St George Illawarra’s players have received a significant shock to the system under caretaker coach Dean Young.
The Dragons are winless in their first eight games of the season, holding a points difference of -151.
And in an attempt to shake things up, Young has made a massive shift, telling players they are to be at team headquarters for a full eight hour working day.
That is not just a one-off either, as the squad will have to be on site for the eight hours whenever they are scheduled to train.
The time they have to arrive at the Bruce Gordon Centre is not the same all week, but the days will be eight hours on the days they are in the facility.
When they trained on Wednesday ahead of their match against the Newcastle Knights, the team were on site from 8am to 4pm.
Dean Young has made a major shift in the process for the Dragons, requiring players to work eight-hour days when required at the facility
The Dragons have endured a nightmare season so far, losing all eight of their NRL games
The 2010 Premiership winner had already shown no fear over making changes when he moved on from assistant coach Michael Ennis and dropped Kyle Flannagan to the bench for rookie star Kade Reed.
Young is aiming to make a case for himself to be the full-time coach, and it seems the players have embraced the radical change so far.
‘We’ve changed the way he wants to structure things around the way we train, the way we rock up and when we finish,’ centre Valentine Holmes said.
‘He’s not telling us what we’re doing at training, it’s just ‘you’re in by seven o’clock, you leave by five o’clock, and when we’re here, we’re here to work.’ That’s one thing that’s definitely changed, and I think it’s been good.’
He was also backed by fellow veteran Clint Gutherson, who added, ‘They’re just trying new things and the way they want to do it.
‘The more time you’re at training, the more time you get to hang out and build those relationships and work on our footy.
‘That’s what we get paid to do and that’s what we need to do.’
Young, who has been with the team since 2020, is aiming to make a case for himself to be the full-time coach come the end of the season
Both Valentine Holmes and Clint Gutherson have voiced their support for Dean Young’s changes to the way they work as they seek to pick up their first win of the season
Anyone familiar with sport will know that radical changes can be hard to make stick, but getting the veterans on board is often key to success.
And it would appear from Gutherson’s comments that Young has the backing of the dressing room as he attempts to right the sinking ship.
The 31-year-old told the media that the team has bought in to what their new coach is attempting to do.
‘As I said, we’ve had a few weeks now under Dean and we know exactly the team and the players we need to be to be picked in his team week to week and that’s what we need to do,’ he added.
‘That’s how we need to play. That’s how we need to train and that’s what we need to do to start winning.
‘So we’re looking forward to going out there on Saturday and showing that but it’s about us turning up and making sure we do it right.’
The hierarchy within the Dragons organisation are also banking on Young’s familiarity with the team helping pull them out of the mess they find themselves in.
He has been with the club in some coaching capacity since the 2020 season, so clearly understands the side inside and out.
But his first game in charge ended in disaster as they lost 62-12 to the Roosters, though that loss must be caveated with the short turnaround time with Young in charge.
The match against the Knights following an extended period in charge without a game will be the real test of his credentials, and whether the full working day change was worthwhile.
