Dragons Lair General Info.

D

Dragon David

SGI NSW Cup
GCRV said:
Article in the DT behind a paywall. Manly's owners, the Penn family and 2 other minority shareholders haven't been "dipping into their pockets to help the club out". They have lent the club money and are getting interest on the loans. They have made huge profit from owning the club and stand to make still more if or when they decide to sell their shares.

So I was as pissed as anyone when Dragons decided to name the COE after some grubby billionaire 🐖 but maybe if he is "really" putting money into the club, like giving it money not looking to make a profit, it wasn't the worst thing. Even societal leeches like billionaires can go some way to redeeming themselves.
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Hopefully Bruce Gordon acknowledges publicly by attending the official opening of the C of E and thanking the Club for the generosity bestowed upon him by naming the Centre in his honor. By crikey I do. I know that as fans, if anyone of us had the coin BG has we would be parting with some of it to help the Club other than just buying an interest in it and using it as some sort of tax write off.
 
Eric

Eric

Staff
Dragon David said:
Hopefully Bruce Gordon acknowledges publicly by attending the official opening of the C of E and thanking the Club for the generosity bestowed upon him by naming the Centre in his honor. By crikey I do. I know that as fans, if anyone of us had the coin BG has we would be parting with some of it to help the Club other than just buying an interest in it and using it as some sort of tax write off.
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Good thing about it is that it can always be renamed.
 
J

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
Eric said:
It just seems so obvious therefore I can only conclude he has done things, put money into the club the general public is in the dark about. Because as far as publicly available information goes, his investment in the club is a business decision.
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And you are right, this shouldn't be something the public gets left in the dark about. I assume the Govt contributed to this facility, so its partially publicaly owned.
 
Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
Eric said:
It just seems so obvious therefore I can only conclude he has done things, put money into the club the general public is in the dark about. Because as far as publicly available information goes, his investment in the club is a business decision.
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I have heard/read Gordon uses our club as a tax deduction. Then again, I have also heard he lives in the Bahamas to avoid paying tax.
 
George Sancti

George Sancti

SGI Jersey Flegg
Dragon David said:
Hopefully Bruce Gordon acknowledges publicly by attending the official opening of the C of E and thanking the Club for the generosity bestowed upon him by naming the Centre in his honor. By crikey I do. I know that as fans, if anyone of us had the coin BG has we would be parting with some of it to help the Club other than just buying an interest in it and using it as some sort of tax write off.
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You are correct Dave, WIN Corp has been a very good financial partner since taking over from the Illawarra Steelers Club. In recent seasons, WIN Corp's contribution to the football club has been higher than St Georg Leagues Club. This has assisted St George Leagues Club to expand its total assets to approximately $125M, comfortably service the $65M refurbishment cost and increase its bank balance to approximately $25M. From a business sense St Illawarra is one on the most stable clubs in the competition with two strong financial backers.
 
GCRV

GCRV

SGI NSW Cup
George Sancti said:
You are correct Dave, WIN Corp has been a very good financial partner since taking over from the Illawarra Steelers Club. In recent seasons, WIN Corp's contribution to the football club has been higher than St Georg Leagues Club. This has assisted St George Leagues Club to expand its total assets to approximately $125M, comfortably service the $65M refurbishment cost and increase its bank balance to approximately $25M. From a business sense St Illawarra is one on the most stable clubs in the competition with two strong financial backers.
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That's very promising. So it's just a matter of getting it right on the field.
 
D

Dragon David

SGI NSW Cup
Dragons brother of mine just let me know that the Sydney Kings won the NBL Championship for 2026 beating the Adelaide 36ers in a 5 game series which pundits say will be remembered as one of the best NBL finals series. Paul Smith purchased the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames through his company, Total Sport and Entertainment (TSE), taking control in 2019. His sole ownership changed to being a co-owner following a 2022 investment by Wollemi Capital Group and later developments, the team is managed under the Hoops Capital entity, which includes Smith, Robyn Denholm, and other investors, with Smith continuing to act as a public-facing representative for the franchise.

I bring this up because, as most would know, "Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith has lashed St George Illawarra for rejecting his $12 million offer to buy a 50 per cent stake in the club, claiming he could have turned it into the “New York Yankees of Australian sport”. SEN Article of December 2019 and continues -

"Smith felt his company, Total Sports and Entertainment, was in the box seat late last year (2018) to buy out Illawarra’s 50 per cent stake in the joint venture — only to miss out to Bruce Gordon’s WIN Corporation, which had walked away from negotiations in April 2018."
He had never spoken publicly about the failed Dragons bid until this column cornered him at a recent Kings game. Given some of the grave misgivings Dragons fans have about the running of their club right now, it’s timely.

“We know what we put up: about $11.5-12 million,” Smith said. “The problem is that everywhere we turned, people were questioning our motives. Honesty isn’t highly valued in rugby league, therefore integrity is a cheap thing to trade out.
“I realise now that, notwithstanding the troubles the club has had, it would’ve been a disaster with us because I would’ve been dealing in a straight-up manner. We would have butted heads with St George Leagues club, who would have treated us like we were beneficial but not important.
"We could have done a good job with the Dragons. It is one of the great sporting brands in Australia. It should be the New York Yankees of Australian sport. It should be up there with Collingwood. But it's not."
WIN Corporation has never revealed what it paid to take part-ownership of the club. The sum is rumoured to be $10 million, although some parties believe it is much less."

