Recruitment & Retention 2027

Mug Fan

SGI NSW Cup
Mug I do understand what you are saying. But What is the club supposed to do sack Flanno in order to satisfy everyone. The Club has to back him or they believe in what he is doing. Either that or why extend him. Dont get me wrong illl be the first to rocket the club or Flanno and I haven’t been an advocate for some of the things he does. Where do we stand ?

We need to do better
We need to coach better across the board
We need more staff
We need to engage with Pathways players better
We need to spend more
That would be a start
 

TheRev

SGI NSW Cup
I've said this a few times.. that having 2 HM and SG squads should provide double the opportunities to find the next talent.. its not always the most obvious kid.. and Gus is almost frothing that we get 2 teams.. with enough funding maybe you can stack both of them... but its not working.. and id love to see the sides merged.. the other issue is most of the kids r commuting from woolongong.. but if training is at the CoE or some such.. so be it.. could stop us getting some sydney kids to join.. but again I think its just part of how it needs to be.

In terms of first grade, im falling off the flanno train for a few reasons, and he doesnt need to be everyones mate.. but something is not working with the players we've let go or have forced us to let them go.. problem is I have zero faith in Dean Young.. hope im wrong, but seems like everyone is saying he is a lock to take over if Flanno goes.. I find that hard to grasp tbh.. with all the issues with old boys, why would we not be throwing the doors open to all prospects.. new blood is key imo.. Deano has never coached anything on his own.. go coach something and come back then... fear is if we get him, thats atleast 2 more years of the same.
 

GCRV

SGI NSW Cup
I've said this a few times.. that having 2 HM and SG squads should provide double the opportunities to find the next talent.. its not always the most obvious kid.. and Gus is almost frothing that we get 2 teams.. with enough funding maybe you can stack both of them... but its not working.. and id love to see the sides merged.. the other issue is most of the kids r commuting from woolongong.. but if training is at the CoE or some such.. so be it.. could stop us getting some sydney kids to join.. but again I think its just part of how it needs to be.

In terms of first grade, im falling off the flanno train for a few reasons, and he doesnt need to be everyones mate.. but something is not working with the players we've let go or have forced us to let them go.. problem is I have zero faith in Dean Young.. hope im wrong, but seems like everyone is saying he is a lock to take over if Flanno goes.. I find that hard to grasp tbh.. with all the issues with old boys, why would we not be throwing the doors open to all prospects.. new blood is key imo.. Deano has never coached anything on his own.. go coach something and come back then... fear is if we get him, thats atleast 2 more years of the same.
Deano might be a caretaker coach for the rest of the season if Flanno is sacked but doubt he'll be appointed beyond that.

I agree about Flanno. I couldn't believe the interview in the off season where he said LKT had an indifferent year then followed it up with Kyle has been good the past 2 years. Kyle shouldn't get constantly bashed but Flanno shouldn't bash LKT either.
 

The Word

SGI Jersey Flegg
When clubs are struggling in the ladder there’s always going to be players that want out that’s just the way it is. It’s the same reason players don’t like joining wooden spooners, or love joining premiership winners. If we can get back to finals footy things will change. No point flinging blame around. So much negativity before the season has started it’s amazing. We are not the only club where players want to move.
 

TheRev

SGI NSW Cup
When clubs are struggling in the ladder there’s always going to be players that want out that’s just the way it is. It’s the same reason players don’t like joining wooden spooners, or love joining premiership winners. If we can get back to finals footy things will change. No point flinging blame around. So much negativity before the season has started it’s amazing. We are not the only club where players want to move.
Mug's reffering to some internal stuff that does need to be fixed.. but yep agree in terms of flanno as coach... a big part of this is how the season starts, honestly if we win in vegas the vibe shifts incredibly.... still yet tbd whether Flanno can get something out of the roster he has.. not expecting miracles but hes gotta show hes getting something to offset the recruitment and selection style that hes still running from the old days.. gotta show us that his method that still works in 2026.
 

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
Mug's reffering to some internal stuff that does need to be fixed.. but yep agree in terms of flanno as coach... a big part of this is how the season starts, honestly if we win in vegas the vibe shifts incredibly.... still yet tbd whether Flanno can get something out of the roster he has.. not expecting miracles but hes gotta show hes getting something to offset the recruitment and selection style that hes still running from the old days.. gotta show us that his method that still works in 2026.
How can an off season that was going so well be turning into depression just before the season starts. Let’s hope for a win in Vegas and at least quell some of this shit.
 

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
We need to do better
We need to coach better across the board
We need more staff
We need to engage with Pathways players better
We need to spend more
That would be a start
Isn’t this the line that Watsford has been pushing. I remember him saying that Gordon was on board with this. He wants success so cough up.
 
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RandomDragon

SGI Jersey Flegg
People pick up one negative comment and run with it in here... we had a very positive off season, and if we won against souths we would probably be positive right now... like Rev said, if we win on Sunday everything changes. Agree with Mug though, we are under resourced but TW knows that and will fix it. an easy fix is sacking Haran and putting that head into pathways - surely you dont need a Chief football officer and a head of football. Engaging with pathways, well a good start is the home stay they will begin working on. One i do agree with is better coaching across all grades. Darren Nichols is useless. Will give the JF coach time as he has earnt his spot and willie everyone knows can coach.
 

