Dragons: NRL Pretenders or Contenders?

Well after a weekend of shock results, the Dragons are still on the top of the ladder despite their 20-36 defeat at the hand of the Broncos.

Not since their premiership winning year of 2010 have the Dragons been in such a position. But are they pretenders who have only played lesser teams to date? Or are they serious contenders for the NRL title this year?

No doubt the next five weeks will answer these questions.

During this period they face off against the Rabbitohs, Storm, Warriors, Roosters and Bulldogs – this stretch of games will go a long way to establishing their true credentials.

But is there already a light at the end of the tunnel for the Dragons faithful?

The performance of Gareth Widdop since his transfer from the Storm has transformed the Dragons attack. He is providing a solid core in attack which other Dragons players can and are relying on.

The Dragons wingers, particularly Brett Morris, who rarely saw the ball last year, are flourishing under Widdop’s on-field leadership.

With Widdop’s position at five-eight secure, the question of who should partner him at halfback has yet to be finally resolved after the injury to Michael Witt in Round 1.

Sam Williams has the position at the moment, but Witt returned from injury in the NSW Cup last weekend and has shown superior attack, while utility, Kyle Stanley, is also an option.

At this stage it is believed that Steve Price will retain Williams at halfback.

Fullback Josh Dugan, who was injured in the pre-season Charity Shield against Souths, is now expected to return against the Rabbitohs this weekend. His return will introduce additional attacking options for the Dragons.

The Dragons young, lightweight and mobile pack seemed to be excelling under the new rules of the game, and captain Ben Creagh’s return to the second row has seen an attacking resurgence from him. But the Dragons pack was given a lesson by the Broncos pack on the weekend which the Rabbitohs are bound to have noticed.

The Rabbitohs were given their own spanking by the Raiders on the weekend, but I am not sure that the Rabbitohs pack have another bad performance in them when they face the lighter Dragons pack.

For many, Steve Price as head coach remains a weakness to the Dragons aspirations this year, but he is assisted by former Illawarra great, Paul McGregor, who is also acting as on-field trainer and apparently the attacking coach.

Maybe this new coaching combination is working or maybe Widdop’s influence is the key factor. In either case, it now looks that Steve Price is secure as coach for 2014.

The Dragons coaching staff and team are still a work in progress at the moment. They have a backline that can get 20-30 points every game if the Dragons pack can match the opposing forwards.

Ultimately however the improvement in the Dragons may be limited by the strength and cohesion of the coaching team, which is unproven at top level. Then again you could have said the same about the Roosters’ rookie coach last year.

Now the bookies have recognised that Steve Price is no Wayne Bennett and the Dragons, despite leading the table, are still at $31 to win the premiership – and it is hard to argue with the bookies.

Is Steve Price’s leadership going to be sufficient to overcome all the ups, downs and pressures of the season?

I think not, and while the Dragons will win their share of games and may well make the eight, it is hard to see their forwards matching it with opposing forwards in the big games.

They are in my view not contenders for 2014 and their time at the top of the ladder is going to be very limited.