Money aside, it’s how the club has been run since Gordon’s son, Andrew, became chairman and the man he replaced, Brian Johnston, became chief executive, that has Red V fans most aggrieved.
Make no mistake: no club is under more pressure in 2020 than the Dragons. Coach Paul McGregor is fighting to save his job; the careers of Ben Hunt and Corey Norman are at a crossroads; the recruitment of veterans Trent Merrin and Issac Luke is puzzling; and all this on top of Origin forward Jack de Belin facing court in early February on rape charges."

Not buying the Dragons has meant Smith can focus on the Kings, who crashed to two losses last weekend but still lead the NBL with an 11-3 win-loss record.

Smith, who hails from the South Coast, remains a Dragons fan — but is wary of becoming involved again in rugby league.

“If you were going to find something that equates to the old Labor left of NSW, rugby league is where they live,” he said. “They are the greatest haters and they never forget. That’s the trouble with some sports. They carry these things in their backpacks forever and they never let it go.”

Sorry to make this so long a post but I thought that I might raise this issue again in light of all the continuing dramas we have had since late 2018.

I think, and this is my opinion, that had Smith been able to buy into the Joint Venture back then, we may be in a much, much better position than what we are in now. Repeating what Smith said - he could have turned the Dragons into the “New York Yankees of Australian sport”. Has anyone heard from Brucie Gordon and what he has done for the Dragons or what he will do for the Dragons?

The C of E could have been named "The Paul Smith Centre of Excellence and Performance".
 
Frank Facer

Frank Facer

SGI Jersey Flegg
Dragon David said:
Dragons brother of mine just let me know that the Sydney Kings won the NBL Championship for 2026 beating the Adelaide 36ers in a 5 game series which pundits say will be remembered as one of the best NBL finals series. Paul Smith purchased the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames through his company, Total Sport and Entertainment (TSE), taking control in 2019. His sole ownership changed to being a co-owner following a 2022 investment by Wollemi Capital Group and later developments, the team is managed under the Hoops Capital entity, which includes Smith, Robyn Denholm, and other investors, with Smith continuing to act as a public-facing representative for the franchise.

I bring this up because, as most would know, "Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith has lashed St George Illawarra for rejecting his $12 million offer to buy a 50 per cent stake in the club, claiming he could have turned it into the “New York Yankees of Australian sport”. SEN Article of December 2019 and continues -

"Smith felt his company, Total Sports and Entertainment, was in the box seat late last year (2018) to buy out Illawarra’s 50 per cent stake in the joint venture — only to miss out to Bruce Gordon’s WIN Corporation, which had walked away from negotiations in April 2018."
He had never spoken publicly about the failed Dragons bid until this column cornered him at a recent Kings game. Given some of the grave misgivings Dragons fans have about the running of their club right now, it’s timely.

“We know what we put up: about $11.5-12 million,” Smith said. “The problem is that everywhere we turned, people were questioning our motives. Honesty isn’t highly valued in rugby league, therefore integrity is a cheap thing to trade out.
“I realise now that, notwithstanding the troubles the club has had, it would’ve been a disaster with us because I would’ve been dealing in a straight-up manner. We would have butted heads with St George Leagues club, who would have treated us like we were beneficial but not important.
"We could have done a good job with the Dragons. It is one of the great sporting brands in Australia. It should be the New York Yankees of Australian sport. It should be up there with Collingwood. But it's not."
WIN Corporation has never revealed what it paid to take part-ownership of the club. The sum is rumoured to be $10 million, although some parties believe it is much less."

Money aside, it’s how the club has been run since Gordon’s son, Andrew, became chairman and the man he replaced, Brian Johnston, became chief executive, that has Red V fans most aggrieved.
Make no mistake: no club is under more pressure in 2020 than the Dragons. Coach Paul McGregor is fighting to save his job; the careers of Ben Hunt and Corey Norman are at a crossroads; the recruitment of veterans Trent Merrin and Issac Luke is puzzling; and all this on top of Origin forward Jack de Belin facing court in early February on rape charges."

Not buying the Dragons has meant Smith can focus on the Kings, who crashed to two losses last weekend but still lead the NBL with an 11-3 win-loss record.

Smith, who hails from the South Coast, remains a Dragons fan — but is wary of becoming involved again in rugby league.

“If you were going to find something that equates to the old Labor left of NSW, rugby league is where they live,” he said. “They are the greatest haters and they never forget. That’s the trouble with some sports. They carry these things in their backpacks forever and they never let it go.”

Sorry to make this so long a post but I thought that I might raise this issue again in light of all the continuing dramas we have had since late 2018.

I think, and this is my opinion, that had Smith been able to buy into the Joint Venture back then, we may be in a much, much better position than what we are in now. Repeating what Smith said - he could have turned the Dragons into the “New York Yankees of Australian sport”. Has anyone heard from Brucie Gordon and what he has done for the Dragons or what he will do for the Dragons?

The C of E could have been named "The Paul Smith Centre of Excellence and Performance".
Click to expand...
After we won the comp in 2010, we were the most valuable sporting brand in the country, more valuable than Collingwood.

I wanted Smith to buy the Illawarra half share, but it was sold to the Bruce Gordon and we have slid further and further downhill ever since.
 
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