BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Long into the future, when many of us are all but memories and whispers in the wind, St George Illawarra supporters will talk of the summer of ’23.

The off-season from hell that would give any 1970’s bush team a run for their money.

From the hammer-wielding (reportedly) Talatau Amone chasing tradesmen across the roofs of building sites to 6am cat fights in Mudgee, player unrest, constant calls for the coaches head and Frank Molo pleading guilty to stalking and intimidating a woman in Wollongong at Christmas.

The footy team isn’t too crash hot either.

“Remember the summer of ’23?”, they’ll smirk.

All this in the footsteps of the Jack de Belin saga, an uncalled for contract extension to Anthony Griffin and the previous chairman using a club letterhead to write a character reference for Brett Finch.

Oh! Remember BBQ-Gate?

When the players were ordered to go home after a game during COVID lock down?

The problem was, they all went to the same home.

Just breached some cheeky public health orders and all that, you know.

When the fuzz arrived at the illegal party, some hid in cupboards and under beds.

Some went on record afterwards and said they didn’t think they’d get caught.

“The decision to go to the barbecue, everyone made. At the end of the day we just thought that there wasn’t going to be a drama and we wouldn’t get caught. We just thought if we kept it within the team it wasn’t going to be a big deal and obviously it is.”

Words from Master Joshua McGuire, Esquire.

You couldn’t make it up if you were writing skits for The Benny Hill Show.

If you thought the Dragons couldn’t sink any lower, remember this, they’ve still got an NRL season to play.

Last weekend they let South Sydney out to a 30-0 lead before going down 42-24.

If it was a premiership game and Souths kept their best players on the park – the score could have been 70 or more.

2023 predicted ladder: Knights to claim wooden spoon and joined in cellar by Dolphins, Dragons and Raiders

Thousands of furious St George Illawarra fans are lining up to take a shot at the players and the administration and rightfully so but there is a long-term solution yet to be played out with changes set to be made at board level that will allow a Dragons chairman to stay in the role for more than 12 months.

Nick Politis, for example, has been chairman of the Sydney Roosters for 30 years.

As it currently stands current Dragons chair Andrew Lancaster would be rotated out of the role in November.

Part of the agreement when WIN bought out Illawarra’s share of the joint venture in 2018 was that there would be a new chairman annually.

How can any professional club in such a brutal sporting landscape expect long-term sustainability and implement real change if there’s a new person in the role every three seconds?

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, “internal discussions” have begun at the Dragons to abolish the rule.

It couldn’t happen quick enough.

@woodward_curtis