The Rumours Thread

[BLM01]

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.

How is Webster going this year. Behind us it seems with their multi $$$ squad. But hey he talks well and seems a nice bloke and cares for his players. I like him and he did great last year but he has RTS, Capewell this year and lost nobody and is a fav to many.
But go on keep bagging SF..sure, some of our football have been terrible but
after 16 Rounds we will be in front of the Warriors.. who would of thought!,
bit of perspective needed by quite a few on here with the squad SF started with compared to Webster

 

[rasaint]

Hi All, I know Shane Flanagan has noted from the get go that it would be an advantage to train up in Kogarah each week. It seemed he was musing that the sheer distance to Wollongong is a deterrent factor in landing quality signings and keeping them. I guess to travel to Sydney for whatever reason or live in Sydney means at least a 45 minute trip down ( from Sutherland Shire ) and near 1 1/2 hours from inner Sydney
city. That’s a long return trip.

I have enjoyed visits to Wollongong and it seems a nice place; coastal suburbs north and south to set up camp. I know Wayne Bennent lived in the gong in his stint with us.

Do my fellow posters feel that the distance to the Gong is a drawback to gaining quality recruits? certainly, Wollongong has produced some fine players over the years.

 

[denis preston]

Hi All, I know Shane Flanagan has noted from the get go that it would be an advantage to train up in Kogarah each week. It seemed he was musing that the sheer distance to Wollongong is a deterrent factor in landing quality signings and keeping them. I guess to travel to Sydney for whatever reason or live in Sydney means at least a 45 minute trip down ( from Sutherland Shire ) and near 1 1/2 hours from inner Sydney
city. That’s a long return trip.

I have enjoyed visits to Wollongong and it seems a nice place; coastal suburbs north and south to set up camp. I know Wayne Bennent lived in the gong in his stint with us.

Do my fellow posters feel that the distance to the Gong is a drawback to gaining quality recruits? certainly, Wollongong has produced some fine players over the years.

IMO no. To the players we negotiate from south west Sydney, NSW county, QLD& NZ it shouldn’t be a issue , in fact for Matthew’s, Ball & Flegg it’s a plus for parents that their young boys won’t be thrown into the depravity of Sydney !

 

[Trifili13]

Travelling to Wollongong to me is an excuse. I would say a lot of people travel more than an hour to get to work each day each way and on a lot less money than what rugby league players earn. You never hear that Melbourne or Brisbane is too far to travel so they can attract players. I would say most players would jump at the chance to play for the Broncos that are 1000kms away from Sydney but a 1 hour drive south is too far.

 

[Inisai Toga]

….at times yes I do think it’s a factor, but too many things going for the area and the club as a whole that I think could counterbalance it. It’s a good sell imo!
When these stories hit the press, I think they are far away from ‘closed deals’ and it appears like Saints are simply used as pawns in the negotiations process. Interestingly, many of our signings often come when no-one in the press or this forum knows anything about it.
Having said that, maybe others are clubs are selling either their location/place, their club/teams immediate and long term future, along with the players after football future more effectively. Can’t say, as I wouldn’t know, but something doesn’t seem to be working based on our conversion rate over a considerable period.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Do my fellow posters feel that the distance to the Gong is a drawback to gaining quality recruits? certainly, Wollongong has produced some fine players over the years.

I've always felt it was an issue. How big an issue is hard to quantify but I'm sure it's there. Yes Wollongong is a great place to live, and for someone starting their career or on the last-chance roundabout it's probably not a problem. But if you're an established first grader, with only a 2 year contract on the table, do you relocate at some cost to yourself or do you commute? If your family/partner/significant other don't want to relocate then you have to commute. And while an extra hours drive each way is not the end of the world, it's an extra 10 hours a week you don't get paid for. Look at the interchange of players between Wests Tigers, Penrith, Parramatta and Canterbury, players often choose to go to a nearby club, and you can't help but wonder if the commute comes in to their thinking.

For me the issue boils down to this - if another Sydney club tables a similar offer, we've lost. We don't offer better facilities, better career prospects, 3rd party sponsorship opportunities, or the likelihood of playing finals footy. To a Sydney based player all we offer is a longer trip to and from work. Luke Keary had the choice between commuting to Wollongong or jumping the back fence to go to the Roosters. I know what I'd do.

 

[since77]

Hi All, I know Shane Flanagan has noted from the get go that it would be an advantage to train up in Kogarah each week. It seemed he was musing that the sheer distance to Wollongong is a deterrent factor in landing quality signings and keeping them. I guess to travel to Sydney for whatever reason or live in Sydney means at least a 45 minute trip down ( from Sutherland Shire ) and near 1 1/2 hours from inner Sydney
city. That’s a long return trip.

