KIERSTEN DUKE: Sacking Jamie Soward as St George Illawarra Dragons coach shows NRLW is serious about results

The NRLW is often thought of as a softer and less brutal version of the NRL.

Try telling that to Jamie Soward who has been told by the Dragons he will not be coaching their NRLW side next year.

The Red V NRL premiership winner has taken some hard hits in his time, but this one would have really hurt.

But he has taken it like a trooper and instead of throwing his toys out of the cot and leaving the club with three games to go he has agreed to see out the season.

“Guess it’s not meant to be. All good. Keep it movin’,” he posted online.

The development came as a shock to fans following the Dragons thumping of the Eels 42- 14 at the weekend.

It’s pretty rare a coach gets sacked after a win but it shows the NRLW are setting the same high standards as their NRL counterparts.

That said, it appears to be a savage decision to axe a guy who has bled red and white for the best part of decade as a player and coach.

When Soward joined the club in 2021 he led them to the grand final, which they lost 16-4 to the Roosters.

Unfortunately for him and the team they’ve lost several key players since then and suffered a dramatic fall from grace.

When the likes of Kezie Apps, Emma Tonegato and Keely Davis, just to name a few, departed it left a massive hole in the roster.

Losing any player with the level of talent these girls possess will impact a team negatively, let alone so many in such a short period of time.

Soward has had to adapt to coaching an entirely different looking team. Even mastercoach Wayne Bennett would struggle to build a roster to challenge NRLW heavyweights Cronulla, Newcastle and Brisbane after those personnel losses.

Last year was a frustrating season for the Dragons as they finished seventh.

This year however, there’s still a chance of playing finals. A small chance, but hey, it’s still a chance.

With three games left in the regular season they could sneak into the finals if they win their games against the Raiders, Tigers and Broncos.

Though the chances of this happening now the team has lost their coach for next year are pretty slim.

Firing the man they trust and look to for guidance will leave the squad unsettled, which will lead to poor performances on the field.

It’s not just on the pitch that Soward is looked up to. His passion and dedication to the NRLW doesn’t go unnoticed.

You only have to take a quick glance at his social media to see how incredibly invested he and his family are.

His feed often features his two young girls hanging out at the St George Leagues Club, helping inspiring the next generation of female NRLW players.

It was just last week that the whole family enjoyed joined Soward on game day. What a wonderful image that portrays for the sport.

If that’s not enough to convince you of Soward’s strong character then just ask the players themselves.

Tyla King has recently rejoined the Dragons following her gold medal performance with the New Zealand rugby sevens team in Paris and was more than happy to join Soward’s daughter at her school to take part in show and tell with her Olympic medals.

Players don’t go out of their way to do that for someone they don’t respect.

Anyone I’ve spoken to within the industry has nothing but positive things to say about Soward.

The words polite, professional, kind and tough were regularly mentioned.

I wish the Dragons the best of luck in finding a better coach and representative for the sport as they might be hard pressed doing so.