Recruitment & Retention 2027

[dragonheart]

The passion also of Hamish, Dylan, Haydn and the couchie boys as well as their talent improving each year is a must. And if Jake and hopefully Loko get on board for the ride along with Sua, Luciano, Liddle and KK we will definitely have a forward pack to enjoy for a few years.

Now for our backs revamp and that needs big money on 3 new players ... Talent and plenty of speed.

I would like to see some real mongrel and a real desire to win, even anger at drop ball or bad decisions. Sometimes I feel we go through the motions, lets unsettle players and teams.

 

[Mug Fan]

The Dragons have continued their commitment to building a squad around young local talent, extending the contract of second-rower Dylan Egan through the 2029 NRL season.

Previously committed through 2027, Egan has put pen to paper to push his time at St George Illawarra into at least a fifth season, having made his debut in Round 4 last year.

Eagle Has Landed – Dylan Egan extends through 2029

The Dragons have continued their commitment to building a squad around young local talent, extending the contract of second-rower Dylan Egan through the 2029 NRL season.

www.dragons.com.au

 

[Edward]

The Dragons have continued their commitment to building a squad around young local talent, extending the contract of second-rower Dylan Egan through the 2029 NRL season.

Previously committed through 2027, Egan has put pen to paper to push his time at St George Illawarra into at least a fifth season, having made his debut in Round 4 last year.

Eagle Has Landed – Dylan Egan extends through 2029

The Dragons have continued their commitment to building a squad around young local talent, extending the contract of second-rower Dylan Egan through the 2029 NRL season.

www.dragons.com.au

I don't have any inside knowledge but I would bet this means Su'A won't be extended. I'm happy with that. I rate Su'A highly but don't lose much without him but with a second row of 2 of Dylan Egan, Jake Halangahu, Cyrus ST, Nick Tsuogranis and a couple more a bit younger.

 

[Morgan]

I don't have any inside knowledge but I would bet this means Su'A won't be extended. I'm happy with that. I rate Su'A highly but don't lose much without him but with a second row of 2 of Dylan Egan, Jake Halangahu, Cyrus ST, Nick Tsuogranis and a couple more a bit younger.

Make a couple of wingers an offer they can't refuse.

 

[George Sancti]

Great to see DA locking down the young brigade. The core is really taking shape for 2027. If he can land a genuine strike three‑quarter, we go from cellar‑dwellers to a legitimate finals‑level side overnight. And the longer the Bula situation drags without a Tigers re‑signing, the shorter the odds get on him heading elsewhere.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Got a feeling the dogs will be sniffing around Bula, Gus has repaired his relationship with Isaac Moses to sign Galvin and I reckon they’ll make a play for Bula

Even though they’ve signed 2 great young fullbacks in the last 12 months

 

[Mailroomsgi]

The Dragons have continued their commitment to building a squad around young local talent, extending the contract of second-rower Dylan Egan through the 2029 NRL season.

Previously committed through 2027, Egan has put pen to paper to push his time at St George Illawarra into at least a fifth season, having made his debut in Round 4 last year.

Eagle Has Landed – Dylan Egan extends through 2029

The Dragons have continued their commitment to building a squad around young local talent, extending the contract of second-rower Dylan Egan through the 2029 NRL season.

www.dragons.com.au

Big fan of this, extending young players off the back of big injuries has a multitude of benefits

-Shows faith and loyalty to said player

-Probably getting a fair chunk less salary wise over the course of the contract than what he should

-Taken him off the market for Perth/PNG etc.

-Not backed into a corner and leaving it last minute with the Sua contract now and it appears as though they’ve leaned into letting Sua leave to bring through Egan/Jake/Cyrus/Nick which is top squad management

 

[TheRev]

Even though it is a long contract for a kid who's played 8 first grade games and coming off an ACL.. we rly dont have a choice imo.. cant have him getting close to Nov 1 and considering going to market even for a 'feeler'.. I have no idea how they would have priced the 4yrs of his contract.. but we can always revisit it. We will need to do the same with Jacob at some stage during the year for the same reason.

