Salary cap preventing Dragons from swinging the axe

Thats the point you are not a Dragons fan!

Charles - I was a McGregor fan even without being a Steelers / Dragons fan. If I were a Dragons fan I don't how patient I'd be with McGregor developing / learning to be a coach at NRL level.

I am talking about McGregor and his particular circumstances no one else. He has been appointed to 2017 and that is how it should be

As a coach he does not deserve respect. Your view is part of the problem with professional sport. Ex players are perceived as being owed respect in positions, where they have not earned any, based on their playing exploits. McGregor's playing career is irrelevant to any discussion that isn't about him as a player.

The Dragons have a number issues to deal with like all coaches do Sacking Paul McGregor is not the answer at this stage as he needs more time to develop as a coach He was one of the best centres in his time giving great service to the Dragons We owe him respect and as far as I am concerned we should give him more time

One of the main problems it seems to me is that the Dragons hierarchy don't seem to recognise talent even when it exists in their own club ! How else do you explain allowing Jack Bird to go to Cronulla after he was so obviously the best new talent to emerge in the Holden Cup the previous year ? Or signing a two year contract with Junior Kangaroo Charlie Runciman in 2014 only to let him go to Super League 6 months later ? Seems St George has become " journeyman central " whilst young talent is ignored. St George used to be a strong nursery of local talent incorporating southern suburbs & the Illawarra region. How many locals have they developed into the current NRL team ? I think they had two (2) last week from the south coast in Mitch Rein & Euan Aitken ( and Tyson Frizzell from Cronulla ). The rest are imports ?

Fair enough. The Dragons would have been better with them in the team for sure but I don't think they're the answer to the Dragons biggest problems which is a lack of points and an aimless attack. Dragons fans put a lot of hope in Masoe pre season but for mine he's been one of those players that looks like the worlds best when he's on but only has one of those games every 2-3 months.

the coach must be working on defence? They just conceded 30 against the Titans and Manly in their last two games. The Titans haven't scored 30 all season and Manly are ranked 13th for points scored. Charles - serious question - it's no secret that the Dragons have struggled in attack and defence at various stages this season. You seem convinced that McGregor is the right man for the job. But what is it you've seen in his responses to the various troubles that the Dragons have had that convinces you he's the right man to coach the Dragons. I have to admit that whatever it is I've missed it. The Dragons seem to have gone backwards this year and nothing I've seen on the field or heard from McGregor gives me the impression he knows what to do to get them moving forward.

As I have said before there are many problems that the Saints need to rectify However it is not always the coach that is the problem but of course they can be a contributing factor As a fan I curse when nothing is going right but I also want to know how the coach responds to that If the team is not moving up in defence for example what has the coach done to rectify that It is the basics in a team environment that is important Their defence at times have been good so the coach must be working on that Injuries and change of players can often put their defence in disarray so that is taken into account Having gone through it myself it is not easy being a coach but rewarding when you get the results

As a Dragons fan, I try and look at things optimistically. Realistically, would they have made a difference? We will never know.

And can anyone explain to me the following event? Toward the end of the game when the result was beyond doubt, there was a changeover to the Dragons. The Dragons player (which I can't recall) was set to play the ball. Widdop urgently ran in and took the ball to play it himself. It seemed to me he was just trying to get out being involved. This from a playmaker?

So you think none of the Dragons problems are McGregors fault. Surprise, surprise. What about the impotent attack? The ponderously slow and poorly executed set plays? The complete lack of variety in attack. The lack of discipline? The lack of accountability? None of these are McGregors fault? Maybe you can explain what his job is and why it differs so much to every other NRL coach. If McGregor hasn't been able to improve fundamental errors like "slow play the balls, dropped passes and not moving up in defence" after two years in charge - how long do you give him? As I've said before I admire your loyalty but you have a tenuous grip on reality.

Masoe & Creagh would have made the difference?

Really? Well I don't remember him at Melbourne very well but from what I remember, he was a guy who wasn't expected to do much and not take up much salary cap space. If he were on a minimum wage I wouldn't be as critical as I am. Though he would still be the worst half in the competition by some margin.

The problem with your logical is that he was good at the Storm, and capable if a step below ideal for England -- the problem is that the Dragons attacking structure is not good and the level of defence needed to keep them winning can't be maintained week in week out.

Not quite. Dragons have been missing Creagh and Masoe, while Lafai hasn't been injury free at all. If all three were fit and firing, then it could've been a different story.

Whether you rate him or not, he is one of the worst players in the NRL. Easily the worst half as he proves week after week. I mean, at least other guys who don't set the world on fire in attack like McCrone and Robson don't literally jump out of the way when opposition players run at them as Widdop does. Hurrell was just the latest example. I can recall him doing it vis-a-vis Darius Boyd (though Widdop did slap him across the face as Boyd went past, conceding a penalty from which the Broncos scored off) and twice within 5min vs the Warriors.

It is always easy to blame the coach especially in frustration when the results are not going our way I am not ready to blame Paul McGregor as their are many issues that confronts coaches and all are not his fault He is trying to keep consistancy by keeping players together as much as possible to create a gel The halves provide the direction yet they have not had much time together and when they do they are not working well enough Players like Tysen Frizell doing well in NSW SOO and Kurt Mann scoring tries after have a disaster start to the season Jason Nightingale shows his versatility filling in for Josh Dugan at fullback So far we are fighting to get in the top eight with 6 teams ahead of us but that will change after this weekend So those that are calling for the coach to resign what about the coaches of the other 9 teams? I get so frustrated when I see slow play the ball, dopped passes not moving up in defence and so forth However I am willing to give McGregor more time to keep working on these problems with the team we got For me if Marshall and Dugan get over their injuries I would put Widdop in fullback, Dugan on the wing and Marshall as 5/8 and McCrone as 1/2 back. The Titans showed on the weekend what tries they can score on the wing and Dugan can fix that.

Getting rid of Widdop or finding someone to complement him? I rate Widdop. Just not this year...

They really only need a few changes and you will see a completely different team. I mean, getting rid of Widdop is 90% of the solution.