Sports Confidential: Dean Young and Ben Hornby facing the axe as Dragons pay the price
Paul McGregor might be avoiding the sack but two Dragons legends could pay the price for the club’s disappointing season with Dean Young and Ben Hornby facing dismissal.
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Paul McGregor is all but assured to coach St George Illawarra again next year but the fate of club legends Dean Young and Ben Hornby isn’t as secure.
The Dragons are planning to revamp their support staff next year with Young and Hornby in the firing line. It is expected at least one — if not both — of the club favourites will be shown the door at the end of the year.
Hornby captained the club to their historic 2010 premiership and is the most-capped Dragon of all-time, while Young is a fellow grand final winner and skippered the club during his 209-game career.
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The former teammates are off-contract at season’s end, having transitioned into coaching shortly after their retirements in 2012. They coached the respective under-18 St George and Illawarra sides before co-coaching the Dragons’ under-20s team in 2014.
They joined McGregor’s NRL coaching staff in the lead up to the 2015 season.
Former halfback Mat Head is another on the club’s coaching staff who is facing an uncertain future.
Sacked Leeds coach David Furner has been mentioned as a potential option for either the Dragons or the Titans, as has former Dragons skipper Trent Barrett.
The Dragons could also shake up their high performance staff.
Regardless, St George Illawarra are pulling out all the stops to throw their support behind McGregor to give the coach every opportunity at succeeding.
McGregor only re-signed for a further two seasons earlier this year but knows the start of next season will be pivotal if he is to remain at the helm.
COYNE STEPS AWAY FOR NOW
Mark Coyne has a given a polite ‘thanks but no thanks’ to ARLC chairman Peter Beattie’s request for him to remain in the game.
Coyne stepped down from the ARLC last Saturday but was quickly asked to fill in two important roles within the game.
Beattie did not want Coyne walking away completely from the sport and offered him a place on the competition committee, as well as a role on the grassroots committee.
But Coyne has politely opted against either of the positions as he looks to take a back step from the game after 20 years of volunteering on top of his 12 years of playing the game at the highest level.
Coyne won’t be totally lost to the game though, he plans on watching his son play for the Gymea Gorillas.
DOGS LOCK IN LONG-TERM SPONSOR
Canterbury may be battling at the foot of the competition ladder but their sponsors are keeping the faith off it. The Bulldogs and sleeve sponsor M & J Chickens have announced a deal which will create a rare 20-year relationship.
“Being able to embark on a long-term partnership with a local company is rare in the modern world of sport and we are delighted that we have been able to extend our partnership with M & J Chickens for a further three years,” Bulldogs boss Andrew Hill said.
“To have a partnership reach 20 years is a great reflection of the shared values of both organisations and we look forward to continuing that into the future.”
M & J Chickens will remain as sleeve sponsor for at least three more years as the company’s chief executive Sam Phylactou said “rugby league is in our DNA”.
“It is a privilege to be aligned with an iconic club and a proud community,” Phylactou said.
“From humble beginnings in a shop at Wiley Park to becoming a national chicken business, we are delighted to have forged such a strong relationship with the Bulldogs that will now reach the 20-year mark. That relationship has been based on mutual respect and strong ties with the community.”
TOO MUCH BANKWEST IS NEVER ENOUGH
THE number of sporting events allowed to be staged at the new Bankwest Stadium will have to be lifted in order to fit all the sporting events in next year.
The stadium already has two major tenants in the Parramatta Eels and Western Sydney Wanderers but that number will jump significantly next year while ANZ and Allianz Stadiums are being reconstructed.
Only 49 sporting events can be played there as part of the original planning.
Canterbury, South Sydney, Wests Tigers and Cronulla plan on staging matches at the venue while the Waratahs, the rugby league world nines and the Rugby Sevens also feature at the ground.
It is understood negotiations to cap the matches at 70 is underway.
“A modification request can be submitted to the Department for assessment to amend the existing approval,” a spokesman from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said.
SHOOSH I
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SHOOSH II
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NRL CLEARS REYNOLDS KICK
Adam Reynolds took this very unusual stance in the lead-up to the pivotal short kick-off against St George Illawarra last week.
Reynolds took his mark on St George Illawarra’s side of halfway prompting some to question if the kick was illegal.
It’s not the most pressing issue in the game but we put the question to the NRL, which told us it had no problems with the Reynolds kick, given a kicker cannot be off-side and that the ball was struck in the middle of the field on the halfway line.
The NRL won’t be telling Reynolds to amend his stance.
The kick-off was pinpoint with the Rabbitohs getting the ball back before Campbell Graham scored the matchwinner with the final play of the game.
KIDS IN FREE AT THE SCG
Children will get free entry to the Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans game at the SCG on Sunday.
Thanks to the Roosters’ major partner, Steggles, two children will get free entry with the pre-purchase of any general admission adult ticket.
The SCG’s family friendly Sunday will also offer $5 food offerings for footy favourites such as sausage roll, meat pie, hot chips, hot dog, water and soft drink.
BIG JIM BRINGS UP 400
St George Illawarra warhorse James Graham will run out for his 400th top-flight game on Sunday.
We asked league historian David Middleton to breakdown the numbers for us with Graham’s record now at 195 Super League games, 29 Challenge Cup games, one world club challenge and 174 NRL matches.
Cameron Smith celebrate his 400th game — which only included NRL matches. The Dragons are rightly planning to celebrate the milestone next week.
FITTLER SLEEPS ROUGH
Blues coach Brad Fittler will be among a host of high-profile sport stars sleeping rough for The Chappell Foundation’s Sports Stars Sleepout on Monday at the SCG.
MCVEIGH JUNIOR STEALS THE SHOW
He’s a Sydney Swans great, but it was little Florence McVeigh who stole the show at her dad Jarrad’s retirement announcement at the SCG yesterday.
While the 324-gamer was busy explaining his decision to hang up the boots, Florence, who is almost two, came on stage and proceeded to take her dad’s glass water of water — before returning to collect coach John Longmire’s too.
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