NRL 2022: St George Illawarra Dragons in shock name change consideration
While one club legend has threatened to walk away, another had a different take on the Dragons’ mooted name change. HAVE YOUR SAY
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He is one the most famous to don the Red V but Dragons legend Steve ‘Slippery’ Morris is willing to walk away from the club if the Illawarra moniker is dropped from its name.
Morris’ emotional plea comes as another club great, Brad Mackay, said he would not be against a return to the name, St George Dragons.
On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph revealed that St George Illawarra Dragons are exploring the potential of dropping ‘Illawarra’ from their name, as well as a logo change.
Some fans and members were probed about the issue in a wide-ranging survey earlier this week.
Options included; St George Dragons, Southern Dragons, Greater Sydney Dragons, The Dragons or St George Illawarra Dragons.
But if the club were to go down the path of a name change, it would lose a fan in Morris, who proudly wore the Red V in 180 games for the Dragons, and was the game’s first ever Dally M winner in 1979.
“I hope they don’t change the name, because they will lose me, too,” Morris said.
“I don’t think they should drop it all. Junior league in the St George area has struggled for a long time. The only reason the club is still able to produce talent is because of the Illawarra region and its juniors. They would be nothing without them.
“The club depends on not just the Illawarra but the south coast region, it’s a big supplier of future talent.”
Before helping the Dragons to premiership victory in 1979, Morris was an Illawarra junior.
He’s lived in Kiama on the NSW south coast for 25 years and believes the change would ‘destroy’ the affinity people in the Illawarra have with the club.
“When I hear people say ‘St George’ without the Illawarra, I always correct them and I’m passionate about that,” Morris said.
“There is a lot of support down here for the Dragons, you take that Illawarra part out of the name, people won’t follow them anymore. They are going to lose a big percentage of their fans if they change the name.”
Over his 13-year career, Mackay, a Brighton Seagulls junior, played for St George, the Steelers and was part of St George Illawarra’s inaugural side in 1999.
But having been raised in Kogarah, Mackay, a former NSW star, believes St George fans have received the raw end of the deal in the joint venture with the club’s football operations based solely in Wollongong.
“I live in the Illawarra now, and I know a lot of people from here feel like they have lost their identity but if you look at the St George side, they are probably worse off than the Steelers fans,” Mackay said.
“The St George people don’t get to see their side, they don’t train there or see them in their community. Jubilee Oval in Kogarah is hallowed turf for me, so I don’t see a problem with it.
“I think over time the Dragons will be synonymous with the Illawarra area more than the St George anyway because they have based themselves down here.
“I have six kids, the youngest don’t really associate the Dragons with the St George area. That’s a shame.”
The mooted change hasn’t just sparked debate among club legends but also its fan base.
“Ditching any reference to the Illawarra in the Dragons name would be an extraordinary act of sport erasure,” Patrick Bell said on Twitter.
“The most passionate and committed Dragons fans are from the Illawarra, and they‘ve already lost so much in the ’merger’.”
While others supported the move.
“St George Dragons as a brand, very appealing,” Dib Taleb said.
In a poll conducted by The Daily Telegraph, 56 per cent of respondents said the club should stick with St George Illawarra Dragons. While 25 per cent wanted to get rid of the Illawarra moniker.
The club has no plans to shift away from its base in the Illawarra and have secured $50 million to build a centre of excellence at the University of Wollongong.
DRAGONS COULD ERASE ‘ILLAWARRA’ FROM NAME, HISTORY
The Dragons are exploring the potential of dropping the Illawarra moniker from their name as the club gives serious consideration to returning as the St George Dragons.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that club members were issued a wide-ranging survey this week which included multiple questions to get a gauge on a potential name or logo change.
Eyebrows were raised when the survey questions lobbed in fans’ inboxes this week.
The most contentious question asked fans “which naming convention should the St George Illawarra Dragons use as their formal identity”.
The options included; St George Dragons, Southern Dragons, Greater Sydney Dragons, The Dragons or St George Illawarra Dragons.
It is understood that a return to St George Dragons has some support while the club could ditch St George or Illawarra from its name completely as they shift away from a geographical link. They could instead opt to be known simply as the Dragons.
Another question asked fans how appealing they rated the current logo and how they refer to the club.
The Dragons have no plans to shift away from its Illawarra-base and are committed to the region long-term after securing funds to build a $50 million centre of excellence at the University of Wollongong.
Among the other questions included fans were asked to what extend do they agree or disagree with the below statements;
– The St George and Illawarra fanbases have a lot in common
– The club’s combined histories are there to guide and inspire us
– The club must unite under a single identity to be truly successful
They also asked fans to what extent they agreed with “the era of the St George and Illawarra Steelers has passed and we must now look to the future as one”.
It’s understood the member survey was the second piece of work commissioned by the board to an independent third party.
Internal club staff were also sent a survey to gauge their opinions on a wide range of issues concerning the club.
A senior club official told The Daily Telegraph the surveys would provide crucial information and input to help build the club’s brand into one of the biggest in Australian sport.
The joint venture between St George and the Steelers was formed heading into the 1999 season. It underwent a massive ownership revamp over time as the Steelers struggled to be a solid financial partner.
Eventually WIN agreed to take up a 50 per cent stake in the Dragons in 2018 after three years of protracted negotiations.
The Dragons name, logo and colours are protected with a unanimous vote needed to change any part of the club’s identity. “Reserved matters” need 75 per cent or more of the WIN and St George board members to agree to reduce the amount of games played at WIN Stadium or Jubilee Oval and change the club’s constitution.
The board has an even split of eight people between St George and WIN Corporation.
WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster was appointed chairman of the board last month as part of the 12 month rotation between the two parties.
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