Crawley Files: Meticulous planning behind St George Illawarra Dragons’ success
HOW do you build an NRL squad that is the envy of the competition? PAUL CRAWLEY analyses the meticulous planning and stringent salary-cap management required.
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GONE are the days when an NRL coach can march into a press conference and say: “If these blokes don’t aim up, I am going to drop them.”
The simple fact is the salary cap doesn’t allow it, which is why responsibility must be shared from the top down. For failure and success.
It brings us to the team sitting on top of the NRL ladder.
Ben Hunt has made one hell of a difference at St George Illawarra. But just like blaming players after a loss, don’t be fooled into thinking this is all Hunt’s doing.
Remember, the Dragons have the least amount of third-party agreements of any club, giving up almost a $2 million advantage to some.
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But they still managed to beat Brisbane and sign Hunt to partner Gareth Widdop in the halves while keeping a quality overall roster that is now the envy of many.
How? What you see now is the result of meticulous planning and stringent salary-cap management.
When Dragons coach Paul McGregor came out before the season and said “this is the best squad I have coached”, many thought it as a dangerous comment.
“He was putting himself on the line saying that,” Dragons head of recruitment Ian Millward agreed.
“But he was also being really honest.
“It’s taken a while and a lot of good people in the organisation to buy into how our recruitment works.
“The coach has got to buy into it. Our CEO is driving it. Our football manager is a vital part. And our CFO is a real key.”
This is the process that leads to success.
It’s no secret the Dragons needed a top-class halfback and when Hunt signed, many believed they paid too much.
“But we had a criteria,” Millward explained.
“We wanted someone who had played 100-plus games. Someone who had played a grand final. Someone who had played Origin or Test football. Someone who came with a real presence, a genuine halfback who could manage a team.
“Twelve months before, we’d gone down to see Cooper Cronk, myself and Mary.
“(Cronk) was very honest. He said he was eventually going to be moving to Sydney but he didn’t know when.
“So we knew we had to move on in the marketplace.”
Importantly, they also knew their budget.
Chief financial officer Jamie Barrington arrived at the club seven years ago and since then, the Dragons have not once spent over the cap.
Before joining the Dragons, Barrington worked at the players’ union, so has a complete understanding of how the cap can be manoeuvred while still playing within the rules.
You’d be surprised how many clubs constantly stuff this up. Then again, maybe you wouldn’t, given how many get caught out.
“There is so many things you can do if you have got the best CFO,” Millward said.
“And when all the numbers are crunched, he says, ‘Well, this is the max we can go’.
“The CFO is working in conjunction with you, saying, ‘We can’t get to 2020 and say we have got no money left but we have only got 14 players. We are in shit now’.”
It’s a fine line.
Overspend in one area and you have to take short cuts in another.
That’s where many clubs gets themselves in strife, and ultimately end up blaming the players.
“The game is getting so tough, you have to hold your nerve in recruitment,” Millward said.
“If you become reactive you will get inconsistent results.
“Sometimes fans want a quick fix. But you can’t run a club that way. We’re constantly looking at the big picture.
“If the coach or the board ever ask us can we look at your succession plans for under 16s, 18s, 20s NSW Cup and first grade, we can get out the paperwork tomorrow and show them.
“Now, it doesn’t always turn out how you want, but our key is the process and the planning.”
Which is how it worked throughout the entire Hunt deal — from the very first phone call to Hunt’s agent, Col Davis, in late September 2016.
Millward and football manager Ben Haran flew to Brisbane twice before Hunt and his partner Bridget came to Wollongong to meet McGregor.
Not long after, Hunt’s agent was back on the phone.
Millward still recalls the conversation: “He basically said to me, ‘There are four B’s in the Hunt family. There is Ben, Bridget, (their toddler) Brady and the Broncos. We are going to drop one of the B’s off. He’s going to become a Dragon’.”
Millward and Haran returned to Brisbane. For two days they finalised every detail before Hunt toasted the deal.
Millward got straight on the phone to McGregor and chief executive Peter Doust. “They were over the moon.”
Just like the fans were last Sunday as the Dragons continued their march. “I really enjoyed the game, but your mind is always ticking,” Millward said. “2019. 2020. 2021 ...
“We are not always going to get it right. But we feel if we take our time as a group, you are giving yourself the best chance to get it right.”
TRBOJEVIC HAS TO START FOR BLUES
THINK of all the great brothers who have played top-level rugby league over the generations.
