The years since St George Illawarra’s 2010 premiership victory – the high point in the joint venture’s existence – have been clouded in mediocrity, largely because of

There have been just two finals victories since Wayne Bennett’s departure in what has shaped as the club’s lost decade. Steve Price was axed almost as quickly as he was appointed while the Paul McGregor years dragged on with limited success.

The writing was on the wall for McGregor when team selection became a three-man panel decision in the final weeks of his tenure.

The Dragons’ recruitment woes stretched back further, to Brett Morris’ departure to play for the Bulldogs. The club told its then only regular Origin player to test the market after baulking at offering Morris a long-term deal.

He was granted a release from the final year of his deal to join the Bulldogs in 2015. The Dragons blew the Broncos out of the water to sign Ben Hunt on a $6.5m, six-year contract and the panicked signing of Corey Norman proved to be one of the worst in the joint-venture’s history.

The Dragons rushed through the Norman deal after then-skipper Gareth Widdop wanted to return to England. Widdop gave the club a full season to find his replacement but they took just weeks to land Norman, who was paid about $850,000 this season.

The blame for Norman’s signing sits with McGregor or former recruitment boss Ian Millward, depending on who you speak to.

In the aftermath of McGregor’s exit, the Dragons underwent a ­recruitment shake-up, with Ben Haran assuming head-of-football responsibilities at the end of last year and Anthony Griffin stepping into the coaching breach.

There has been an obvious shift in recruitment policy under the Haran/Griffin regime. Patient and calculated. This approach may have cost them skipper Cameron McInnes after they delayed discussions, only for McInnes to sign with arch rivals Cronulla. It is a similar stance they have taken with Tariq Sims – so far refusing to extend the NSW representative’s deal – instead preparing to wait until next year, which may lead to Sims’ exit.

PART I: RED V DISASTER: BENNETT LABELS THE CLUB’S DUMBEST MOVE

They were told on Tuesday night that their $500,000-a-year offer to Parramatta’s Marata Niukore’s would not be enough. They refused to budge after being blown out of the water by the Warriors. Their pursuit of Dale Finucane this year ended when they offered minimal terms in the fourth year while they were never in the mix for Tevita Pangai Jr – warned off for his attributes away from the field.

The club hasn’t got it all right either, highlighted by their handling of McInnes.

The flirtation of Israel Folau blew up in their face, while offering Jack de Belin a rich $3 million, despite his time away from the game, has yet to pay dividends.

Veterans Aaron Woods, George Burgess and Moses Mbye join a side which already has 30-plus players in Josh McGuire and Andrew McCullough, who signed after the start of the season this year.

The key to the arrival of Bird, McGuire, McCullough and Mbye is the fact their former clubs will be chipping in a large chunk of their ­salary.

Their other noticeable shift is the type of player Griffin wants in his side. He wants size to play a power game with Francis Molo, Jaydn Su’A and Moses Suli all big bodies.

One barnstorming player who is unlikely to come on their radar is Penrith back-rower Viliame Kikau, with those close to the club saying Kikau’s camp will be “waiting a while” if they hoped an offer would come their way.

Instead their immediate focus is on tying down Sullivan, with the club putting together a three-year offer. They are also in the process of upgrading exciting fullback Sloan.

THE MERGER

When St George and Illawarra merged, the running gag was that St George provided the cash and the Steelers the players.

This has never been more evident ahead of the 2022 season.

Following the departure of local junior Matt Dufty to Canterbury, the St George side of the joint venture will not provide a player in first grade next year.

In St George Illawarra’s premiership year they had four local players in the top grade with two – Mark Gasnier and Jason Nightingale – featuring in the grand final-winning team.

South Sydney’s Hame Sele was the last homegrown product to debut for St George Illawarra, in 2017. The Rabbitohs will feature more St George juniors in their squad, with Sele joined by grand final player Jacob Host and Kingsgrove Colts product Josh Mansour.

Their inability to develop Luciano Leilua, who was granted an early release from his deal to join the Tigers, was telling, despite Leilua coming through the St George pathways.

