Paul McGregor, Brad Arthur only NRL coaches unsigned for 2020

St George Illawarra’s Paul McGregor and Parramatta’s Brad Arthur are the only NRL coaches unsigned for 2020.

Corey Norman of the Dragons is congratulated by team mates after kicking the winning field goal.

• INJURY: Widdop’s season could be over

• CONTRACT: Pay deal takes pressure off Dogs

St George Illawarra’s gutsy against-the-odds win over Brisbane has given no clarity on Paul McGregor’s future at the club.

In stark contrast to Canterbury who last week announced Dean Pay had been granted an extra year on his current deal, McGregor remains one of only two NRL coaches still unsigned for next year along with Parramatta’s Brad Arthur.

The Daily Telegraph understands the Dragons have been negotiating with McGregor’s management for some time but as yet no time-frame has been set.

Dragons coach Paul McGregor is fighting for his future.

The Eels also recently announced they would adopt a wait-and-see approach with Arthur.

While McGregor has had plenty go against him this year in relation to suspensions and injuries, Fox Sports Stats show the Dragons coach has the sixth best winning percentage (54.7) of any NRL coach in the past two years.

Arthur is also making a strong case to keep his job, with the Eels showing plenty of improvement this year despite playing $700,000 under their salary cap and with a stack of injuries as well, including key forwards Nathan Brown and Manu Ma’u.

Parra put in another committed performance last Friday night despite going down to the Sydney Roosters.

While the Bulldogs’ management said they gave Pay a new deal as a show of support, it seems the Eels and Dragons are in no rush.

And given the lack of options on the coaching market at present, the clubs do hold the balance of power.

But like Arthur, McGregor certainly showed he has the players’ support after his team rallied to beat the Broncos despite missing Origin forwards Tyson Frizell and Jack de Belin, while skipper Gareth Widdop also suffered another dislocated shoulder late in the game.

Meanwhile, there are fears Widdop has played his last game for the Dragons with scan results on Monday expected to confirm the Englishman will require more surgery after suffering the same injury last season at the same ground.

It’s a cruel blow for Widdop who has already announced he is returning to England at the end of the season.

The Dragons take on Newcastle this Sunday in what is shaping as a desperate game, with both teams producing just one win after three rounds.

Newcastle coach Nathan Brown will make a decision on Monday on whether to keep Kalyn Ponga at five-eighth or return him to fullback.

Kalyn Ponga could switch to fullback.

It was Ponga’s call to switch to five-eighth this year but the experiment just isn’t working as well as the Knights’ hoped.

Ponga played the final quarter of the match at fullback in the 17-10 loss to Canberra on Friday night and there is no doubt the Knights’ attack looked far more dangerous as a result.

Brown will sit down with his coaching staff and senior players including Ponga and Mitchell Pearce on Monday morning before making a final call on the make-up of the team to take on the Dragons.

But Brown basically conceded after the loss to Canberra it was time to re-evaluate.

He said he spoke to both Ponga and Pearce about it before the Canberra match and “everyone was keen to keep pushing with it.

“But there comes a time when the coach has got to make the decision as well.”

Originally published as Paul McGregor, Brad Arthur only NRL coaches unsigned for 2020