If you’re a St George Illawarra fan, as I occasionally claim to be, is it premature to be asking confronting questions in January?
Genuinely, I wish coach Shane Flanagan and the club all the success in 2024, but I fear those wishes will amount to nothing and it will be an arid season.
The imbroglio involving new-recruit-turned-discard Ronald Volkman is an example of things already turning sour. The circumstances of his momentary recruitment raise vital questions, which presently remain entirely unanswered.
The timeline goes something like this: the 21-year-old Volkman was, until late December 2023, signed to the New Zealand Warriors for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. On January 3, the Dragons publicly announced Volkman would be joining them.
On Christmas Eve, his management had executed a deed of termination and release with the Warriors, thus ending the employment relationship there and then. The Warriors were to pay some of Volkman’s 2024 and 2025 salary, with the Dragons topping up the rest.
It has been suggested the deal being done over the NRL’s Christmas shutdown was the reason for the delay.
Ronald Volkman at Prince of Wales Hospital on Friday after receiving scans on his injured shoulder.Credit: Rhett Wyman
As part of the player transaction, the Warriors disclosed to the Dragons a medical report of January 2, which indicated the player was experiencing some “shoulder irritation” and that he had been involved in non-contact training for a week, but otherwise had completed all of his pre-Christmas training obligations.
On January 4, Volkman took part in his first Dragons training session, but was physically inhibited to the extent that he couldn’t easily pass a ball. For a five-eighth, the ability to pass the ball is a necessary skill at all times. Mere “shoulder irritation” shouldn’t hinder to the degree that the most fundamental skill required can’t be practised.
Stateless Volkman deserved better, starting with the man he should be able to rely on most
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19.01.2024
If you’re a St George Illawarra fan, as I occasionally claim to be, is it premature to be asking confronting questions in January?
Genuinely, I wish coach Shane Flanagan and the club all the success in 2024, but I fear those wishes will amount to nothing and it will be an arid season.
The imbroglio involving new-recruit-turned-discard Ronald Volkman is an example of things already turning sour. The circumstances of his momentary recruitment raise vital questions,........
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