St George Illawarra losing games, and risk losing talent as they alienate youth
The Dragons are in all sorts writes Brent Read, and it is largely thanks to a selection policy which rewards mediocre veterans and ignores talented youngsters.
The kids have felt the sharp end of the axe but let’s shift the focus for a moment. Remember Jack de Belin. Not the bloke you’re seeing now, who according to statistics used by some clubs in the NRL doesn’t even rank in the top 10 locks in the game.
De Belin, according to one club source, is sitting in 12th place, his influence on games well below the standard set by Cameron Murray and Isaah Yeo to name but a few.
Before he spent two years fighting to clear his name and save his career in the courts, de Belin was in that company. Speak to coaches back then, they would happily tell you the game plan for the Dragons started with de Belin and then moved onto others.
He set the tone. Five rounds into this season and that version of de Belin is yet to be sighted. Fair chance de Belin doesn’t even feature on the tip sheets any more. If he does, he is far less prominent.
Few knew how de Belin would bounce back from a long stint on the sidelines but given the Dragons handed him a three-year contract - the final year is an option in his favour - it is safe to assume the club hierarchy thought there was still a decent footballer lurking beneath the chiselled exterior.
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The issue for the Dragons - and there are many at the moment - is that de Belin has been a shadow of the players he once was. He looks run-of-the-mill and the stats back it up.
Granted five games is a small sample size, but the signs aren’t promising. The decision to hand him a lucrative three-year deal is starting to look like a serious misjudgment.
At the time, the Warriors were circling with big money and the Dragons had stood by de Belin for two years. Walking away would have been hard to stomach.
With the benefit of hindsight, it might have been the best move. Not just for the Dragons, but maybe for De Belin. He could have resumed his career out of the spotlight, free of the suffocating pressure that comes with playing for the Red V.
De Belin’s plight is symptomatic of the Dragons’ woes. He isn’t the only player battling. Those same stats that have him at the lower end of NRL locks suggest Tariq Sims is some way off his best.
According to the number crunching, he doesn’t rank anywhere near the top middle or edge forwards in the NRL - he has spent time in both positions this season
The Dragons are in all sorts heading into Sunday’s game against Newcastle. A loss would heap pressure on a club whose fans hurt more than most during lean times. They want hope, a reason to believe.
Which brings us back to the kids. Junior Amone and Tyrell Sloan were meant to be the future. They were part of the reason some were predicting a golden generation.
Yet the Dragons have risked alienating both with the way they have been handled over the opening five weeks of the season. Amone is off contract at the end of next season and can begin talking to rival clubs on November 1.
Already, he is reportedly in the sights of the Dolphins. Sloan has another year to run after that but there are rumours he has been unhappy with his treatment. There is rancour in the ranks as two of the club’s brightest stars become the fall guys for a poor start.
The old saying is you don’t win with kids. But you don’t win without them either. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson used to say that youngsters can inject a fantastic spirit in an organisation.
They never forget the person or organisation that gave them their first big chance, he claimed.
“For young players, nothing is impossible, and they will try and run through a barbed-wire fence, while older players will try to find the gate,” Ferguson wrote in his book ‘Leading’.
Right now, the Dragons have too many blokes looking for the gate. They need a few to start running through fences.
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The anniversary came and went this week with minimal fuss. The Dolphins won the race to become the NRL’s 17th franchise just over six months ago and their search for a spine goes on.
If you want to be a heavyweight in the NRL, the recipe is pretty simple. Plow money into your spine and build a side around it.
Penrith have invested nearly $4 million of their cap in the five key positions - you can add lock to the fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker because the position has become so influential in the modern game.
Melbourne have a similar investment in their spine. The likes of South Sydney, Parramatta, Manly and the Sydney Roosters are spending upwards of $3 million.
Cronulla have been transformed with the arrival of Nicho Hynes and Dale Finucane, and the continued maturity of Will Kennedy and Blayke Brailey.
It’s a simple formula but it has stood the test of time. It’s also why the Dolphins are going hard for Kalyn Ponga and Cameron Munster.
Right now, their spine is bereft of class and quality. It isn’t for lack of trying. They circled Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant. They met Brandon Smith. They sounded out Dylan Brown. They have asked the questions but got the wrong answers. The one saving grace is Penrith prodigy Isaiya Katoa.
They won’t stop trying. Six months are down, but over the next six months the formula is simple. Start spending some money on the spine.
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When it comes to Dale Finucane, Storm insiders can’t help but talk about the 2020 season. Finucane tore his calf that year and there were genuine fears he wouldn’t make it back in time foe the finals series.
Finucane had other ideas. He worked around the clock and returned with time to spare, his commitment rewarded with a premiership.
That commitment extends beyond the football field. At the height of Covid, with Melbourne locked down on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the Storm organised a night out for players and family.
The entertainment was Finucane and Cooper Johns. Finucane attacked it the same way he has his rugby league career. When he wasn’t training for games, Finucane was practising on his guitar.
When the time came, Finucane put on quite the show. Finucane’s view is that if you are going to do something, you do it properly.
No short cuts, no excuses.
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