by any means but blind Freddy can see what he adds to the squad.
I really don't know what people were expecting this year. I expected modest improvement. Nothing more because nothing more was going to be possible with the roster we have. And if all those amazing big name recruits you're suggesting are out there won't come for Flanno they sure as hell aren't coming for rookie L Plate coaches Ryles, Hannay, Hornby etc.....
Fixing this team will be slow.
The coach we have was the right choice IMO. We're ahead of where we were this time last year, and yeah I know that's not saying much. More improvement is going to be slow and frustrating. At some point we'll jag a big name and things will slowly start to click together.
I hate the position the club has got itself into because of its own incompetence. But out of the coaches available at the time, SF is the only one I'd pick to drag us out of this. I'm convinced anyone else would have sent us reeling even further backwards.

 

[<StGeorgeDragons>]

The club needs a full review.

Even the Tigers get deals done.

Rubbish board sitting pretty and ruining the entire experience of being a Dragons fan.


same has been said for last 10 years….

 

[Dragon David]

The club needs a full review.

Even the Tigers get deals done.

Rubbish board sitting pretty and ruining the entire experience of being a Dragons fan.


same has been said for last 10 years….

We keep on giving it to the Board and I feel they deserve it. The Board members are the ones who have the power (unfortunately) that decide our destiny and they are the ones that are needed to be more proactive in getting the right people on board and they have the duty of care to hire those good people and fire the incompetent ones.

All through the terrible tenures of Mary McGregor and Hook Griffin (not including Steve Price as he was more or less a caretaker for a shortish period after Bennett) we have wanted the club to sack them both for their incompetence but rather than do that they extend their tenures.
Blind Freddy could see that by doing that we would become a spent force and unable to attract decent players but were able to attract rejects and journeymen.

Whether or not Flanno is the right guy to be the Head Coach is debatable. The Board didn't head hunt him and it was the decision made by the Board to hire him because the first choice, Jason Ryles, had doubts about many things with the club's overall operations and opted not to take up the contract to coach the Dragons. Would he have been any good? We won't know now and we are putting our faith in Flanno to make us better, which will take time making life frustrating for impatient fans like me. What's another couple of years of mediocrity? We have had over a decade of it so we should be used to it. LOL.

 

[Revesby boy]

I have been a member of JA since its inception and while I don’t post every 5min like some in here I do read about 95% of all the posts and I’m actually ashamed of the number of people who are happy to bag S.F and appear to be happy when the team loses so they can keep bagging him, I hated Mary but I wished him nothing but success because I knew if he was successful my beloved Dragons would be winning, I feel that people wanting S.F to be sacked have to realise that also means they are hoping for the Dragons to lose , shame, shame,shame.

 

[TheRev]

The Tigers telecast suggested that 5 of their SG Ball squad of 2 years ago had now played NRL for them.
I guess that’s what we need to implement over the next few years.

I still havent got my head around whats happening.. it feels like every club has an 18 or 19yr old (or 3) in and around first grade.. most of them look incredible... our SG ball side that just won the title.. well none of those players have moved up to even reserve grade yet.. the 2 that have are from the steelers SG side...

Tbf though.. those 2 steelers.. LKT & Buchanan are 'just' handling reserves... there is a good reason why they arent in 1st grade.. im just confused why our juniors dont seem to fly through like the other clubs.

There are a few young dragons who I think will have a faster path thru.. Williams (as a winger) and Tonga (big body).. I mean Ackers has a dev spot right now too.. but has had an average year with injury I suspect.

Finally there r the 2022-2023 SG kids.. BRumble has the attack for first grade but think he would have a tonne to learn in every other facet of the role. Hamish Stewart is in our 1st grade squad next year, he needs more time in reserves as well.. was good that he got a run on the weekend.. but a long way to go.

It makes me realise just how impressive the Couchmans have been to do so well in reserve grade @ 20yrs old.

 

[TheRev]

just wait until all these positive juniors we have playing ball and flegg for St George and the JV realise they dont have to commute from the western suburbs to wollongong .. they can actually get a gig with a decent sydney club ...

The likes of Tonga/Halangahu/Latu ...

That is going to be fun.

f**k r they still living at home out penrith way? They r in the first grade system next year, I know we have some people who put kids up.. but definitely need individual plans for these ones.

 

[saintmar]

So which player did we supposedly mis

You seem to be judging SF based on who he has signed (and yeah I know you have some "moral" issues as well).
This is a bit of a red herring. SF is severely hamstrung by the predicament the club got itself into with the McGregor and Griffin fiascos. There's just no one out there to sign. Are you seriously telling me all the rookies you've nominated as supposedly better choices would have signed anyone better? Because you're deadset dreaming if you think they were going to recruit better than what SF has in his first year.
SF was stuck picking the best of a really bad bunch. As he is on record saying many times this year - the pickings are really slim. We're still paying for more than a decade of incompetence by our board. Still paying for the braindead decision to continue with Griffin for another year - ironically so the club could supposedly recruit better.....
I agree that some (but not all) of our new recruits are "mediocre" - the sad thing is they are improvements on what we had. But you're just plain wrong on Eisenhuth - he was an astute signing. Not elite by any means but blind Freddy can see what he adds to the squad.
I really don't know what people were expecting this year. I expected modest improvement. Nothing more because nothing more was going to be possible with the roster we have. And if all those amazing big name recruits you're suggesting are out there won't come for Flanno they sure as hell aren't coming for rookie L Plate coaches Ryles, Hannay, Hornby etc.....
Fixing this team will be slow.
The coach we have was the right choice IMO. We're ahead of where we were this time last year, and yeah I know that's not saying much. More improvement is going to be slow and frustrating. At some point we'll jag a big name and things will slowly start to click together.
I hate the position the club has got itself into because of its own incompetence. But out of the coaches available at the time, SF is the only one I'd pick to drag us out of this. I'm convinced anyone else would have sent us reeling even further backwards.

