TEAMS: NSWRL U17 UNE Harold Matthews Cup - 2024 Round 8
4 mins ago | LeagueUnlimited Media
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Peter Doust has managed to hold onto a coveted position as CEO of the Dragons whilst the club has been underperforming. As the longest serving current NRL CEO, he has had enough time to mould the club and is ultimately responsible for its current plight.
Doust lured Wayne Bennett to the club in 2009 to break a long Premiership drought. Times were good and this should have kicked off a period of prosperity both on and off the field. However, since winning the competition in 2010, the Dragons have been on a deep slide and there are no signs of this being reversed any time soon.
After Bennett announced during 2011 that he was going to leave the club to head to Newcastle, the Dragons lost 11 of their final 14 matches. He then decimated the club by taking a number of key players and he vouched for Steve Price as his successor.
Doust must have been delighted to have Price being endorsed so his decision to appoint him could be vindicated. It also allowed Doust to take on a greater role with team management, something he was unable to do when Bennett was in charge. Price was out of his depth and was not in full control of the composition of his squad.
Doust was unable to attract another veteran coach at the end of Price's contract, including the well-publicised chase of Craig Bellamy. Instead he took the soft option of reappointing the underperforming Price. He announced this before the ill-fated 2013 Anzac game against the Roosters. The Dragons were thrashed that day on the way to a 14th place that season.
Doust went into overdrive as the ultimate spin doctor. He blamed early retirements, salary cap and anyone else for the team's ongoing poor performance. After a long run of losses in 2014, Doust finally put Price out of his misery.
Doust has repeated his mistakes by appointing a third rookie coach from within. Again he has not given the coach the ultimate say on player recruitment and retention. Instead, Doust oversaw the ill-conceived signings of a number of fringe first graders, whilst jettisoning the most talented juniors including Brett Morris, Trent Merrin, Jack Bird and Jackson Hastings. The pack is now soft, the backline is clumsy and the spirit has waned.
Financially the club is in poor shape, supporters are deserting, juniors are defecting and their games are not on free to air. Excuses continue to flow. The Dragons need a shake up from top to bottom to avoid becoming a perpetual minnow. Will the Board take the action needed to right the ship or will they continue to protect their own positions?
Performance of the Week
This week saw two female officials preside over both the Raiders v Dragons matches on Saturday afternoon at Bruce Stadium. Kasey Badger was the sole referee for the NYC match and Belinda Sleeman was one of the sideline officials for the first grade game. They both performed exceptionally well and it is only good for the game.
Both of these women joined the referees "Elite Performance Unit Squad" for this season alongside 21 male counterparts. This has been a culmination of years of hard work and dedication from both of them; training for over 20 hours a week to maintain fitness and skills to officiate 80 minutes of football. Their expertise was there for all to see on the weekend.
The use of confident female referees can have a calming effect on testosterone laden warriors who are in the heat of battle. Even when worked up, males generally give a fair level of respect when fronted by a female official. This is why a number of establishments have hired females to greet patrons at the door instead of beefy security guards. Also, female traffic controllers are now employed around work sites because it is believed that affected drivers will be less frustrated with them.
Let's hope that we see may more female referees rise through the ranks into first grade. The more the NRL gets females involved at the highest levels of the game, the more the sport will be appealing to whole families. Well done to both Badger and Sleeman for paving the way and performing so well.
