St George Illawarra Dragons in talks with Shane Richardson as part of football overhaul

The appointment of a new coach isn’t the only change on the horizon for St George Illawarra, as Dragons bosses turn to a veteran football brain to save their club.

Latrell Mitchell joins South Sydney Rabbitohs walking with Wayne Bennett and Shane Richardson. The South Sydney Rabbitohs holding a media conference with new recruit Latrell Mitchell today, Monday 13 January at the Metricon High Performance Centre at Redfern Oval. (DAILY TELEGRAPH/Simon Bullard)

St George Illawarra Dragons have held secret talks with former Penrith and South Sydney supremo Shane Richardson as the Red V also ramps-up plans to secure preferred coaching candidate Jason Ryles.

Richardson has met with St George Illawarra chairman Andrew Lancaster, who was part of the Dragons board that officially terminated besieged coach Anthony Griffin on Tuesday.

Ryles’ appointment appears a fait accompli — pending the Dragons agreeing to some conditions around resources — and Griffin’s likely successor could have the support of Richardson in a beefed-up front office.

Shane Richardson with Latrell Mitchell in 2020. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Richardson is one of the most successful officials in the code. He has operated in a number of roles and was chief executive of Penrith and South Sydney when the club won breakthrough premierships in 2003 and 2014 respectively.

Richardson also served at the NRL as head of strategy and game development in 2015 at a time when the governing body accelerated plans for expansion of the code.

The Dragons’ front office is a rabble and there is a view the strong-minded clout of Richardson could bring stability to the joint venture and provide an experienced sounding board should Ryles formally agree terms over the next fortnight.

Speaking exclusively to News Corp, Richardson confirmed holding talks with the Dragons over a possible head of football role, but stressed no deal has been done at this stage.

“Yes, I had an informal meeting with Andrew Lancaster,” said Richardson, currently heading up the Brisbane Tigers’ expansion bid to win the NRL’s 18th licence.

“We had a preliminary conversation and that’s what it was.

Jason Ryles (middle) is the frontrunner to be the Dragons’ next coach.

“I gave him about an hour and a bit where I told him what I thought about the state of the club and he may not have liked that.

“To be honest, I don’t know if I want to go back to being a head of football, we will see what happens.”

One of the most famous clubs in the league, the Dragons are a long way from their halcyon days when St George won 11 premierships between 1956-66.

Ryles is the No. 1 target to revive the glory years and if Dragons bosses agree to a proposed five-year deal, part of which involves greater resourcing with staff, the former NSW and Test prop will beat Ben Hornby and Cowboys assistant Dean Young as Griffin’s replacement.

As a joint-venture club, St George Illawarra are in danger of winning their first-ever wooden spoon and Richardson says he has a non-negotiable formula for turning a club into a premiership contender.

“All good clubs have an ethos built around structure, discipline and communication,” he said.

“They are the three key things.

Richardson helped Penrith to the 2003 title.

And with South Sydney in 2014.

“If you have those things, you have stability.

“I don’t want to make specific comments about the Dragons board, but the key is getting on and doing your job and you need people in the front office who are strong enough to instil structure, discipline and communication.

“You can run the biggest corporations in Australia but if you don’t understand footy culture, you will struggle.

“I don’t know right now if the Dragons have a real footy way of thinking about things and that’s got nothing to do with money or ability.”

Asked if he would be keen to potentially work with Ryles, Richardson said: “I don’t know much about Jason Ryles, but in my conversations no-one has been critical of Jason.

“They have spoken highly of him as a coach.”

Originally published as St George Illawarra Dragons in talks with Shane Richardson as part of football overhaul