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Opinion

Does anyone know what’s doing at the Dragons?

Roar Guru
2nd February, 2021
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Roar Guru
2nd February, 2021
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Dragons fans must now be shifting their default setting from ‘continued disappointed’ to ‘very confused’, based on what’s occurred and what’s been rumoured since the appointment of Anthony Griffin as coach to replace the increasingly unpopular Paul McGregor after nearly seven seasons of mediocrity.

Here’s a quick rundown on some of the stuff supporters have had to deal with since Griffin was appointed in September last year.

I apologise in advance if I’ve missed anything significant, I’m probably just trying to block it out for my own mental wellbeing.

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A complete cleanout of the coaching staff, and the appointment of good ol’ boys Matthew Elliott and Peter Gentle as assistant coaches. Gentle’s work as interim coach with the Broncos towards to end of last season where they wrapped up the wooden spoon might stand him in good stead over the next couple of years.

Despite the cleanout mentioned above, they’ve somehow retained Ian Millward as recruitment manager. Surely this is an oversight. Is there a recruitment manager in the game with a worse track record than Millward?

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Then there was the recruitment of Jack Bird. This is a great deal for the Broncos, but what will he bring to the Red V? Griffin has been quoted as being concerned to manage Bird’s reintroduction to the game carefully, so let’s hope that goes well. After all, Bird’s 17 appearances over three seasons with the Broncos hardly inspires confidence.

Anthony Griffin

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Daniel Alvaro was recruited as a big body and is a nice guy by all reports, but his 156 minutes off the bench last year for the Eels and the Warriors across just eight games is hardly the stuff that dreams are made of. Maybe the Dragons are making a play for the reserve grade premiership?

There was rumoured interest in Josh Mansour, thankfully now signed by Souths. I am not sure if they were serious with this one, but if they were, what were they thinking? St George Illawarra look pretty well off for wingers who can run the length of the field, something Mansour hasn’t done for a while.

Cameron McInnes will head to the Sharks in 2022. The Saints’ inspirational captain has easily been their best player for the last couple of seasons, and his strong consistent form was rewarded by selection in the NSW Origin squad last year. Without McInnes, I have no doubt that the Dragons would have picked up back-to-back wooden spoons in 2019 and 2020. How Millward didn’t do everything in his power to retain him is beyond me and his loss is bound to have a flow-on effect on the rest of the squad.

There are ongoing rumours of Andrew McCullough coming – although with McInnes’ impending departure, it’s no doubt soon to become more than a rumour. McCullough has been a great player over the years for the Broncos, but now entering his 14th season and coming off a fairly major hamstring injury that limited him to just eight games last year, his best performances are behind him. Also, in McInnes, Ben Hunt and Billy Brittain, St George Illawarra had enough depth in the number nine position this year.

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Finally we have the push to sign Israel Folau. I’m not even going to bite on this one. It couldn’t possibly happen. Could it?

I need to have a lie down now before I check the news feeds again.

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