Dragons strip coach of absolute power over player signings
St George Illawarra has rewritten its recruitment structure, placing decisions over future player signings in the hands of a panel rather than the head coach alone.
In a significant governance shift, the Dragons board has approved a new recruitment and retention model under which player signings will require sign-off from a three-person panel including the head coach, the football boss and the CEO.
The move ends a long-standing arrangement that gave the head coach the final word on roster construction, a system several recent insiders had blamed for the club's struggle to retain emerging talent.
Chairman Brett Williamson said the change was 'about discipline, not distrust' and was modelled on systems used by Penrith and Melbourne over the past decade.
Interim head coach Dean Young is understood to support the new structure, which will be in place ahead of the 2027 signing window.
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