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Staff
Inside the Dragons’ rebuild: The character checks shaping their huge signing spree
St George Illawarra’s head of recruitment has lifted the lid on the character-driven blueprint behind the Dragons’ most ambitious rebuild and the one acquisition that triggered a signing spree.Background checks, references from teammates, and character assessments from coaches.
That’s the blueprint behind one of the most audacious recruitment drives ever witnessed in the NRL, but most certainly at St George Illawarra.
The man behind the Red V overhaul, Daniel Anderson, has unveiled the master plan aimed at resurrecting the club from the 2026 wooden spoon into premiership winners.
Anderson, head of recruitment, declared that acquiring South Sydney and NSW State of Origin forward Keaon Koloamatangi for the 2027 season on a five-year deal - first announced on January 6 this year - will go down in history as the signing that changed the club’s perception from calamitous to dead serious about winning competitions.
A powerful recruitment drive of external signings has followed ever since, including Luke Metcalf, Connor Watson, Scott Drinkwater, Kodi Nikorima and Phillip Sami, all headed to the Dragons in 2027.
It has led to widespread optimism from the Dragons’ army of fans, and a goal from management to return to the finals next season.
It would be their first time since 2018.
“You’ve got to change the narrative of the club. And I guess the narrative was not particularly high for the Dragons,” Anderson told SEN radio.
“So to get a player who was an Australian representative, State of Origin representation, was extremely important for us.
Keaon was the first. And I think he broke the ceiling or changed what people thought of us, but in the end, that’s what it did we reckon.
Anderson said the club hierarchy behind the recruitment mission knew they had to make a statement signing with Koloamatangi to commence the club’s mammoth rebuild.
It’s not just me, we’ve got a committee,” Anderson said.
“There’s Tim Watsford the CEO, Benny Creagh the head of footy, our coaches, like Shane Flanagan when he was here and Dean Young now, and Ryan De Luca, our CFO.
Everyone has to play a role in recruiting and retaining players.
“That was a chase (to sign Koloamatangi). That was a lot of courtship between Keaon, his manager Tyran Smith, and the club.
“It was multiple meetings. You know, everyone heard about the helicopter flight (which flew Koloamatangi from Sydney to tour the club’s facilities in Wollongong).
“And yeah, I guess you’ve got to put your best foot forward on a few occasions, develop a connection and make a really good offer too.’’
Anderson said the club is intent on not only signing quality talent, but players of strong character on and off the field.
While Storm coach Craig Bellamy uses his coffee date method - meeting players over coffee to better understand their mannerisms and personality before signing them - Anderson said the Dragons seek as many sources and references as possible from people close to their target.
“You’ve got to do your homework. You ring other players that have played with them, you look in your own club,” Anderson said.
“We were lucky that Damien Cook had played with Keaon (at Souths), so he vouched for him as a character, a human and a person.
And these things are important. That’s what you do. You ring other coaches.
“Dean Young had met Keaon with the Tongan team and with NSW, so we tap into every source you could find to get background.”
Following the club’s rich list of external signings, Anderson and the Dragons have spent the past week securing new deals for their homegrown talent, including the Couchman brothers, Ryan and Toby, Loko Jr Pasifiki Tonga and Jacob Halangahu.
All are signed through the end of 2029.
Anderson described the club’s focus on retaining their local juniors as critical to the club’s future success.
“It’s massive,” Anderson said.
“As an ex-coach, I always believe that the local players are the soul of the club and then you need imports to fill the spaces.
“Those (import) players can integrate into being the soul of the club, but you need local players to drive or be the engine in each club, in my opinion.
“And these young boys are integral to that.
It’s fantastic that they’re all here for an extended period.
“Their best footy is coming and for you guys in the media, you hyped them up so much, it cost me a bit more.”