Dragons strip coach of absolute power over player signings

St George Illawarra’s next long-term coach will be stripped of absolute discretion over player retention and recruitment to prevent the rostering mistakes plaguing the club.

Dragons powerbrokers addressed almost 100 members during the week to update them on developments at the Red V.

Chairman Andrew Lancaster, chief executive Tim Watsford, interim head coach Dean Young and chief operating officer Ben Creagh outlined their vision for the football program, recruitment, governance, facilities and long-term direction.

It had the potential to be a fiery gathering, with members able to raise questions from the floor about the performance of a club that sits last and has made the finals once over the past decade.

However, their first win of the season, over premiers Brisbane 48 hours earlier, and the recent addition of Connor Watson, Scott Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf, Keaon Koloamatangi and Phillip Sami – took the heat out of the room.

The Dragons sent a missive with the key talking points from the meeting as part of an update to members who were unable to attend. One of them was Young stating his desire to take the head coaching job on a full-time basis, although there was no definitive time frame provided on when that decision would be made.

But the most intriguing takeaway was that the coach would no longer have the only say on which players were signed.

“Recruitment and retention decisions are handled by a broader committee structure rather than by a single individual,” members were told in the email.

“The committee considers the short, medium and long-term needs of the roster, with the club assessing player performance, positional needs, salary cap management, character, and fit before making decisions.”

Creagh, a former premiership-winning Dragons player, told those assembled at the Bruce Gordon Centre: “There’s a group of us discussing players, taking all the information, listening to all the opinions of each other in that group, and combining the experience that we all bring to make a decision in the best interest of the club.”

The Dragons have been criticised for giving their coaches too much say in recruitment. After being given carte blanche when he became coach in 2021, Anthony Griffin unsuccessfully attempted to make Israel Folau his first major signing. The club copped all the negative publicity that would have come with the move, without actually being able to execute it.

Griffin’s successor, Shane Flanagan, also copped heat for the quality of the roster he assembled. Flanagan, who was the head of recruitment before being handed the clipboard, had unchecked power in signing players, with the club now attempting to move on some of the underperforming members of the roster.

While the coach will still have a say in the roster, recruitment boss Daniel Anderson, Creagh and Watsford will also be part of the process of determining which players will be targeted.

Members were told the Dragons would remain active in the market, while maintaining a focus on securing its elite juniors.

“Five or six years ago, we were pretty under-resourced in the academy or pathways area, but we’re a lot better resourced now,” Creagh said.

“Pathways is a combination of our under-19’s and under-17’s teams at both St George and Illawarra, and we directly employ the coaches of both those teams, so we’ve got a bit of control over how our kids are coached and how they play week to week, which essentially feeds down from the NRL team.

“That’s how you get kids in our pathway developing to be ready for NRL or NRLW at 18, 19, 20. Have good coaches in place, good resources, managers, physios and strength conditioners to ensure our kids are ready and are establishing good habits early.”

Young, whose team will take on Cronulla in a local derby on Sunday, said he wasn’t writing off this year when picking his teams.

“There’s been some media around saying that we’re looking to the future, and we’re blooding young guys. I’m not looking towards the future, and I’m not interested in blooding young guys,” Young said.

“I’m picking the team that I think can win each week, and the young forward pack that’s playing at the moment are the players that deserve to be there. I’ve given players opportunities to play, and they either take it or they don’t.”