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Inside the $10m deal that sets up Dragons for a bright future
Roy Masters20 August 2018 — 6:05pm
St George and WIN will each supply four directors to the Dragons board. The chairman will not have a casting vote. Former directors insist any deadlocks in the past have always been resolved. Before St George dominating the directorships when the Steelers could not pay their half of debts, board debates always ended in consensus.
St George’s four directors will be Craig Young, a former premiership captain; Peter Black, who has been a board member since the mid-1980s; Ralph Piggott, another long-term director who will be chairman of the St George Leagues Club, replacing Johnston – who will also sit on the joint-venture board as CEO.
Johnston, who joined St George as a player in 1980 from Dunedoo, where his family owns a rural property, said he was delighted to return to the club in an executive role.
“The three Fs are the most important things in my life – farming, football and family,” he said. “I’ve been working in the financial services industry and when the club mentioned the position to me during the interview process for Peter Doust’s replacement, I reflected on those three loves and decided to accept the challenge again.”
If the test of an individual’s contribution to rugby league is to leave a place in a better position than he found it, Doust, after 18 years in the role, has succeeded, the ultimate rebuttal to those who led the “Oust Doust” campaign. The club will have the resources to fight forever for a position in the top four, overseen by a board with a mix of football experience, business expertise and communication skills.
Doust will leave at the end of the Dragons' 2018 finals campaign and retain a connection as deputy chairman of the St George Leagues Club, which is trading well.
The $5.8m NRL loan triggered speculation the licensed club was in financial difficulty, but this was never the case. In fact, the Leagues Club offered to repay the debt to the NRL. But this was not acceptable to all stakeholders. While St George would have to make interest payments it would have put Kogarah in a maximum position of leverage in negotiations, an outcome not preferred by the NRL which wanted Wollongong to have 50 per cent equity.
Ultimately it has been a WIN, win for all parties.
.bmp)
There are many of you bagging our board but as you can see, they do attend games, sit in the stands and barrack from the fences, etc. Well done, board members.
Son of Tiger Black ( abysmal 2ky football caller of the 50's & 60's ) .Played 3rd grade for Dragons in the late 60's.
clowns