TheRev

SGI NSW Cup
The JF Coach is critical, its why I was sort of sad when Willie was promoted to cup (even though im a fan of that too), JF should be the grade we dominate... where we have double the talent pool to pick from.. and stack it.. but it has not worked like that at all, its been the grade ive least wanted to watch over the years.. well.. apart from when Reed was in it... that was good to see how he developed.. but most of the big name forwards (if indeed we keep any of em) completely skipped the grade.
 

Dragon David

SGI Jersey Flegg
Deano might be a caretaker coach for the rest of the season if Flanno is sacked but doubt he'll be appointed beyond that.

I agree about Flanno. I couldn't believe the interview in the off season where he said LKT had an indifferent year then followed it up with Kyle has been good the past 2 years. Kyle shouldn't get constantly bashed but Flanno shouldn't bash LKT either.
See, this how I perceive things. When a coach gives negative praise for players and positive to others, there will be ill feeling for those given the negative and getting all antsy while the positive ones think that "hmmm I didn't think I was that great so is that the standard that coachy wants". Players can see favoritism as plain as day. I'm not really into bashing players unless there is consistent poor play by the players. Most players have ups and downs every week. It is the marquee players that shine mostly and that is why they lead in the Dally M's and like in any sport there are those that constantly dominate and they stand out and get great money for their service to their respective clubs.

I reckon a player knows if he is good, bad or indifferent. If good, he can expect praise, if bad then he can expect the opposite and if indifferent the coach might not say anything. The coach though should be able to man manage his players with consistency and always give some sort of praise none the less.

I remember Griffin saying to players "you played shit" and walked away rather than to add "I'll get you to work on some issues I've noticed so that you can get back on track".

In the case of Dean Young being either the caretaker head coach or fulltime head coach, I am sure that the Board would not take that road but if they did, our seasons will not get better.

In the case of Recruitment & Retention for 2027 - relative to this thread, we only have KK signed for 2027 but I am sure that Daniel Anderson is hard at work to sort the balance of our squad for 2026 which would then help him to determine who we get rid of, who to retain and who else is to be signed for 2027.
 

The Word

SGI Jersey Flegg
People pick up one negative comment and run with it in here... we had a very positive off season, and if we won against souths we would probably be positive right now... like Rev said, if we win on Sunday everything changes. Agree with Mug though, we are under resourced but TW knows that and will fix it. an easy fix is sacking Haran and putting that head into pathways - surely you dont need a Chief football officer and a head of football. Engaging with pathways, well a good start is the home stay they will begin working on. One i do agree with is better coaching across all grades. Darren Nichols is useless. Will give the JF coach time as he has earnt his spot and willie everyone knows can coach.
I would be very interested to understand how much money both sides of the ownership have put into the club over the years. I have looked online but can’t find financials for the dragons reported anywhere. I agree the owners should be spending to improve all areas of the club to match what the top clubs are doing. Best coaches, best facilities etc. Anything that can give us an extra 1%. And funding for the pathways looks vital when you consider the recruitment success of East and Melbourne transferring into top 8 finishes and more.
I also remember when Gould took over at Penrith there was a huge reorganisation and expenditure into their local pathways and coaching network and ensuring all the clubs were supported and pointing upto the Panthers properly. I wonder if we could do with the same vision.
 

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
I would be very interested to understand how much money both sides of the ownership have put into the club over the years. I have looked online but can’t find financials for the dragons reported anywhere. I agree the owners should be spending to improve all areas of the club to match what the top clubs are doing. Best coaches, best facilities etc. Anything that can give us an extra 1%. And funding for the pathways looks vital when you consider the recruitment success of East and Melbourne transferring into top 8 finishes and more.
I also remember when Gould took over at Penrith there was a huge reorganisation and expenditure into their local pathways and coaching network and ensuring all the clubs were supported and pointing upto the Panthers properly. I wonder if we could do with the same vision.
Maybe we just come to the realisation that we cant support 2 teams, we let the St George area go, just play our games at Kogarah, but everything else is run out of the Gong, including schools, uni, housing the whole lot. We poach from anywhere and develop the best. As I said before it will cost a lot but that is the price you pay for success.
 

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
People pick up one negative comment and run with it in here... we had a very positive off season, and if we won against souths we would probably be positive right now... like Rev said, if we win on Sunday everything changes. Agree with Mug though, we are under resourced but TW knows that and will fix it. an easy fix is sacking Haran and putting that head into pathways - surely you dont need a Chief football officer and a head of football. Engaging with pathways, well a good start is the home stay they will begin working on. One i do agree with is better coaching across all grades. Darren Nichols is useless. Will give the JF coach time as he has earnt his spot and willie everyone knows can coach.
Haran should have been gone years ago with some of the f$%kups that guy has created. He must have something on the club.
 
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