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Paul (Mary) McGregor’s miracle

Roar Pro
10th April, 2017
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Tariq Sims of the Dragons scores and celebrates during the Round 23 NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Jubilee Oval in Sydney, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)
Roar Pro
10th April, 2017
12
1902 Reads

Well stuff me, who would have thought the Dragons would be sitting pretty at the top of the NRL ladder?

With his head firmly placed on the the board’s chopping block, Paul (Mary) McGregor has stared in the face of coaching oblivion and performed a minor miracle to not only defy the executioner a day’s pay, but also earn himself talk of a contract extension and a possible top eight berth for his team.

At the start of the season, no coach was more certain to lose his head than Mary McGregor. Even Tigers coach Jason Taylor appeared to have more surplus time on his watch compared to that of the St George coach.

How mistaken the NRL hordes were.

In 2017, the Dragons have kicked off the bland shackles and beige game plans which bogged down their 2016 campaign and replaced them with some kinky backline moves and frontline studs. So far this year, the boys in red and white have engaged in some sexy football.

Gareth Widdop is playing like the bloke they signed from Melbourne a few years ago. Their backline is firing and exuding confidence, and their forward pack’s increased kilo load has added some much needed punch into their offence – added to which, Paul Vaughan is an early shout-out for buy of the season.

But will this thrust of good footy last?

Or could this be another case of a team getting the early jump and winning their premiership in Autumn?

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In a somewhat ironic moment for most Red V fans, Mary McGregor can rightly claim some kudos for St George’s good – and unexpected – early season form. And if it weren’t for the Tigers’ detonation of homegrown suicide bombers grabbing all the headlines, McGregor’s potential seeing off of the axe would have surely seized more coverage.

Many a die-hard Dragons supporter had surely used their Christmas money in the off-season to craft their 2017 banners with with clever sayings, puns and hashtags to incite change and make their grievances known to the club’s powers that be?

The tetchy Dragons supporters are a demanding bunch and they were getting jack of the Red V’s mediocre ladder returns since 2011. Consequently, they had singled out McGregor and CEO Peter Doust as the causes for their club’s recent on-field failures and pointed to them as the roadblocks in their club’s future successes.

Paul McGregor

The upbeat banners which had once blanketed the stands and grassy hills of NRL stadia and suburban grounds had gradually been replaced in recent years by negative fan propaganda such as #McGrexit, Fail Mary and Oust-Doust.

The temporary icing of these types of banners in 2017 is down to the Red V’s stunning early season form.

Sure Dragons’ fans are happy with the cavalier footy from their rugby league team. And they are loving the lofty heights their current ladder position. But many were also ready for a change of coach. In fact, many came into 2017 expecting to have a new coach by mid-season. This prospect looks to be a deader than Caesar right now.

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However, although the Red V’s timely resurgence is welcomed by the club’s faithful, a question still remains: Is McGregor’s success welcomed too?

Tariq Sims St George Illawarra Dragons NRL Rugby League 2016

It’s an interesting conundrum many St George fans may find themselves in at the moment. The team’s early on-field triumphs mixed with the unexpected persistence and possible extension of a coach they desperately wanted turfed is probably leaving an awkward feeling which nags at what otherwise should be jubilant footy spirits.

So ready for change were the club’s supporters, that there’s an overall sense of inevitable stock plunge, as people aren’t getting carried away with the comfort of their team’s present ladder location. Instead, scores seem to be holding on mid-breath, waiting for the Dragons of 2016 to show up and crash the party.

But in reality, things are chugging along better than nicely at the moment for the Dragons; they have beaten some of the more fancied teams in 2017 – and beaten them well.

Their early success really has begged the question, are the Dragons finals bound this season?

On current form you’d have to think yes. They have beaten some good opposition in the Sharks and Penrith and squashed pretenders like the Tigers, Manly and Warriors.

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In truth, if the squad can stay fit and the forwards can keep flattening their opponents, then the Dragons will feature in the top 8 and, quite unexpectedly, Mary will have performed his second minor miracle.

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