Jamie Soward is one of the most-loved players in St. George Illawarra Dragons history – a fan favourite who spent time with the team as both a player and a coach.
The five-eighth saw his crowning moment come in 2010 as a part of the star-studded team who took down the Sydney Roosters to claim the premiership, and stamped himself in the Dragons' history books forever.
But since being let go as head coach of their NRLW side in 2024, Soward has revealed that his relationship with the team has deteriorated significantly.
Jamie Soward opens up about relationship with Dragons
Dragons legend Jamie Soward has revealed that he does not have a positive relationship with his former club, despite a storied career as both a player and a coach.
During an appearance on James Graham's The Bye Round, Soward said that the way his playing career ended in the Gong set the tone for what he believes is a disrespectful dynamic.
"People say, 'Why'd you leave the Dragons?' The Dragons got rid of me. They didn't want me there in 2013, which is fine. When one club is offering you four years, and a club you've won a premiership with offers you one year without any resolution to sit down and say, 'Where do you want to get to?'... That's what I'm filthy about," Soward said.
"There's people there that knew me before I came back into coaching that I would talk to, that see around the traps, that when I got let go, didn't check in on me, didn't see anything at all. And rugby league is a really small world. If you really, really hate someone, that's hard to come back from.
"But there's guys there that I expected to reach out. I had guys from other clubs, former players, Ben Hornby, Brett Morris, Dean Young rang me, personally. [Shane Flannagan] rang me. But there's other people in that organisation that looked at me and just treated me like [they did in 2013].
"There's [a former player’s day] coming up next month, which this sums up for me. They had to ring someone, a mutual person that works at the club, to get my details to invite me to it. Really? I worked there last year.
"I've never felt welcomed back after I left. Even when I was coaching, I've never felt welcome back. And they can say what they want to say. That's how I feel."
Soward played 141 games for the Dragons between 2007 and 2014, as well as three State of Origin appearances in 2011, and was a crucial part of the team's premiership win in 2010.