By the week, it is becoming more evident the Trbojevics will eventually take their place alongside them.
After a rotten week for the Sea Eagles following last week’s salary-cap punishment, it was again Tom and Jake who led the way on the field in the 32-16 win over Canberra, with Tom taking three Dally M points and Jake two.
Even after Tom suffered his ankle injury, Brad Fittler came out and pretty much guaranteed the 21-year-old will be somewhere in the NSW Origin team this year if he is fit.
As for Jake, well, there is just no question: he has to be in the Blues starting side after playing all three games off the bench in 2017.
But it is going to make for some tough decisions for Fittler in the coming weeks given the NSW starting back-row incumbents are skipper Boyd Cordner, 2016 Blues player of the series Josh Jackson, Wade Graham and Tyson Frizell.
Throw in the likes of Jack de Belin and Trent Merrin, and Fittler will have his work cut nailing down who starts, who plays off the bench and who misses out.
Freddy can’t pick them all, but on form Trbojevic would be the first forward picked.
As well as his tireless defence, the outstanding lock has continued to develop his ball-playing skills and is now clearly averaging the most possessions (26.3) of any NRL middle forward.
His closest rival is South Sydney’s Sam Burgess, who is averaging 21.3 possessions.
Playing off the bench last year, Jake took out The Daily Telegraph’s People’s Choice Award as well as the True Blue Award, which relates to the player who displays qualities upon which team culture is built.
Which is exactly the quality he consistently shows for Manly, especially in weeks like last when they needed him most.
THUMBS UP: MAGIC MBYE
YOU talk about a young bloke making the most of his chances.
Moses Mbye is already showing what a future he has at fullback.
And other more experienced players with a view to developing their media careers could do worse than follow the 24-year-old’s lead.
Knocked out in the opening minutes of Canterbury’s game against South Sydney on Good Friday, Mbye still didn’t let it stop him taking up the opportunity to stand in for Luke Lewis on NRL 360.
On the field, he’ll be backing up against Canberra on Thursday night.
THUMBS DOWN: REF WRONG
REFEREE Henry Perenara embarrassed himself the way he spoke to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the Warriors’ win over Sydney Roosters.
After defending several sets on their tryline, Perenara called the captain over for an official team warning after a penalty.
Tuivasa-Sheck was out on his feet but it didn’t stop Perenara demanding: “Stand up straight when I talk to you.”
You’d want to hope someone at the NRL told Perenara to pull his head in.
DRAGON’S MILESTONE
JASON Nightingale will play his 250th NRL game for St George Illawarra when he lines up against South Sydney on Friday night.
By doing so, the last survivor of the 2010 premiership-winning team will again raise the issue about which players are entitled to testimonials.
When agreeing to give one to Cam Smith and Johnathan Thurston, the NRL put out a set of guidelines to limit players eligible. They had to have played 250 games and Origin or Test football, and have a good overall image. Nightingale ticks all the boxes.
By season’s end, Nightingale could join Ben Hornby (273) as the joint venture’s longest-serving player. Ben Creagh is second on 270
games.
NRL DRAW A REAL MESS
HOW do you make sense of the NRL draw?
This weekend Wests Tigers play Melbourne for the second time in the opening five rounds and Parramatta also play Penrith for the second time in as many games.
Not only that, the Eels only play five teams overall in their first nine matches. So far they have played Penrith, Manly, Cronulla and the Tigers.
After Penrith again, they face Canberra before Manly, Tigers and Cronulla all again.
BELLAMY JOINS GREATS
MELBOURNE is a club known for standing up in milestone matches. And in the proud history of the Storm, there haven’t been more games as significant as the one on Saturday night against Wests Tigers.
As part of the double header in Auckland, Craig Bellamy will become just the seventh coach in history to reach 400 games.
Wayne Bennett (792) holds the record ahead of Tim Sheens (669), Brian Smith (601), Warren Ryan (415), Bob Fulton (405) and Ron Willie (403).
The Storm didn’t manage the win in Billy Slater’s 300th game against the Tigers in round 2 but you can bet the premiers will be out for payback this time round.
BURGESS BAN PANNED
I DON’T agree with the popular opinion that Sam Burgess should not have been penalised for raising his bumper bars into Josh Morris last week.
But I just can’t believe he has now copped a two-game suspension for an incident where a penalty should have been sufficient. Sure, Burgess wouldn’t have been suspended if he didn’t fight the charge at the judiciary. But what’s happened now only highlights what a debacle the system is.
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