I have enjoyed visits to Wollongong and it seems a nice place; coastal suburbs north and south to set up camp. I know Wayne Bennent lived in the gong in his stint with us.

Do my fellow posters feel that the distance to the Gong is a drawback to gaining quality recruits? certainly, Wollongong has produced some fine players over the years.

I went skydiving down there late last year and have been to a few Wollongong games. Every time I make the trip I try to find a reason that my wife will agree to for moving down there by the beach. Seems like a great part of the world to me. But she has too many friends up here so.........
I live up in the Blue Mountains currently so a 1.5 hour drive to get to the city for a concert or event is completely normal to me.
And every time I drive to Sydney I remember why I moved out of the city.

 

[Mojo]

Probably simplistic to suggest that we ask the players and managers etc who have accepted alternative offers what were the deciding factors?

 

[Coffs dragon]

I’d rather live in the south coast Gong area than Kogarah/Rockdale area.
Wayne Bennett got it right when he based everything down there & encouraged the new signings to live in the area.
This split grounds for training is ridiculous & probably driven by Coach & Captain that live across the bridge in The Shire.
One team & One home base for the RedV should be imperative. Some games at Kogarah sure, against Sydney neighbours only.

 

[Dragon David]

I've always felt it was an issue. How big an issue is hard to quantify but I'm sure it's there. Yes Wollongong is a great place to live, and for someone starting their career or on the last-chance roundabout it's probably not a problem. But if you're an established first grader, with only a 2 year contract on the table, do you relocate at some cost to yourself or do you commute? If your family/partner/significant other don't want to relocate then you have to commute. And while an extra hours drive each way is not the end of the world, it's an extra 10 hours a week you don't get paid for. Look at the interchange of players between Wests Tigers, Penrith, Parramatta and Canterbury, players often choose to go to a nearby club, and you can't help but wonder if the commute comes in to their thinking.

For me the issue boils down to this - if another Sydney club tables a similar offer, we've lost. We don't offer better facilities, better career prospects, 3rd party sponsorship opportunities, or the likelihood of playing finals footy. To a Sydney based player all we offer is a longer trip to and from work. Luke Keary had the choice between commuting to Wollongong or jumping the back fence to go to the Roosters. I know what I'd do.

Talking about commuting to work. Mr Keary will be commuting to the southern parts of France next year. Initially it will be the long journey but once there he and his family no doubt will be accommodated near the Catalan Dragons base so maybe not a great commute. He would have to commute to parts of the UK though and be accommodated in some hotel when that club plays in England. If he joined a Pommy team, I don't think that his wife would have agreed to go as southern France is more pleasant.

Funny thing is that he was signed to the end of 2025 with the Roosters but recently announced that he would retire effective at the end of this year and so the Roosters must be OK with his back flip and happy for him to go to France and not fulfil his contract with them. They must have someone already lined up to replace him knowing how they get their men and to them Keary leaving has their blessing. He will be great for the Catalan Dragons and when he returns he will spend time on Fox Sports League commentary as well as look into running his own business after those commitments.

Now what I am alluding to after all of the foregoing is that players who join a club like the Roosters have more options made available to them because people like Uncle Nick has close ties to others here and abroad and that is a great selling point to the players. We have a rich bastard owning half of the Dragons and what does he offer?

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

I’d rather live in the south coast Gong area than Kogarah/Rockdale area.
Wayne Bennett got it right when he based everything down there & encouraged the new signings to live in the area.
This split grounds for training is ridiculous & probably driven by Coach & Captain that live across the bridge in The Shire.
One team & One home base for the RedV should be imperative. Some games at Kogarah sure, against Sydney neighbours only.

I'd rather live anywhere but Sydney but a lot of young people think it's great. I don't have an issue with moving everything to Wollongong, but the club needs to implement strategies to make it work better. Players aren't going to move to Wollongong for a 1 season contract, so it's got to be locals, or you pick players you can offer longer contracts to. Or copy the Canberra strategy and look for good pommie players. Offer help finding work locally for significant others to encourage them to move. Probably lots of things a competent well-run club could do.

 

[TheRev]

I think for an established 1st grader on a good salary.. moving to the south coast beaches is a no-brainer..

I hadn't considered those 18-22yr olds in lower grade systems or possibly on a low-end NRL contract.. that they wouldnt commit to moving.. and keep commuting from western sydney.. which is madness I feel..

 

[Parko1310]

I think for an established 1st grader on a good salary.. moving to the south coast beaches is a no-brainer..

