‘Sweep the joint out’: Dragons in ‘complete shambles’ as sticking point in Ryles deal revealed

The Dragons’ front office has been labelled an ‘absolute debacle’, with the club urged to “sweep the joint out” after a week from hell.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 19: Roosters assistant coach Jason Ryles looks on prior to the round 12 NRL match between St George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney Roosters at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on May 19, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The Dragons have been labelled an “absolute debacle” with a front office in “complete shambles” in the wake of this week’s brutal off-field double blow.

Top head coaching target Jason Ryles completed a shock U-turn, rejecting a $3.2m offer to instead move to the Storm in a development coaching role from next season. Just hours later, it was revealed that chief sponsors St. George will end their 40-year sponsorship at the end of 2024, costing the club over a million dollars a year.

Now, one of the key ‘sticking points’ in the failed Ryles negotiations has been revealed – with the Dragons refusing to allow the former St George player to select his full raft of staff and assistants.

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Fox League’s James Hooper told NRL 360: “What it underlines and shows is that the Dragons front office is a complete shambles. They couldn’t hit a barn door with a fist full of rice.

“The deal was done. They offered him $800,000 a season, he lives in Wollongong, he’s worn the Red V jumper, the Roosters have cut him from the payroll. Surely it’s a no-brainer?

Jason Ryles has found greener pastures. Photo by Matt King/Getty Images.

“One of the sticking points was he wanted to pick his own people that he could surround himself with. He spoke to Phil Gould, he spoke to Cameron Ciraldo, he canvassed a lot of opinions around the game about the Dragons and he just decided it wasn’t the right time for him.

“He went and met the club on Monday, the CEO Ryan Webb, Ben Haran the general manager of football was also in that meeting, and that is where it went pear-shaped. Rylesy got cold feet.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield replied: “I think very intelligently he’s done a Craig Fitzgibbon and he got cold feet at the end. Fitzy, he was offered St. George too.

“I think he [Ryles] long-term wants to be a career coach and if you were starting out, would you like to learn from Bellyache (Craig Bellamy in Melbourne) or the mob that is at St. George there?”

NRL Gorden Tallis said the joint-venture clubs are facing a unique challenge, adding that a new coach must be given full control of their staffing decisions to turn things around at the struggling franchise.

Tallis said: “At some stage he’s got to jump in the deep end, but for me it’s the Dragons, right? So my kids are 19. They don’t know Balmain or Wests. So, as a merger they’ve got to get it right off the field. They’ve got to go back down the aisle and marry each other and get on the same page at that table because winning starts in the front office, right? That’s where they’ve got to get it right.

“So then they can attract a young coach like Jason Ryles that is hot off the press … getting back into the fold and yes, they (coaches) do bring who they want in because they are the guys that live and die by the sword, they’re the ones that make the decisions, right?

“So we just sung Billy Slater’s praise. If they want him, he brings the people who he wants.”

Hooper reported this week that Ryles had lined up former Dragons teammate Shane Millard, currently at the Bulldogs, to come work with him at the club.

But Rothfield believes the club needs a front office clean-out, and to sign a footballing guru to oversee operations before landing on their next coach.

Rothfield added: “Before you appoint a coach, you’ve got to sweep the joint out. You’ve got to get rid of board members, you’ve got to get rid of front office people, from chief executives to head of football, whatever.

“As I wrote yesterday, the club sponsor, the longest serving major sponsor — St. George Bank — have bailed out. They are over it.

“They were over the team’s poor performances. They’re over the off-field issues. Three players turning up to the presentation night. No official at Ben Hunt’s 300 games celebration.

“The joint is an absolute debacle. I wouldn’t appoint a coach [first], I’m trying to get Shane Richardson or a figurehead in first then do your coach.”

Originally published as ‘Sweep the joint out’: Dragons in ‘complete shambles’ as sticking point in Ryles deal revealed