Dragons coach Shane Flanagan and CEO Ryan Webb address Ronald Volkman contract debacle

St George Illawarra head coach Shane Flanagan and CEO Ryan Webb have broken their silence over the medical report which led to Ronald Volkman’s contract being torn up.

Shane Flanagan.

St George Illawarra head coach Shane Flanagan and CEO Ryan Webb have addressed the Ronald Volkman contract fiasco by admitting “lessons have been learned” and that the club isn’t pointing the finger “at anyone.”

The Dragons figureheads claim that in hindsight they should never have let the former Warriors halfback train with the Red-V in early January until the results of their own full medical report had been received.

Volkman, 21, is without a club after the Dragons medical team discovered that he required a shoulder operation, a deal-breaker that led to Saints pulling their one-year offer.

“I feel sorry for the young bloke. He’s hurt himself. He didn’t pass his medical, it’s unfortunate ... as a club we had to protect ourselves,” Flanagan said.

“We did the right thing, we got all the scans and found out he needs to have surgery. He injured himself at the Warriors.

“In all my time I’ve never had a player fail a medical.

Shane Flanagan.

“There are a lot of learnings from it. The club won’t shy away from that. We sent the kid to get the best medical scanning and testing.

“All clubs will learn from this one. We definitely will.

“We’re not pointing the finger at anyone. Facts are facts. He injured himself at the Warriors, he needs surgery.”

Asked what the club would have done differently, Flanagan said: “The different thing is the light training he did that exposed his injury should have been done behind closed doors.

“We have history on players, he had had a shoulder reconstruction ... but to look at the scans, he didn’t just fail [the medical] a little bit, he had two screws pulled out.

“But it’s not the kid’s fault, you get injured in this game, and I’m not blaming him.”

Webb said that the Dragons medical team have saved the club from having an injured player on their books worth around $250,000.

St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb. Picture: Simon Bullard

“We didn’t follow anything different than what we would have in the past,” Webb said.

“And we didn’t have any reason to be overly cautious based on the information we had (from the Warriors).

“But next time, you’d be cautious about when you go public (with the signing).

“In the end the position that we go too, would have been the same, he failed the fitness test.

“It was really clear from us that, you pass the medical and you’ll be signed.

“He didn’t pass the medical so he’s not one of our players.

“It’s really unfortunate and we’ll give him as much mental health support as he needs, but he’s not our player and I’m sure he’s got people taking care of that.

“We’ve also discussed the timeline of events with the RLPA and left it with them.”

As a direct result of Volkman missing out on a contract, the Dragons have since signed talented half/hooker Jesse Marshke, who joined the club in Wollongong on Thursday to announce a new sponsorship agreement with Squadron Energy.

🚨 Welcome to the #RedV Jesse Marschke 🔥🐉 pic.twitter.com/D9dCHLCrf5

— St George Illawarra Dragons (@NRL_Dragons) January 18, 2024

“He was here today, contract signed, and he’s a good kid,” Flanagan said.

“He got NSW Cup player of the year (with North Sydney) last year. He can play halfback and hooker. He’s spent the past 12 weeks at the Melbourne Storm, so he has been training.

“He was at the Roosters, he just hasn’t cracked it consistently in the NRL. He’s only 26, and he’s fit and healthy.”

Originally published as Dragons coach Shane Flanagan and CEO Ryan Webb address Ronald Volkman contract debacle