I hadn't considered those 18-22yr olds in lower grade systems or possibly on a low-end NRL contract.. that they wouldnt commit to moving.. and keep commuting from western sydney.. which is madness I feel..

Halangahu has said multiple times he's moving to Wollongong next year when he's on a top 30 deal. Not sure what the others are doing, but him and Latu seem to be very close and so it wouldn't be beyond possibility that they could be housemates

 

[maestro1]

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.

Stop trashing Wollongong. It is better than shithole Sydney. And before our merger I supported the St George Dragons since 1970. Wollongong is a fantastic place with lots of amazing picturesque places. It isn't just a steel works.

 

[maestro1]

Talking about commuting to work. Mr Keary will be commuting to the southern parts of France next year. Initially it will be the long journey but once there he and his family no doubt will be accommodated near the Catalan Dragons base so maybe not a great commute. He would have to commute to parts of the UK though and be accommodated in some hotel when that club plays in England. If he joined a Pommy team, I don't think that his wife would have agreed to go as southern France is more pleasant.

Funny thing is that he was signed to the end of 2025 with the Roosters but recently announced that he would retire effective at the end of this year and so the Roosters must be OK with his back flip and happy for him to go to France and not fulfil his contract with them. They must have someone already lined up to replace him knowing how they get their men and to them Keary leaving has their blessing. He will be great for the Catalan Dragons and when he returns he will spend time on Fox Sports League commentary as well as look into running his own business after those commitments.

Now what I am alluding to after all of the foregoing is that players who join a club like the Roosters have more options made available to them because people like Uncle Nick has close ties to others here and abroad and that is a great selling point to the players. We have a rich bastard owning half of the Dragons and what does he offer?

Keary is already being prepared for his full time role on Fox or 9. Obviously part of the promises he received from the Roosters post-retirement. First stop, 1 year Superannuation top up in France and then straight onto one of Nine or Fox. This shit needs to be investigated as the main NRL ear pieces and propaganda promoters are staffed with 70% ex-Roosters. How the NRL allow this bad look is so fxcking arrogant. What it projects is " yes we know it is a bad look and it throws it in everyone's face that we are advantaging the roosters in an incredibly huge way....but we don't give a flying fxck".

 

[TheRev]

Halangahu has said multiple times he's moving to Wollongong next year when he's on a top 30 deal. Not sure what the others are doing, but him and Latu seem to be very close and so it wouldn't be beyond possibility that they could be housemates

Thats the sort of thing im hoping for.. keep the group together.. this the sort of stuff a good club would help setup for a seamless transition.. Kyle Stanley perhaps might be involved still.

 

[Jeremy Dragon]

Halangahu has said multiple times he's moving to Wollongong next year when he's on a top 30 deal. Not sure what the others are doing, but him and Latu seem to be very close and so it wouldn't be beyond possibility that they could be housemates

Finau and family have moved to the Gong, his younger sisters are in our pathways now.
Jake and family will move after he finished HSC, his brother will move into our pathways.

 

[Mojo]

Does the club own any real estate in or around the Gong? Are we able to offer free accommodation to players as an incentive. I imagine beachside living would be a great enticement for young guys, especially with young families.

 

[Dragon David]

I went skydiving down there late last year and have been to a few Wollongong games. Every time I make the trip I try to find a reason that my wife will agree to for moving down there by the beach. Seems like a great part of the world to me. But she has too many friends up here so.........
I live up in the Blue Mountains currently so a 1.5 hour drive to get to the city for a concert or event is completely normal to me.
And every time I drive to Sydney I remember why I moved out of the city.

I think the South Coast has a lot going for it, so too the Blue Mountains regions as well since77.

A player with a young family moving into the Shoalhaven area can't go wrong. Great places down there.

 

[Slippery Morris]

These SFlanno bashers will not be happy with anything he does. The fact players like Su'a and Lomax are in Origin teams this year is already a clear indication that Flanno is at least trying to get the best out of a team that has been battered by terrible coaching. Even Penrith took a year to recover from Hook and look at them now. I see the team look like a happier bunch than they were this time last year. There is a huge improvement the only issue they have is consistency.

How can Saints having a coach that beat a Bellamy coached team in a GF when wrestling was at it's peak be a bad thing or worse than brining in a rookie? I have mates that are Parra fans that would love Flanno to come to their club.
If Saints bring in these rookie coaches mentioned there is no way recruitment improves. If a premiership winning coach can't improve R&R then nothing will. SFlanno has done as good as he can. My concern is not why can't saints bring cattle, but why they are now struggling to keep their own like Lomax and Tamale.

Give SFlanno a year or 2 at least before bagging the poor guy. The fact that is thread was created so quickly is sad.