Former star Matty Johns believes the issues behind the presentation night debacle at the St George Illawarra Dragons are symbolic of the mess the club is currently in.
The Dragons, who have played finals football just twice since Wayne Bennett left his role as coach at the end of 2011, and not at all since 2018, finished tenth in 2022.
That followed an 11th place finish in 2021, which was Anthony Griffin's first as coach.
Despite the low finish, Griffin had an option taken up on his contract which means he is contracted to the Red V until the end of the 2023 season.
At the club's recent presentation evening, where Ben Hunt was named the Dragons' player of the year, just three players attended.
The debacle, which has been widely criticised and has seen Hunt label some of his teammates as disrespectful, is just the latest in a long string of problems for the joint venture.
Speaking on SEN Radio, Matty Johns suggested that it could have been a unified protest from the playing group to not attend.
“What you're seeing is the players are fairly united in what they were protesting about," Johns said.
“Whether that's the way the club is being run. Whether that is the coach. Whichever way, there is so much going on at that club at the moment. I think it's symbolic of the trouble they are in at the moment. I don't know exactly how they get out.”
Hunt, who labelled his teammates as disrespectful from England where he is preparing for the Rugby League World Cup with the Kangaroos, also told 9 News that some players had already booked holidays.
“Yes, it was a bit disappointing in a way – but also, a lot of players came to me when we found out about the presentation night and mentioned that they'd already booked holidays away,” Hunt said.
"I did hear after that there were a couple of guys still in Sydney and I think that's pretty disrespectful.
“I'd like to have a chat to some of them. Obviously I won't be able to do it for a few weeks now until I get back for pre-season, it'd be good to know their reasons why.”
St George’s last match in the 2022 season was round 25 on 3 September.
Players return for pre-season training on 7 November.
Holding the presentation night on 4 October places it right in the middle of the players’s eight-week leave period (which is required under the NRLPA collective bargaining agreement.
If anyone has been disrespectful, surely it is the St George management, scheduling the event on the date chosen?
A more sensible date would have been Sunday 6 November; the day before pre-season starts; when the club could reasonably expect all players to be back in town (other than the few playing in the World Cup).
Mate St George management are the real problem with the club. St George is a club where members aren’t allowed to vote on the board. We have no one putting up their hand to fight for the club, even old players have given up it seems. We need someone with the passion of Ray Price at Parramatta. Until the board is sacked, especially the clueless Webb nothing will ever change. This club embraces and accepts mediocrity and pat themselves on the back as they succeed in spades.