Predictions
I was within 5 minutes of getting a perfect score last week, with the come-from-behind Dragons my only miss. Here are my picks for this week:
Eels vs. Rabbitohs @ Pirtek Stadium
Can the Eels pack match it with the juggernaut who wins even when they are off their game? Eels by 4
Tigers vs. Bulldogs @ ANZ Stadium
The Tigers have started the season well, but the Bulldogs are looking the goods. Bulldogs by 6
Knights vs. Panthers @ Hunter Stadium
The Knights have the community back behind them, whilst the Panthers are starting to miss Soward. Knights by 4
Sharks vs. Titans @ Remondis Stadium
This game pits the bad boys against each other in the battle of the minnows. Sharks by 2
Dragons vs. Sea Eagles @ WIN Stadium
Both teams have had their fair share of distractions with defecting players still in their ranks. This game will be determined by who can get their mental game right. Manly by 6
Warriors vs. Broncos @ Mt Smart Stadium
This should be an expansive game with many thrills for the crowd. Warriors by 4
Roosters vs. Raiders @ Allianz Stadium
The Roosters are coming together well and have been toughened by their draw. Roosters by 10
Cowboys vs. Storm @ 1300Smiles Stadium
The Cowboys would be disappointed with the start to their season, whereas the Storm is all business. Storm by 8
Form Guide
The form guide looks at which teams have the most momentum, weighting recent performances higher than past wins. After three rounds, the power rankings are as follows:
1. Rabbitohs (+1) : won against the Tigers after a dusty performance
2. Knights (+2) : undefeated after three hard fought games
3. Bulldogs (+2) : have started to show why they can go one further this year
4. Warriors (+2) : a good win at home after a gutsy road victory
5. Broncos (+2) : Bennett's team really put the Cowboys to the sword
6. Roosters (+3) : nice win against the Panthers
7. Storm (+4) : the Storm machine is starting to click
8. Panthers (-7) : have missed Soward in their last up loss
9. Tigers (-6) : their first loss against the competition front runners
10. Dragons (+5) : after 5 shocking halves, won against their hoodoo nemesis in a fast finish
11. Sea Eagles (-3) : thought they were on the beach rather than at Brookvale with the sandy ground
12. Eels (-2) : have gone off the boil after a great start to the season
13. Raiders (-1) : was pipped at the post by the fast finishing Dragons
14. Sharks (-1) : more of the same against the Storm
15. Titans (+1) : trying hard, but yet to notch up their first win
16. Cowboys (-2) : still waiting for the season to start after treating the first few rounds as trial games
Composite TeamLast week's composite team was made up of point scorers who have at least 1,000 career points. This explains why there were so few forwards.
Can you work out the theme for the squad below?
1. Ben Hornby
2. Eric Grothe, Jnr
3. Jamal Idris
4. Michael Buettner
5. Hazen El Masri
6. Terry Campese
7. Todd Carney
8. Kade Snowden
9. Aaron Raper
10. Michael Weyman
11. Carl Webb
12. Daniel Gartner
13. Dean Young
14. David Taylor
15. Antonio Kaufusi
16. Reni Maitua
17. Joel Clinton
This is a solid team across the park. Some match winners, but mostly tough campaigners. Predicted placing in 2015 table: 9th
Flash Back
This week's Flash Back is an affable gentle giant. Jason Stevens was a big prop standing at 193cm (6'4" in the old scale) but always the gentleman on and off the field.
Stevens was signed by the St George Dragons in 1992 to play in their U/21 team and made his first grade debut that year. In 1993 he became a regular first grader and started as prop in the Grand Final against Brisbane. The big occasion was short lived for Stevens as he badly broke his thumb in the second tackle of the game and played no further part of the contest. The Dragons never recovered and lost 14-6.
Stevens played another 4 years at the Dragons and then defected to their arch rivals, the Sharks, for the Super League campaign of 1997. Again he reached the Grand Final against the Broncos, and again he was on the losing side. However, he was selected in the Australian team for the Super League Test series against England.
In 1999 he helped the Sharks to the minor premiership where the team had high hopes of making the Grand Final. They were eventually bundled out by the Dragons in the Preliminary Final. Stevens was rewarded for his strong season by being selected in the Kangaroo's successful Tri-Nations tournament.
Stevens became a mainstay for the Australian team until 2002 and played 8 Origin matches for NSW until 2004. He retired from football in 2005 having played 231 first grade games and scoring 13 tries. After his retirement he spent some time in the media and authored a book titled "Worth the Wait".
Stevens will be remembered as a likeable but tough prop who always led from the front.
Until next week.