Egan as our best left edge 2nd rower was a given though.. the question is who of Sua/Nick/Jacob will be there on the right next season.. will all 3 still be here or just 2 of em? I'm alright with either scenario.. and leave it to the club brains trust.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Finding this balance is tough, personally I’d love to have Jake as a major minutes guy in the left edge next season but Egan was great when he was there

Although Egan’s strength is his defence and line running so maybe if Kade is the 7 next season it’s ideal to pair them 2 together on the right and Atko/Halangahu on the left

Or do you do a Egan starting left edge then Jake comes on after 20mins >>> push Egan into the middle

It’s a nice problem to have lol

 

[TheRev]

Few very unsubstantiated rumours from other forums/sources (feel free to laugh emoji Mugfan!), which I hesitate to mention but what else is there to do on a forum?

• RTS: Apparently looking for a 2yr contract at a Sydney club, and another rumour that we are in fact talking to him.. he does seem like a Flanno recruit, 33.5yrs by next season.. a goalkicker, covers fullback.. averaged 190 run metres in Rd1 and Rd2.. still making line breaks... definitely could be an option.... I assume he let the warriors know in advance, hence them signing Warbrick (plus they have AKP).
• XERRI: Heard from journos today that we werent chasing him (could be an official line given hes contracted).. but another theory that we were trying to land a fullback first (Drinkwater/Bula) if we could do that, Gutho goes to Ctr and we dont want Xerri.. I think this is more of a 2027 problem btw... and you would assume if one of these guys goes to Ctr (i.e. Gutho or Xerri), then Holmes moves to the Wing.. then do we need RTS? Honestly I'd love both of them if we could afford em..
• Shibasaki: Haven't heard any rumours about him, other than he was asking for like 650k type money which noone was interested in.. but when that asking price drops.. could be an alternative to Xerri as a ctr purchase..
• Drinkwater: We know has been dropped.. is there any chance he gets cut early? I mean they have Purdue, Barber and Chester.. what do they need Drinky for, esp if hes now dropped.. could he come early and then we wont chase Bula? Noting that Bula cant be approached before May 1st.. if we are still in the market come May... I would atleast like to make sure the Dogs pay top dollar for Bula.

There is a lot of overlap with all these guys we are chasing.. I'd probably suggest whichever we get first and perhaps second... might dictate the rest of our decisions..

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Few very unsubstantiated rumours from other forums/sources (feel free to laugh emoji Mugfan!), which I hesitate to mention but what else is there to do on a forum?

• RTS: Apparently looking for a 2yr contract at a Sydney club, and another rumour that we are in fact talking to him.. he does seem like a Flanno recruit, 33.5yrs by next season.. a goalkicker, covers fullback.. averaged 190 run metres in Rd1 and Rd2.. still making line breaks... definitely could be an option.... I assume he let the warriors know in advance, hence them signing Warbrick (plus they have AKP).
• XERRI: Heard from journos today that we werent chasing him (could be an official line given hes contracted).. but another theory that we were trying to land a fullback first (Drinkwater/Bula) if we could do that, Gutho goes to Ctr and we dont want Xerri.. I think this is more of a 2027 problem btw... and you would assume if one of these guys goes to Ctr (i.e. Gutho or Xerri), then Holmes moves to the Wing.. then do we need RTS? Honestly I'd love both of them if we could afford em..
• Shibasaki: Haven't heard any rumours about him, other than he was asking for like 650k type money which noone was interested in.. but when that asking price drops.. could be an alternative to Xerri as a ctr purchase..
• Drinkwater: We know has been dropped.. is there any chance he gets cut early? I mean they have Purdue, Barber and Chester.. what do they need Drinky for, esp if hes now dropped.. could he come early and then we wont chase Bula? Noting that Bula cant be approached before May 1st.. if we are still in the market come May... I would atleast like to make sure the Dogs pay top dollar for Bula.

There is a lot of overlap with all these guys we are chasing.. I'd probably suggest whichever we get first and perhaps second... might dictate the rest of our decisions..

I’d feel sick to my stomach about signing Shibasaki/Drinkwater

2 of the most overrated players in the comp, Shibasaki’s defence is woeful and he looked great off the back of an incredibly gifted attacking side

Will be looking for a huge payday as it’ll be the last big contract he ever gets, Perth bears almost a certainty IMO

Drinkwater great ballplaying fullback but defence is genuinely some of the worst fullback play you’ve ever seen for a terrible defensive side

Turning 30 next year which is already a red flag, we need to pivot to a much younger side that fits our timeline with young forwards + Atkinson/Reed

If I was Anderson I’d be targeting Bula with a substantial salary and 3 years

RTS is still producing but the age is such an issue lol, I’m so wary of age with signings now

Bronson would be a good signing depending on salary, prime age and no injury concerns. Adds some speed and power to the backline, Yes from me

 

[Eric]

Few very unsubstantiated rumours from other forums/sources (feel free to laugh emoji Mugfan!), which I hesitate to mention but what else is there to do on a forum?

