Inside the secret meetings with war hero sparking St George Illawarra Dragons
ST GEORGE Illawarra players are crediting it as the fuel to their shock start to the season — secret meetings with a long-serving army veteran to define the club’s culture and put past failures behind them.
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THEY are the secret meetings with a long-serving army veteran which St George Illawarra players are crediting to being the glue to their shock start to the season.
For the first time, The Daily Telegraph can reveal the man behind the Dragons’ meteoric rise is 12-year decorated war hero Ritchie Gibson. Brisbane-based Gibson flies to the Dragons’ Wollongong training base once a week and spends at least two days helping shape the club’s culture.
It is these meetings that have instilled the belief in St George Illawarra’s representative star Tyson Frizell that there will be no repeat of the side’s dramatic collapse of 2017. The Dragons have lost just one game this season — having dropped two this time last year before crumbling to miss the finals.
“Tough times are going to come,” Frizell said. “There will be some losses and people writing us off. It’s how we respond. Hopefully we are in a better headspace because we didn’t deal with it too well last year.
“When things weren’t going right we tried to over complicate things and change things.”
Accountability is a common message delivered by Gibson. Frizell said too many small things were ignored last year, which contributed to their sudden dip in form.
“Later on down the track you let things slide, training wise and off field things and by the end of the year all those little things add up,” Frizell said. “Towards the back end of the year we shot ourselves in the foot because we weren’t holding ourselves accountable. If we address them now and we fix them every week we will be in a good spot at the end of the year.
“(Gibson) gives us a bit of direction on where we want to go as a team and what’s needed to succeed.
“We shied away from little things last year and towards the end of last year they become big problems. We’ve been good now and hopefully we can be better by the end of the year.”
Gibson was first introduced to the players last year when he took them through a pre-season boot camp. He was used sparingly throughout 2017 but served as a mentor to coach Paul McGregor. The pair agreed he would come on full-time this year and has been a constant at the Dragons the past five months.
Gibson said his first task was for the players to set personal goals which they display on either their fridge, bathroom mirror or locker room.
“They see it as an affirmation every day,” Gibson told the Daily Telegraph. “Their goals and purposes can’t be about winning the premiership or making money. Paul was telling me three players approached him last year and they wanted to do goal settings. Those three players had the best season they’ve had.
“I’ve asked them to write down what they perceive their obstacles will be. I did a lot of work with Paul last year and he wanted me to set a few rules in place. He wasn’t fond of grey areas.
“Sometimes the mentality around footballers is that sometimes they will play as a team but when it comes to contract negotiations or Origin we start to play for the name on the back of the jersey not is what is on the front of it.”
Gibson served in East Timor during a seven-year stint in the infantry before being a physical trainer in the army. After being discharged in 2013 he has gone on to become a successful author and public speaker.
Each month Gibson has introduced a new theme to the group which has included culture, values, standards and mental strength. To combat a tough recent playing schedule which included a trip to Auckland, a short turnaround against the Roosters and heading into the clash against defending premiers Melbourne the focus has been on character.
“It’s fine to say we wear the same logo and colours but are we a team?” Gibson asked the players. “What do you know about a player? Can you tell me their kids’ names? Can you tell me who Frizell just got married to?
“It’s about getting to know each other and building trust and knowing each other like the back of our hand which creates honesty.
“Tell us what you want to be. If you cut corners and you go out on the piss and have a three-day bender before an important game you’re not being true to your values.
“We are after people who really will make the right choices and decisions. Make no mistake, the reason we are on top of the ladder is no coincidence or fluke. It’s because individually the players have made the right choices.”
Frizell is part of a four-man leadership team alongside skipper Gareth Widdop, Cameron McInnes and James Graham which meets with Gibson. Gibson and McGregor have also identified an emerging leadership group in recent weeks which includes Paul Vaughan, Jack de Belin, Euan Aitken, Tariq Sims, Ben Hunt and Leeson Ah Mau.
“If the coaching staff feel like any players have more to give my job is to speak to them,” Gibson said. “I know (the problem) is not physical because our high performance is outstanding so I see where their head is at.
“We came up with six different things that I have on a reference board that I can turn around and say ‘you spoke about integrity and loyalty but you’re not doing it’.
“Other clubs are in crisis. The reason we are not is because we are making the right choices and decisions. When a brave man stands it stiffens the spine of others.”