Let’s agree to disagree about the recruitment side of things because the reality is Flano doesn’t seem to be able to influence players to want to join and play under him.
If Wayne was here he would have signed at least half of the 15 or so players we have chased with the same supposed bad current board
More disappointing is the retention side of things.
I feel massive mistakes have been made and these Decisions appear to have been mainly made by flano
Not allowing Hunt to go and keeping him as captain -WOW
Allowing Lomax to go particularly after being firm on not allowing Hunt to go and not yet having secured Blaize
Losing Tamale probably because we thought we had Blaize
Not giving JDB 2 years and risk losing him
Wayne can see the value of Jack for at least 2 years Flano only sees one year for now and is willing to risk losing him.
Who do we think has got it right?
IMO Jacks’ experience would be invaluable bringing our young guys through.
Lets see what he does with Bird because imo he needs to move him on.
Lastly the profile of the coach in recruitment and the decisions in retention are a massive part of the coaches role and sucess of the team. In my opinion at the moment we are heading in the wrong direction.

 

[Old Timer]

You seem to be judging SF based on who he has signed (and yeah I know you have some "moral" issues as well).
This is a bit of a red herring. SF is severely hamstrung by the predicament the club got itself into with the McGregor and Griffin fiascos. There's just no one out there to sign. Are you seriously telling me all the rookies you've nominated as supposedly better choices would have signed anyone better? Because you're deadset dreaming if you think they were going to recruit better than what SF has in his first year.
SF was stuck picking the best of a really bad bunch. As he is on record saying many times this year - the pickings are really slim. We're still paying for more than a decade of incompetence by our board. Still paying for the braindead decision to continue with Griffin for another year - ironically so the club could supposedly recruit better.....
I agree that some (but not all) of our new recruits are "mediocre" - the sad thing is they are improvements on what we had. But you're just plain wrong on Eisenhuth - he was an astute signing. Not elite by any means but blind Freddy can see what he adds to the squad.
I really don't know what people were expecting this year. I expected modest improvement. Nothing more because nothing more was going to be possible with the roster we have. And if all those amazing big name recruits you're suggesting are out there won't come for Flanno they sure as hell aren't coming for rookie L Plate coaches Ryles, Hannay, Hornby etc.....
Fixing this team will be slow.
The coach we have was the right choice IMO. We're ahead of where we were this time last year, and yeah I know that's not saying much. More improvement is going to be slow and frustrating. At some point we'll jag a big name and things will slowly start to click together.
I hate the position the club has got itself into because of its own incompetence. But out of the coaches available at the time, SF is the only one I'd pick to drag us out of this. I'm convinced anyone else would have sent us reeling even further backwards.

I don’t agree as lots of good players have changed clubs.

You can try and justify the Nu Brown, C T signings all you like they are pure dog shit and the Warriors 5/8 fiasco was little better.

Marschke probably reasonable but not in favour hard to fathom.

Leilua lazy as always and Eisenhuth is good for 40 or so minutes but is anything but a starting big minute player. Does he perform better than what we had yes he does but that is not the criteria we should be using ask yourself is he tge sort of player any of the top 8 would immediately sign and that is the correct criteria for signing such players.

Now if you said to me he is signed to captain reserve grade and lead the great young players and then occasionally fill in in the to grade I would applaud the logic.

L L was a panic signing for mine.

 

[since77]

I don’t agree as lots of good players have changed clubs.

You can try and justify the Nu Brown, C T signings all you like they are pure dog shit and the Warriors 5/8 fiasco was little better.

Marschke probably reasonable but not in favour hard to fathom.

Leilua lazy as always and Eisenhuth is good for 40 or so minutes but is anything but a starting big minute player. Does he perform better than what we had yes he does but that is not the criteria we should be using ask yourself is he tge sort of player any of the top 8 would immediately sign and that is the correct criteria for signing such players.

Now if you said to me he is signed to captain reserve grade and lead the great young players and then occasionally fill in in the to grade I would applaud the logic.

L L was a panic signing for mine.

You are missing the point. You're saying your kindergarten coaches could have done better with recruitment. Enlighten me on who these highly sought after rookies score for us?

I never justified Nu Brown or CT. Agree they're both very underwhelming at best. Both unnecessary IMO.

As for others - LL & RFM, Eisenhuth and Sele - regardless of where they fit in the bad to good spectrum are all upgrades on the dog poo we had in those positions last year. Our forwards are objectively better than they were last year, or perhaps its at least less smellier dog poo......Do we need better? Yes, of course - especially a prop or two. Know of any available?
You keep telling me your rookie coaches would have signed better players than SF for 2024. Who are the big names your kindergarten coaches would have signed to be playing for us this year?

We're an unattractive club because the club has been run like a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle since 2012 and we're lucky the Tigers have been run worse. They've signed some big players for '25 - but they've paid massive overs for them and they're still stuck with L Plate Benji coaching them. I'd still rather be sitting where the Dragons are now than where the Tigers will be next year.

You're blinkered with your dislike of SF. Blame the board. They got us here.