St George District Rugby League have appointed ex-St George Illawarra player and Hurstville United junior Kyle Stanley to revitalise the junior league.

Stanley was given the job last November and he will oversee the pathway systems and St George’s junior representative teams.

“It’s a work in progress,” Stanley said. “There is talent that has been let go in the past because there has not been a clear pathway. That’s where I step in and try to create that pathway and development system.

“When they are 13-14-15 getting them ready for junior reps. The area is not as strong as it used to be. There are a couple of reasons why – demographics play a big part.

“The pathway has not been clear enough for players and families to be locked into St George. That’s why they’ve gone elsewhere.

LISTEN! David Riccio, Michael Carayannis and Brent Read go behind the merger of St George and Illawarra and the impact it had on the region.

“That’s why I need to create these development systems. It’s a big task but nothing I can’t handle. For a district that’s rich in history who have a lot of players who have come through, to have not one player in the top 30 is quite sad.”

The likes of Nightingale, Gasnier, Lance Thompson and Brad Mackay starred for the Red-V coming through the junior ranks.

Stanley’s brother Chase and ex-Canterbury, Penrith and Parramatta player Frank Pritchard are also working on St George’s pathways.

The junior league numbers in the St George district are rising slowly.

BUSINESS TYCOON LIFTS LID ON DRAGONS’ $11.5m SNUB

They grew to 1675 last year – their highest in six seasons. But those numbers are well below the likes of Balmain (2053), Manly (2461) and Penrith (8769).

In the joint-venture’s first two seasons, there were four St George products who played first grade. That number reached as many as five in 2006-07 and 2012-13.

While the St George region struggles, the Steelers catchment continues to produce budding superstars.

The Dragons’ long-term hopes rests in the hands of Illawarra products including Zac Lomax, Tyrell Sloan, Jayden Sullivan, Talatau Amone and Jack Bird.

THE COACH

Griffin will start the 2022 season under as much pressure as any coach in the NRL. His contract has one year to run, with the club having an option to extend his deal into 2023, if the club is showing early promise.

At one point in his maiden season this year, it looked like he would be a contender for coach of the year, but things quickly unravelled – bottoming out when a group of players were suspended after holding a barbecue in breach of the game’s biosecurity protocols and NSW public health orders.

Griffin arrives at round 1 with his career at the crossroads.

There is a string of ready and willing coaches waiting for an elusive NRL gig, including Cameron Ciraldo, Jason Ryles, Shane Flanagan, Dean Young and Josh Hannay.

Griffin, 55, must start fast. The Dragons open their 2022 account against the Warriors (away) before taking on the Panthers (home), Sharks (home) and Eels (away).

Such is the gloom hovering over the Dragons ahead of the new season, the TAB took the liberty to open the joint-venture at $51 to win the premiership – the longest odds in their history and rated a longer shot than the Tigers, Bulldogs or Cowboys.

“Anthony’s tenure hasn’t been discussed at this time,” Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb said. “Internally there is great belief in the direction he’s taking the team and we can see the positive impact his work is having right across the club.”

Griffin was handed the reins 12 month ago after the Dragons parted ways with favourite son ­McGregor.

Griffin arrived in Wollongong with his eyes wide open.

He grew up a St George fan in Rockhampton, a rugby league-mad town in central Queensland. He was drawn to the club because of its history and success.

When you talk about the Dragons, it is hard to avoid mention of the 11 premierships they won in the 1950s and 60s.

That unprecedented period of achievement shadows the Dragons to this day.

Supporters yearn for the good, old days when the Dragons started every year expecting to challenge for titles.

“That is understandable – the most successful premiership run in any sport I would imagine in Australia,” Griffin said.

“Then again, in the ’70s they were extremely strong and a lot of those guys are still around.

“The supporter base of the Dragons is very traditional as well. A lot of the supporters have grown up with the stories handed down from their parents and their parents before that about the nostalgia of the Dragons and the force they were.

