St George Illawarra Dragons strip coach of absolute power over player signings
St George Illawarra’s next long-term coach will not have absolute discretion over retaining and recruiting players to avoid the roster mistakes that have plagued the club.
Dragon’s power brokers addressed nearly 100 members throughout the week, updating them on developments at Red V.
President Andrew Lancaster, CEO Tim Watsford, interim head coach Dean Young and vice president of operations Ben Creagh outlined their vision for the football program, recruiting, governance, facilities and long-term direction.
It had the potential to be a heated meeting where members could ask questions from the podium about the performance of a last-placed club that has reached the final once in the last decade.
However, their first win of the season came against Brisbane 48 hours ago and was recently added Connor WatsonScott Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf, Keaon Koloamatangi and Phillip Sami – they brought the heat out of the room.
The Dragons sent a letter outlining the meeting’s key issues as part of an update to members who were unable to attend the meeting. One of them is Young, who has expressed his desire to take on the head coaching role full-time, although no firm time frame has been specified for when that decision will be made.
But the most interesting result was that the coach no longer had a say in which players were signed.
“Hiring and retention decisions are handled by a broader committee structure rather than a single individual,” members were told in the email.
“The committee considers the short, medium and long-term needs of the squad and the club evaluates player performance, positional needs, salary cap management, character and adaptability before making a decision.”
Creagh, a former Dragons player, told those gathered at the Bruce Gordon Centre: “There’s a group that discusses the players, takes all the information, listens to all of each other’s ideas in that group and combines the experience that we all bring to make the decision that’s in the best interest of the club.”
The Dragons have been criticized for giving their coaches too much say in recruiting. After he was given full authority when he became coach in 2021, Anthony Griffin tried to make Israel Folau his first big signing but failed. Before the move could be made, the club eliminated any negative publicity that would come with the move.
Griffin’s successor, Shane Flanagan, also attracted attention with the quality of the squad he created. Flanagan, who was head of recruitment before the board was handed over, had unchecked power to sign players and the club is now trying to replace some of the underperforming members of the squad.
While the coach will still have a say in the squad, recruitment boss Daniel Anderson, Creagh and Watsford will also be part of the process of determining which players will be targeted.
Members have been told the Dragons will continue to focus on securing elite youth while remaining active in the market.
“Five or six years ago we were pretty under-resourced in the academy or pathways area, but now we have much better resources,” Creagh said.
“Pathways is a combination of our under-19 and under-17 teams from both St George and the Illawarra, and we directly employ the coaches from both teams, so we have some control over how our kids are coached and how they play from week to week, which essentially feeds into the NRL team.
“That’s how you get our kids on track to be NRL or NRLW ready at 18, 19, 20. Have good coaches, good resources, managers, physiotherapists and strength conditioners to make sure our kids are ready and develop good habits early.”
Young, whose team will face Cronulla in a local derby on Sunday, said he would not be taking notes when choosing his team this year.
“There’s an environment in the media that says we’re looking to the future and we’re shedding the blood of young men. I’m not looking to the future and I’m not interested in drawing the blood of young men,” Young said.
“Every week I pick the team I think can win and the group of young forwards playing at the moment are players who deserve to be there. I give players opportunities to play and they either take it or they don’t.”
