Dragons' Lafai and Havili sacked over nightclub brawl

he was a superstar ...now he is just a Greg Inglis..someone who can't realise that his best football is ancient history

Why am I "way off the mark"? Everything I pointed out is the remit of the coach.

The halves have played together for two years...how long do you want to give them?

In regards to the Dragons I would be the first to criticize if I felt there was a problem Hahahahaha

There are a number of reasons that the Dragons ar not firing You have mentioned some of them and I do not blame McGregor The Barry is way off the mark in his attack on McGregor The halves is much of the problem for various reasons but time together will help them In regards to Dugan his style of play is not want the Dragons need Fullback today is more like a 5/8th at the back and why NSW are thinking of him being a centre too He has played for Australia as a centre In regards to Mann going fullback and Dugan in the centres the idea was to get him concentrate in one position as Dugan has been fullback, centre and the wing not settling in any. Mann had a shocker so that ruined that idea but now he has settled quite well as a winger If Dugan goes back to fullback we have to utilise him much better than using him as like a forward If my explanation once again for The Barry is not understood too bad I will not explain this again

Thanks for the detailed post, I actually think many of our observations line up. Our biases probably influence what we see the cause as. I'm seeing the key as being staffing problems: * Marshall being in-out of the team weekly (and to a lesser extent Dugan doing the same). For a team that was always going to sit around the edge of the 8 - stability in the spine is crucial for competitiveness. * Compounding that is that Widdop has not handled being primary playmaker well in his abscence * Forward leader Creagh being out, in addition to Merrin leaving, leaves a lack of leadership in the forwards. Frizell's great but far too quiet to take on that role. There are no other rep forwards, or loud veterans, that will drag the team with them and show the way. It's hardly the worst injury list of all time, but for a team battling in the middle of the pack they are key and the team hasn't handled it well. I happily throw some selection issues at McGregor's feet. If you'll remember I didn't think much of the Mann fullback experiment either. He was a useful fringe first-grade winger at the Storm, and he seems comfortable playing that role at the Dragons. In Mary's defence that only lasted 2 games, he conceded the error and I think (hope) moving Dugan is now off the table. Knives out for Mary vs Price. Well, I don't mind admitting that some Dragons fans are a bit, um... overly passionate, about this sort of thing. There's been plenty of rabid calling for Mary's head all season - last season I remember some fans being disappointed that we went on a winning run to the top of the table midway through the year because they wanted Mary & the board sacked! In any case, Price didn't make the finals in either of his full years, and looked well on track for a hattrick when he was dropped. Mary did make it last year and still has a chance of turning it around this year. He's hardly on solid ground but it's not quite as slippery as Price's was.

I was pretty happy to have him signed to the Dragons this year. Unfortunately his form started at 'atrocious' and only gradually improved to 'ordinary'. His chance of making it back to first grade this year was probably slim anyway. Milne looked more far more dangerous and Saints need some weapons. I'd say this incident has him wiped for the year regardless though, and it may see him cut since he's likely being paid a bit much if he's not expected to be a first choice NRL player next year.

I actually don't mind the Dragons at all and used to love the Steelers. There's two things about them at the moment. Firstly, I really don't think McGregor is a good coach. I loved him as a player. I loved the story that he preferred to play in Wollongong with his mates than play in the NRL until the Steelers had once last crack. I just don't think he can coach. The Dragons finished 8th last year and almost beat the Dogs in the first week of the semis. They have gone backwards massively. Their attack is so pedestrian it's not funny. Their strategy in attack is non-existant. Their set plays are run too far away from the defense and way too slowly to have any impact. Players get the ball on a second man play and are gettting picked of and smashed by a re-set defensive line. There is nothing creative or original in how they play at all. They don't work to any discernable pattern. I can't blame the cattle. In Marshall, Dugan, Rein, Nightingale, Lafai, Aitken, Frizell, etc they have good attacking players. They're made to look pedestrian playing to McGregor's structure. Aitken is super talented and should be a star by now. He almost is anyway in a team with a style that creates zero opportunities for him. Defence was their forte last year. But at various times this year they look like they're not turning up or playing for each other. The Brooks and Noafaluma tries on Sunday were a disgrace. They've been whipped by the Titans, Manly and Tigers in successive weeks - hardly the heavyweights of the comp. About a month ago McGregor came out and said he wan't goig to drop anyone because it was no ones fault. Whatever that means. Two weeks ago he came out and said he couldn't drop anyone because of the second tier salary cap. To me, it all points to a bloke that's out of his depth. I think the team has done remarkably well to get to where they have with the way they play. The knives came out quicker than this for Price and he didn't have much better a team. I don't have the baggage of seeing McGregor as a club legend who "deserves" a chance. In this era, coaches shouldn't be learning their chops at NRL level. The other reason I'm off the Dragons is your little mate Charles NSW...it stems back to pre-season when there was a thread about the Dragons chances. Charles made a comment that Mann was a better fullback than Dugan and Dugan was a better centre than a fullback. When I asked him to explain why he chose personal insults instead of articulating his position. He does it all the time and you can see it again above. He doesn't mind charging in with both feet with personal insullts but moans like my granny whenever anyone makes a comment about the Dragons. He's unable to ever articulate the reasoning behind any of his outlandish comments. So it's been enjoyable to death ride the Dragons a bit this year for his sake. Petty? Sure. I'll own it. But I have nothing against the Dragons or their fans as a whole.

