St George Illawarra Dragons
Taking into account that English is seemingly St George Illawarra CEO Peter Doust’s second language it appears he is a big believer in “the brand” that is the famous Red V; yet Doust and his board have recently overseen a diminishing of the Dragons’ allure and significance. Notwithstanding their decent pre-season form that includes a win against Warrington and a Charity Shield draw, one wouldn’t bet on that turning around in 2015.
After a mediocre 2014 that saw the Dragons finish 11th and rookie coach Steve Price get replaced by, ah, rookie coach Paul McGregor, the Dragons’ off-season has been marked by revelations that the club, despite three consecutive years without finals football, is under salary cap pressure. When you see the Dragons’ roster (never mind compare it to that of the Roosters, Souths or Canterbury) that doesn’t say a lot for the club’s recruiters and bean-counters.
As a result, star back — and beloved local junior — Brett Morris has departed the club along with Gerard Beale, Adam Quinlan, Kyle Stanley and young prop Jack Stockwell (and Trent Merrin seems certain to leave at the end of the season). Unfortunately, these losses haven’t been counterbalanced by high profile newcomers — and the Dragons’ forward pack in particular, bullied like kids in callipers last year, could have done with a few fresh faces.
Instead, the Dragons will be relying on their incumbent forwards to step up and unfashionable newcomers like NSW Cup player Rory O’Brien, Gundagai Tiger Rulon “The Butcher” Nutira and Gorgeous George Rose to surprise. But will these bulk buys offer the quality needed? Backs recruits Dane Nielsen, Eto Nabuli and Kris Keating, meantime, don’t immediately set pulses racing — though Nabuli looked good at the Nines.
It’s not all gloom, of course. The Dragons have a cadre of promising youngsters such as centre Euan Aitken and halves Shannon Crook and Drew Hutchison. Moreover, Benji Marshall looks as good as he’s done in years, while Gareth Widdop, Josh Dugan, Jason Nightingale, Ben Creagh and Merrin are proven quality.
If all goes well, the Dragons could reach mid-table but the money is on a finish in the lower reaches of the ladder. Which won’t be good for the brand. Paul Connolly
Wests Tigers
The story of the Wests Tigers over the last three seasons almost begins and ends with their inability to stay healthy. Most episodes of ER never saw the physical carnage that the Wests Tigers have endured.
There has been the politicking and in-fighting that has seen two coaches sacked – and one pursue legal action – in the last three seasons, a major overhaul of the board and a seismic shift in the power of the merged clubs. Don’t mind the financial collapse of the Balmain faction.
There has been a series of regretful recruitment classes that has brought the club the likes of Adam Blair, Braith Anasta and Cory Paterson while giving up class players such as Andrew Fifita, Chris Heighington and Benji Marshall. There has been accusations of players having too much power, coaches not having enough and assistant coaches running rampant.
The real tale is in the Tigers’ injury toll though; call in the Red Cross because there is no more fraught place to be than wrapped in a Wests Tigers jersey. Full-back James Tedesco has missed 44 games since debuting in 2012. Utility Tim Moltzen has not played since April of the 2013 season. Tim Simona and Curtis Sironen have both missed more than 10 matches over the last two years. And the list goes on and on…
New coach Jason Taylor has already taken the club to task for its high injury incidence. He rightly points out that such a horrific rate of games lost is not only unacceptable but is bad management and not bad luck. Taylor has put a broom through the club – from the training and medical staffs to popular assistant coaches – and it is a step in the right direction for the Tigers.
Bad practices have been allowed to solidify. Mediocrity had set in like a winter mould. Taylor – having come from a very successful Sydney Roosters side – knows success starts off the field.
The Tigers will struggle this year. Even if the injury toll is reduced, they just don’t have the roster to threaten. There is young talent ready to learn and they will under Taylor. But their development will take time and that will mean another year of losing for a club that has become far too accustomed to the practice in recent times. Nick Tedeschi
Gold Coast Titans
It is hard to see the Titans finishing anywhere but the bottom of the table after the latest drug scandal that has engulfed the club. Three of the club’s best players – internationals Greg Bird and Dave Taylor and reigning player of the year Beau Falloon – would seem unlikely to play in 2015. It is a situation that will leave an already fragile roster broken.
It is endemic of the way the club has operated from day one. Some football clubs are leaders. They are innovative, have faith in their ideals, trust their instincts. Others clubs are followers. They take short cuts. They refuse to make the hard decisions. The most important thing isn’t winning footy games but being popular.
The Titans are followers and have been from their inception. Despite the early smoke and mirrors, the Titans are a club that have constantly shirked the tough calls, unable to muster the courage or summon the smarts to make the decisions that put a rugby league team in contention to compete for the only thing that really matters: a premiership.
They have again taken the easy route in what is the most important decision a football club faces: the hiring of the head coach. Rather than take a risk on an untried head coach, the Titans have thrown the keys to former Canberra and North Queensland mentor Neil Henry. Henry achieved moderate success at both the Raiders and the Cowboys. His career record of 81-96 is a modest return. In seven seasons Henry collected a wooden spoon and coached in one finals match.
It is not a resume that screams achievement and recycled coaches rarely bring any real success. Nine clubs on 13 occasions have signed someone who has coached first grade and not won a title at their previous stint since 2000 with only the Panthers in 2003 striking gold. The names may have changed but for the Titans faithful it will be more of the sour and none of the sweet in 2015. Nick Tedeschi
On Wednesday: part II – the teams who might sneak into the eight
