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The Roar

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After months in title contention, Dragons finally regain their mojo

St George are back where they belong. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Expert
16th August, 2018
18

After a season as serious contenders, a familiar feel has returned to St George Illawarra – the feeling of springtime.

The sensory hallmarks of this period are well known- it’s the sound of birds chirping, flowers blooming, and Paul McGregor re-emphasising the extra year to run on his contract.

While most of us equate springtime with smelling daisies and fist-fighting magpies, it is also the second and most critical phase of the Saints Equinox.

This is when the sun crosses the Earth’s equator following the autumnal harvest, before beaming down on Wollongong until the Dragons are totally cooked.

But as a staid springtime splutterer, many were unsure if the 2018 version could enjoy their usual bumper spring after spending the year dogged by premiership favouritism.

Many doubted it would arrive with the side particularly unstoppable prior to Origin, with their form so encouraging that some fans genuinely believed they weren’t being catfished again.

There was scepticism that not even the looming threat of Origin could derail the side, with concerns arising this elite crop of Dragons could even improve from the reduced psychological pressure of playing in the interstate furnace.

Basically, we just assumed McGregor had tinkered with his conditioning regime and abolished the part where he front-loads for Anzac Day before tapering until November.

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But with five losses in their last six matches, it’s safe to say the Saints have finally rediscovered their groove.

Sure, we held our fire out of respect after their incongruous Round 19 triumph over North Queensland, but then came the honesty sessions, road camps and desperate cries for help through hairstyles.

Finally, all of their hard work culminated with a 40-4 denuding at the hands of Parramatta.

After the Dragons promised the world and delivered a Jarryd Hayne hat trick, their tortured faithful were finally put out of their misery. The exile of top four contention was over.

With McGregor’s team tracking again for a ninth-place finish on the midnight hour at the hands of an also-ran, fans could finally celebrate in traditional fashion by calling for McGregor’s head in favour of something fresh, like Wayne Bennett.

So while the attempt to arrest the failure drain could eventually send McGregor crazy, or to Penrith, it has become unfortunately apparent that springtime will invariably arrive every year.

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He cannot deny the cosmic patterns of the previous 800 billion years, a period incidentally the same as one of his daily time trials.

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