“I grew up in Rocky and I was a Dragons supporter. The reason you supported them was because of their history in a way. I get that. I think that whole thing is that is the St George traditional side of things – there is a Steelers element to it as well. That sort of blue-collar, hardworking country football element is part of the history of the club as well.”

When he took the reins at St George Illawarra, he received an immediate history lesson from Dragons legend Shaun Timmins.

“When those guys, and it was literally the Wollongong guys, lived down here and the Sydney guys lived in Sydney, and they used to split training runs between Kogarah and Wollongong, it was a real us-and-them type,” Griffin said.

“He explained it was like a rep side the first couple of years. For me, most of them live down here (in Wollongong). There are a few who live at Cronulla – Ben Hunt and Andrew McCullough.

“Mbye lives at Kogarah and Su’A lives somewhere at Botany. But that hasn’t been an issue because probably 90 per cent of the squad are within 10 or 15 minutes drive of the place.

“I knew it would be different, obviously. You hear the stories from outside that there are two clubs in one franchise.

“From my position as head coach, I haven’t seen any division or rift or anything like that. Geographically it has its challenges as well as its advantages – there is a big footprint from Kogarah right down to Shellharbour.

“Geographically there are two junior bases and the main commercial base is still at Kogarah, while the football base is at WIN (Stadium).

“You’re always aware of how the joint venture was created and it is the Steelers and Dragons. It is a bit of a mouthful of the St George Illawarra Dragons, but if you leave the Illawarra out, a couple of times I’ve had a few people raise their eyebrows, so to speak.”

THE FUTURE

Griffin has the support of Dragons powerbrokers to make things happen. Yet Dragons fans are rightly asking questions about the club and its direction.

The Gordon family is worth billions but when you think about the heavyweight clubs in the code, South Sydney, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne and Brisbane more immediately spring to mind.

WIN TV chairman Andrew Gordon insists they are committed to winning premierships yet the success-starved fans want a reason for hope.

“We want to see growth in our football to the point where we establish ourselves as a consistent premiership contender,” Gordon said.

“That begins with updating our current training and office facilities which, without making any excuses, are well below expectations for an elite sports team.

“We are extremely proud of our NRL women’s premiership team and more recently, the establishment of our Dragons Female Academy.

“Our catchment is a huge reason why women’s rugby league is the fastest-growing participation sector in the game and having an Academy to develop the next group of young stars will only benefit the club.”

Gordon insisted WIN were in it for the long haul.

“WIN as a group are well-known for taking a long-term view on their investments, although their involvement in the Dragons in not something looked at from a traditional investment viewpoint,” he said.

“It’s got more to do with a belief in the sport of rugby league and being able to back a sporting organisation that does a lot for the communities WIN does business in. Among the club’s plans is establishing a centre of excellence in Wollongong.”

The appointment of Webb as the club’s first “external” chief executive changed tack after a long-held belief the Dragons were a closed shop when it came to key appointments: Brian Johnston had two stints as CEO and Peter Doust was once the game’s longest-serving boss. He remains a member of the board.

Having stepped into the role in April last year, Webb has dealt with the sacking of coach McGregor, the fallout from the de Belin case, Covid-19 and the barbecue fiasco.

“The club has come through it well and is now in a solid position which we can build upon,” Webb said. “Working closely with our board, we’ve managed to clear all the club’s debts and we’ll make a profit this year for the second year running.

“This has been achieved while continuing to invest into our football program and at the same time making a lot of changes throughout the football department and playing list with the aim of becoming a consistently successful team.

“(We want to build) an environment that breeds success. There is still a lot of work to be done if we are to become an elite organisation.”

The Dragons as a club once stood for something. The question is what do they stand for now? Ultimately, they will be judged on premierships won.

“The players for me – my first year with them – I never felt that we needed to address with them the expectation because of winning 11 premierships in the 50s and 60s,” Griffin said.

“We’re really proud of our club and proud of the history of it. Our job is to build the future and be proud of what we are doing now, not because of something that happened in the past. We’re about finding the next premiership.”