St George Illawarra say their attack is a work in progress following their narrow loss to the Storm in their round one clash in Melbourne.
The Dragons went down 18-16 after holding an early 10-point lead which came on the back of enterprising attack that led to tries by Jason Nightingale and Benji Marshall.
The Red V have employed former Cowboys assistant Jason Demetriou, who helped shape the blue-print for their first NRL premiership last year.
While boasting a tough defence, last season St George Illawarra scored less points than any other side except Penrith, averaging less than three tries per game.
Demetriou, a former Saints junior who played almost 200 games for Wakefield in the UK Super League, can take credit for a North Queensland attack that averaged more tries than any rival.
Against the Storm the Dragons pipped their average at AAMI Park with three tries and coach Paul McGregor says he sees good signs.
“We’ve got a completely different structure or shape to play with with our new attacking coach there so it’s going to take a little bit of time with the cohesion there,” McGregor said.
“You take a lot out of that start of the game and certainly different stages of the game … we still found a lot of energy to come home strong and lose by two points to a quality side.”
The Dragons gave former Melbourne back Kurt Mann his first start at fullback, with NSW No.1 Josh Dugan linking with Tim Lafai in the centres.
The trio all had mixed games with some promising attack but also some defensive and ball-handling errors.
“At different stages of the game he got involved really well and made a nice clean linebreak when we needed it late in the game but there were a few errors he needs to fix,” McGregor said of Mann.
“It’s a new NRL position for him so it will take a bit of time.”
The Barry
Roar Guru
Didn't see much of this game but Mann threw a cracking pass for the Nightingale try.
Charles NSW
Guest
Dugan was off key but he has shined in the centres before so he should pick up on that!
Ken
Guest
I'm sure they'll get better. I'm still not convinced it's the right solution but, now they've gone down that path, they've got to give it more than 1 game to see if they can make a go of it. In that one game though it was actually the performance of Dugan, rather than Mann, that was troubling. Maybe just not a great game for him, the Storm were quite effective at rushing and closing down the space. He really didn't offer much though. It flowed through to Aitken also not looking very comfortable in his new position on the wing.
Charles NSW
Guest
No doubt Dugan and Mann struggled this time despite having had some experience in these positions I still think it is a better option with Dugan at centre as it is his true postion With Mann at the back it will give the Dragons more attacking options once they settle down It will take time and I am sure McGregor will be working overtime to correct their errors
Ken
Guest
I've never been a fan of the Dugan Mann scenario, but now that they've gone with it you can't switch it after 1 game. Mann had a couple of good moments (although he's got to work on those hands), Dugan looked pretty toothless though without the space to wind up. Good pick-up on Aitken, he really did seem like a waste of space on the wing. Common consensus says that you can downgrade a centre to the 'simpler' wing position with no problems - but that's never really been true. For some players the sideline appears to be their friend and they can manage ridiculous things (think Nightingale), Aitken does better in some traffic and without the worry of taking bombs. For mine, he should be the first centre picked, with Dugan at fullback but if you can't find a spot for him there then Mata'utai is a better option on the flank.
Rhea
Roar Rookie
No disgrace in the Dragons' loss. Their forwards came out fighting from the first kick-off. I honestly think that Dugan is a fullback, Mann is a centre and that's where they should play. I don't think it served young Euan Aitken's game to play him on the wing. Questionable ref decisions didn't help, either.
Jimmmy
Guest
I think you guys should have a pretty good season . As you said Packer and Ah mau were awesome. I would however get your back three to practice catching the high ball a bit more. Also not convinced Mitch Reign is a top notch number nine. He has a lot of errors in him. Never the less a top performance by the Dragons , if a very unlucky one.
Charles NSW
Guest
The Dragons showed a lot of potential for the first match of the season They made a few errors and lacked a bit of discipline but showed they are capable going against a side like Melbourne
Ken
Guest
I am a Dragons fan and that one hurt a bit. I'm not quite willing to call 'match fixing' but the Storm certainly got the best use of a home town advantage I've seen in a long time (well, since 2 years ago when they got to play the ball and score after the game had finished at least) - and it seemed to always be at a crucial point. In a 2 point game, it's hard not to feel that 'we waz robbed' - although I'd prefer not to be using that line in round 1! Aside from that, I think both teams will be mostly happy with that. Neither team put in a full game effort, floating in and out a bit - but they both looked pretty good when they were on. The Dragons inexperienced right edge defence gave speed merchant Koribete too much space too often, but otherwise defended hard and scrambled well. There were some pretty slick moves in attack at times. The Dragons lost a fair bit of go-forward when Ah Mau & Packer were off the field though - I think that was where another big body like Masoe would have been useful. When the main props were off the Storm successfully swarmed in on the smaller forwards, Creagh and Frizell did OK but most of the others were losing the contact battle.
Mac
Guest
The refs in the second half were disgusting. Blantant case of match fixing if I ever saw one. Not a dragons fan btw...
Jimmmy
Guest
I think generally the referees have been good in the opening round but they were poor in this game.way too many mistakes. I think most poor decisions went against the Dragons. The Refs seemed to police the Dragons over zealously in the ruck but let the Storm go. I can't say the Dragons absolutely deserved to win this but they really should have.
JOHNY BULLDOG
Roar Rookie
Dragons supporters should be very happy despite the result-not many sides will come away from Melbourne with the 2 points & they probably should have won.