‘It’s people’s jobs’: Dragons take aim at costly refereeing calls

St George Illawarra have raised concerns with the NRL about a series of refereeing calls that have gone against them over the past month, with club chief Tim Watsford saying they had potential consequences “beyond the football field”.The last-placed Dragons have been far more competitive under Dean Young, who was on Monday handed the full-time head coaching job and a two-year contract.Dean Young was chosen ahead of 2010 Dragons premiership teammate Ben Hornby.Getty ImagesHe was appointed despite the team being victorious in only two of 10 games under his tenure, a nod to the marked improvement they have made since he took over from Shane Flanagan in April following a winless start to the season.It was an acknowledgement from Dragons officials of Young’s “all-in” vision for the club and the confidence he had instilled in the line-up, but also a string of results impacted by refereeing.Captain Damian Cook unloaded on the officiating after a 20-12 defeat to the Warriors on Saturday in which they were on the wrong side of three key decisions, querying whether their lowly position on the ladder worked against them.The Dragons also felt aggrieved at their treatment in close losses to Canberra and Newcastle, as well as the contentious denial of a solo try to Cook against Penrith at Magic Round.“As a club, you’re kind of looked at by wins or losses; I’m not shying away from that, that’s the game we live in. But you could argue there’s three, possibly four games in Dean’s tenure that very much could have been a W next to it versus the L,” Watsford said.“That’s where pressure comes. This is beyond the football field a little bit; it’s got people’s jobs [at stake]. Dean’s been auditioning with some pretty ordinary calls. I called out a couple in Canberra and obviously on the weekend we saw a few, and there was a couple in Newcastle.”Young beat long-time friend and 2010 premiership teammate Ben Hornby to the post in what Watsford indicated was a heavily subscribed application process.The Dragons CEO said Young was not chosen on the basis of wins and losses during the period in which he had been interim coach, but the club had written to the NRL repeatedly “to ensure that we’ve got our foot at the table”.The Dragons and their fans will be hoping for more success in 2027.Getty ImagesYoung himself said he was more focused on Sunday’s match against 16th-placed Gold Coast Titans, which the Dragons would need to come out on top of to have any chance of avoiding the wooden spoon.As for next year, the club will welcome Keaon Koloamatangi, Scott Drinkwater, Connor Watson and Luke Metcalf, and Watsford made it clear that qualifying for the finals was a reasonable expectation.Asked about making the top eight in 2027, Young said: “Look, with finals, [only] eight teams can make it ... so you’ve got to do a lot of things right. But if I don’t believe that we can make the finals next year, how are my players going to believe that?“There’s a lot of work to be done, there’s a pre-season to be planned, but at the moment it’s this week against the Titans to make sure that we continue the consistency that we’ve shown in the last five or six weeks.”Young and father Craig have become one of a select few father-and-son combinations to be first-grade coaches of a club.Others include Don and David Furner with the Raiders, John and Stuart Raper with Cronulla, and Allan and Craig Fitzgibbon, also at the Sharks.“It’s a very proud moment for myself, but also I understand the responsibility and the pressure that comes with this role,” he said.“I wanted to be a first-grade coach ever since I started back in 2013, and I’m thankful to the club to show the support and give me the opportunity. I’ve got two years to make the most of it, and that’s what I plan on doing.”From our partners