Following another fade-out, the St. George Illawarra Dragons have promised fans to never sign another coach again.
Club officials believe they have “really learnt their lesson this time” after they derailed another promising campaign with a negligent show of faith in a coach.
Paul McGregor’s side was cruising earlier in the year, with their assured performances unfairly promising fans a return to September action. However, the club flinched in Round 13 and bizarrely granted him a contract extension, citing prolonged displays of ability as reasons for the decision.
From this point, the Dragons struggled with the stability and never recovered.
This deadly stamp of approval for McGregor evoked memories of 2013, when the club rushed to secure Steve Price after he guided them to a half-time lead.
The decision ultimately thwarted a three-game winning streak, before sparking a tragic chain of events resulting in the Sharks’ premiership and the closure of the Kogarah Sizzler.
McGregor’s situation this year was eerily similar to Price’s, with even Josh Dugan reported AWOL for a period of Price’s tenure – possibly all of it.
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However, Dragons powerbrokers have grown tired of their own decision-making and will make changes to avoid similar disasters in future. Not only will they constitute against contract extensions for coaches, but the recruitment of coaches altogether.
Officials believe had they embargoed coaches earlier, they could’ve avoided failed grand finals under Brian Smith and the impregnable shambles left by Wayne Bennett.
In addition, they wouldn’t have wasted spectacular talent had they steered clear of Nathan Brown, while Anthony Mundine would’ve surely given-off in a world without David Waite and Andrew Farrar.
Despite the move’s absurd overtones, officials are said to be excited by the prospect of not working with coaches.
One official confirmed the club will begin by “downsizing” the role because “it is now a small, tokenistic part of the club, like the Illawarra”.
“Additionally, not only will avoiding coaches insure against acute mid-season declines, it will streamline costly and time-consuming contract processes by having no contracts at all,” he added.
“And it’s all thanks to simply banning the hyphen in ‘re-signing’, and the ‘signing’ part too.”
While the new model is yet to be determined, it is likely Peter Doust will appoint himself director of coaching, with the hands-on role remotely outsourced to the Philippines.
Despite the revenue saved on a coach’s salary, the Dragons are still expected to exceed the football department cap on support staff for Ben Hunt’s wallet.
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has said Zac Lomax should be in the discussion when it comes to Origin selection.
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