Devastated Jamie Soward opens up on shock Dragons NRLW axing, reveals future coaching ambitions

Jamie Soward revealed the hardest part about his Dragons axing was telling his daughter he’d lost his job. Hear from the club legend as he opens up on the disappointment of his shock dismissal, as well as his future coaching plans.

Axed St George Illawarra coach Jamie Soward says he’s embarrassed to be leaving the club with unfinished business but has vowed to see out the NRLW season out of a commitment to his players.

The club legend was told his contract would not be renewed for 2025 during a meeting with executives on Monday afternoon, just two days after a huge win over Parramatta kept their slim finals hopes alive.

A lack of connection with the players was the reason given, but the timing is confusing and the club does not have a replacement already lined up nor a firm plan for 2025.

But the 2010 premiership-winner wants to pour his passion into another coaching gig after taking some time to reflect on what went wrong.

“I want to coach, the most disappointing thing was it came after a big win,” he said.

“But I’ll reflect on maybe my push for the game to be professional came out in a different way than I intended and I think I was trying too hard for some of those standards, so I have to learn from it.”

Jamie Soward says he’s embarrassed to be leaving the club. Picture: NRL Photos

Soward was appointed coach in 2021 and took the team to the finals and a grand final in his first two years with the club, but missed out in 2023.

He has already put his hand up to coach the NSW Origin side, but will look at all options after some time off.

“I have only coached one year of NRL and people forget that, and I don’t think I was given a chance to work through it,” he said.

“I am not perfect, and I’m not always going to be perfect in the way I deliver things, but I need to learn.

“I’m just looking for a job at the moment. I love the women’s game and I’m passionate about it.

“It’s hard to take because it’s not like I’m an NRL coach on millions of dollars, I do it out of a passion. But it’s a chance to reset.”

Jamie Soward has been in charge at the Dragons since 2021. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

With three games left in the regular season, Soward has agreed to stay on as coach rather than walk away from the club he won a premiership with purely out of loyalty to his players.

They face the Raiders on Saturday in Kogarah, before the Wests Tigers and Broncos to round off the season.

They simply need to keep winning to give themselves a chance to make the finals while relying on other results to go their way.

“I recruited a lot of those players and I feel like I let them down,” he said.

“Bobbi Law, I got her to move her life down to Wollongong (from Newcastle). Rae (McGregor), Tyla (King), that’s the sad part for me.

Jamie Soward will stay on as coach out of loyalty to his players. Picture: NRL Photos

“I just want those girls to know what they mean to me and what they mean to my family.

“I’m still passionate about coaching, I want to be involved in footy and see where that all goes.

“I’m embarrassed for the girls I’ve relocated, I feel like I’ve let them down. I feel like I have a good footy brain, but maybe this is the reflection that I needed just to take a break and see what happens.”

For a man famous for wearing his heart on his sleeve, Soward says the hardest part was breaking the news to his daughter Indiana.

“The example I’ve got to set for my girls is things don’t always go your way and you have to get on with it,” he said.

“The hardest part was telling Indiana, she was devastated. She couldn’t understand what had happened and why and she broke down, which breaks me. But we’ve got to keep going.

“Our motto at the Sowards is ‘we’ll make it work’.”

Originally published as Devastated Jamie Soward opens up on shock Dragons NRLW axing, reveals future coaching ambitions