	{"id":163719,"date":"2025-06-18T10:44:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T00:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=163719"},"modified":"2025-06-18T10:47:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T00:47:50","slug":"saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/","title":{"rendered":"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#8217; positive culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>JAMES Saker has signed on for a further two seasons as Bell Park Dragons&#8217; GFL senior coach.<\/p>\n<p>The sixth-placed Dragons, with a 5-3 record, host top team St Joseph\u2019s this Saturday, June 21, at 2.10pm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m really enjoying the role and it\u2019s been two and a bit years and seeing the development of our players has been really exciting,\u201d Saker said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m very optimistic about the remainder of this season and then beyond into the next couple, in terms of what I think we can we can achieve if we continue to improve and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saker took the reins for the 2023 season and led the side to eighth place before a four-point elimination final loss to South Barwon last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe club&#8217;s got a really great culture and it\u2019s been in existence well and truly before I arrived, but I think just seeing our players buying into who we are and trying to take us to the next level; it&#8217;s really rewarding seeing that growth and it&#8217;s a wonderful club off-field as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll our guys are wonderfully close and it&#8217;s a really positive environment for the young men to be in and I&#8217;m grateful to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Dragons played Joeys at the start of May, losing by 79 points, but have since won their past four games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese good sides, if you give them what they want, they\u2019re pretty ruthless so it\u2019s just trying to hang in there a bit longer than we have in the previous encounters against Joeys and [we&#8217;ll] just try and stand up to the pressure that they\u2019ll bring,\u201d Saker said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JAMES Saker has signed on for a further two seasons as Bell Park Dragons&#8217; GFL senior coach. The sixth-placed Dragons, with a 5-3 record, host top team St Joseph\u2019s this Saturday, June 21, at 2.10pm. \u201cI&#8217;m really enjoying the role and it\u2019s been two and a bit years and seeing the development of our players [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":163721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-163719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#039; positive culture - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bell Park coach James Saker re-signs for two more seasons, optimistic about the Dragons&#039; future. Learn about their progress and upcoming clash against St Joseph&#039;s.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#039; positive culture - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bell Park coach James Saker re-signs for two more seasons, optimistic about the Dragons&#039; future. Learn about their progress and upcoming clash against St Joseph&#039;s.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T00:44:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T00:47:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/TNG-7.png?_t=1750207671\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brian Allen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brian Allen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brian Allen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f3004d507facda679092acfadb609d7\"},\"headline\":\"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#8217; positive culture\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-18T00:44:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T00:47:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":292,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/TNG-7.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/\",\"name\":\"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons' positive culture - Surf Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/TNG-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-18T00:44:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T00:47:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Bell Park coach James Saker re-signs for two more seasons, optimistic about the Dragons' future. Learn about their progress and upcoming clash against St Joseph's.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/TNG-7.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/TNG-7.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Bell Park coach James Saker has extended his tenure for a further two seasons. Photo: MICHAEL CHAMBERS\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#8217; positive culture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"Surf Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f3004d507facda679092acfadb609d7\",\"name\":\"Brian Allen\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/brian\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons' positive culture - Surf Coast Times","description":"Bell Park coach James Saker re-signs for two more seasons, optimistic about the Dragons' future. Learn about their progress and upcoming clash against St Joseph's.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons' positive culture - Surf Coast Times","og_description":"Bell Park coach James Saker re-signs for two more seasons, optimistic about the Dragons' future. Learn about their progress and upcoming clash against St Joseph's.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/","og_site_name":"Surf Coast Times","article_published_time":"2025-06-18T00:44:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-18T00:47:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/TNG-7.png?_t=1750207671","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Brian Allen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brian Allen","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/"},"author":{"name":"Brian Allen","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/0f3004d507facda679092acfadb609d7"},"headline":"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#8217; positive culture","datePublished":"2025-06-18T00:44:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T00:47:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/"},"wordCount":292,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/TNG-7.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/","name":"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons' positive culture - Surf Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/TNG-7.png","datePublished":"2025-06-18T00:44:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T00:47:50+00:00","description":"Bell Park coach James Saker re-signs for two more seasons, optimistic about the Dragons' future. Learn about their progress and upcoming clash against St Joseph's.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/TNG-7.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/TNG-7.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Bell Park coach James Saker has extended his tenure for a further two seasons. Photo: MICHAEL CHAMBERS"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/saker-to-lead-dragons-for-two-more-seasons\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Re-signed Saker grateful to be part of Dragons&#8217; positive culture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","name":"Surf Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Surf Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","width":350,"height":38,"caption":"Surf Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/0f3004d507facda679092acfadb609d7","name":"Brian Allen","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/author\/brian\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163719"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=163719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}