• RTS: Apparently looking for a 2yr contract at a Sydney club, and another rumour that we are in fact talking to him.. he does seem like a Flanno recruit, 33.5yrs by next season.. a goalkicker, covers fullback.. averaged 190 run metres in Rd1 and Rd2.. still making line breaks... definitely could be an option.... I assume he let the warriors know in advance, hence them signing Warbrick (plus they have AKP).
• XERRI: Heard from journos today that we werent chasing him (could be an official line given hes contracted).. but another theory that we were trying to land a fullback first (Drinkwater/Bula) if we could do that, Gutho goes to Ctr and we dont want Xerri.. I think this is more of a 2027 problem btw... and you would assume if one of these guys goes to Ctr (i.e. Gutho or Xerri), then Holmes moves to the Wing.. then do we need RTS? Honestly I'd love both of them if we could afford em..
• Shibasaki: Haven't heard any rumours about him, other than he was asking for like 650k type money which noone was interested in.. but when that asking price drops.. could be an alternative to Xerri as a ctr purchase..
• Drinkwater: We know has been dropped.. is there any chance he gets cut early? I mean they have Purdue, Barber and Chester.. what do they need Drinky for, esp if hes now dropped.. could he come early and then we wont chase Bula? Noting that Bula cant be approached before May 1st.. if we are still in the market come May... I would atleast like to make sure the Dogs pay top dollar for Bula.

There is a lot of overlap with all these guys we are chasing.. I'd probably suggest whichever we get first and perhaps second... might dictate the rest of our decisions..

First and last. 2nd isn't very good in my opinion. Bullgrubs coach doesn't really rate him either. 3rd is another big, hard-running but slow 3/4. We've had enough of them over the last decade and more.

 

[RufusRex]

if Burton is the player we want him to be then we only need a fullback for 3 years ...

 

[TheRev]

I don't think guys like Burton @1 or Reed @7 will come in for a full season... i.e. we need atleast a year of overlap from another 1 and 7 when they do.. someone decent in case they get knocked out or injured or just struggle.. And if we sign Drinkwater, surely its 2yrs only.. im not that excited about him, but seems like someone we are chasing...

I like that we are looking to fast track some of the kids though.. Flanno seems open to doing it at fullback (out of the defensive line) so maybe Burton who is 17 now.. maybe having seen how the other clubs r doing it.. would be a big step up to do this year in U21's as a 17yr old.. actually I was listening to Gus just today talk about this stuff.. he was talking about the 2yr age brackets in 17s and 19s... and the test to play a year young.. then the jump to 21's.. and that he actually feels Ron Massey Cup vs 21's was the better test... i.e. against ex-first-graders.. because playing against adults was the main hurdle for a junior.. then NSW Cup then 1sts.. all these tests along the way...

Rokko Walker is the other that doesn't get talked about as much.. hes signed till 2029.. kind of forgotten over there in a struggling squad.. he was 16 in October last year, I cant confirm when his birthday is.. but hes not 'that' much younger than Burton.. but I don't think he's gonna be going up any grades any time soon.. I don't think.. maybe next year.. its also hard cause I think Rokko might end up anywhere 1-5, 6 at a pinch... but we can only hide 1 of em at fullback, so the other needs to play ctr or wing probably.. and then they gonna be getting hit by much bigger lads..

In any case... although I've seen Burton play ctr... I feel like he is very seasoned as a 'fullback', he's been doing it for a while, has shown he can defend well there... and is getting a lot of development at it.. whereas Rokko I compare to Fletcher Sharpe i.e. who knows where his best position is.. he's just very skillful... he will probably get moved to suit the team, its both a blessing and a curse...

 

[puff]

Even though it is a long contract for a kid who's played 8 first grade games and coming off an ACL.. we rly dont have a choice imo.. cant have him getting close to Nov 1 and considering going to market even for a 'feeler'.. I have no idea how they would have priced the 4yrs of his contract..

It's a long contract, but they know it's low risk due to his high character, professionalism, and fitness. He's a high floor player. He's only played 8 games, but he played well. The contract will almost certainly consist of ascending base rates for each season along with bonuses that are triggered by exceeding certain games played thresholds, selection for SOO etc.