Actually, despite the obvious handicap of being a Dogs supporter, I think TB is usually one of the most thoughtful posters on the site. Does seem to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it comes to the mighty Dragons though! Maybe someone with a Dragons sticker ran over his dog once or something. There's no denying we have some problems at the moment. I think the biggest one is Marshall's fitness, he's not built any momentum through the year and I think we can see that Widdop does not thrive on being the main man. The middle defence has worryingly become a problem over the last month. Even earlier in the year when the Cowboys, Sharks & Broncs hammered us they were made to work for it. Certainly we didn't give up back-to-back tries straight through the ruck in the first half like the Tigers managed last week. Ben Creagh is a major missing link here, I know it's hugely unfashionable to back him but he leads by example, runs hard, hits hard and keeps everyone in line. I wince with Quinlan & Mann lining up next to each other at the back. Mann has scored some tricky tries recently from close range but he's neither big nor fast. Quinlan is a smart player, but he's even smaller and slower. The difference in kick returns and defence compared to Dugan is ridiculously huge. How much is McGregor's fault? Not sure, I find TB's attacks on him very simplistic but there's no denying the team isn't finding results either.

Oh wow, I think that's the first time I've been moderated. Almost an illicit thrill. I actually meant the post to be fairly conciliatory, admitting that I didn't originally get it. Explaining that my distaste was that usually derogatory, repeated team nicknames aren't clever and wear thin very quickly. I then had a cheeky dig at the Dogs considering your last week where I left out the 'A' and the 'D' (thinking again at how Canterbury is spelt without an 'A', I think that's where I might have been flagged actually - although that connotation wasn't the intention).

I haven't seen him play too much lately- but thought he was something special a few years back at the dogs. He then got some injuries, lost his pace. Plus at the Dogs he was playing on his less preferred side. Not to excuse him ...but sounds like a bit of a reaction to being dropped to reserve grade - going out on an all nighter. Won't do him much good for getting back into first grade...such is the life of a footballer...

Well done Ken it is really unbecoming! The Barry was not bad on his comments a long time ago but lately he has become unbearable Whinging, being silly and carrying on like nothing matters except to what his says With bagging the Dragons I could say a lot about the Dogs but that is not my go In regards to the Dragons I would be the first to criticize if I felt there was a problem Your comments describes some of the positives and we are building on that In regards to Widdop he is finding too much pressure so they have to fix that Perhaps let Marshall as 1/2 back organising the troops and Widdop as 5/8 2nd receiver utilising his kicking game

It's only been three days... I've got another week to go at least...

I thought it was pretty funny the first 9 or 10 times I read it. Starting to wear thin now though . .

I'm calling them the Ragons since Sunday because they have no D... It's just a dumb joke, don't take it seriously...

He had a bad run with discipline in the second half but geez he looked dangerous with the ball. He went forward with purpose and power - Lafai had found some footwork in the last couple of months but otherwise has looked like he was walking out there. With Milne and Aitken in the centres there's a real chance to build some attack around both sides of the park - if we can just get a bit of creativity happening in the middle.

Only because I normally find your comments insightful, I feel like I have to whistle you down for unbecoming conduct TB. What's with the consistent 'Ragons' call? Seems very childish, a step down from your usual commentary. As is the implication that the Dogs are a shining beacon of conduct and the Dragons are rotten. It's not exactly the historical form line. Besides the 3 players named were a Dog, Warrior and Sea Eagle last season, so maybe the problem is not enough Dragons culture. Where's the half-naked push-ups on a bar, or a quick joyride on a streetsweeper? On those players: - Lafai started the season terribly and was actually starting to look OK after a 6 months under McGregor. - Kurt Mann was only ever a half-decent winger for the Storm, which is what he's proving to be at the Dragons. - Marshall the Tigers superstar was playing from the bench in 2013 but last year under McGregor he was 2nd in try assists for the league. This year, he's barely strung two games together. - What happened to Widdop? Got me, he was looking good even through most of last year but has fallen away hugely. I suspect he's not really a frontman and prefers to play off someone else. With the halfback and fullback changing every second game for the Dragons this year, he's been left to run an unstructured show and he hasn't handled that well.

Have to disagree with the "superstar" tag on Benji. Was a star for sure a few years back but age has caught up with him. His last years at the Tigers were not memorable. Still a good player on his day but those days are getting fewer and further between.

Widdop was unreal with Steve price though. No idea what's happened to him Lafai was my best centre in the game in 2014

It's amazing what McGregor can do with good players. Lafai - quiet, unassuming lad with a bright future at the Dogs. At the struggling Ragons he's a rage filled reserve grader. Benji - Superstar at the Tigers. Cross field running numpty at the Ragons. Widdop - premiership winner and international skipper at the Storm. Looks like he's never played before under McGregor. Mann - versatile utility at the storm. Wing is the only position he looks remotely comfortable now. Imagine how good players like Frizell and De Bellin could be under a decent coach...