Dragons prop Paul Vaughan says there can be no more excuses for his side
Despite their red-hot playing roster, the Dragons ran second last in 2019 and powerhouse prop Paul Vaughan has pinpointed where it all went wrong for the proud club last year.
NRL
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St George Illawarra star Paul Vaughan has conceded his side’s performances this year were “embarrassing, disappointing and unacceptable” – but still labelled Paul McGregor a “great coach.”
And Vaughan – the NSW State of Origin prop – demanded his team become “mentally stronger” before the start of next season.
With a red-hot playing roster, the Dragons ran second last – with eight wins from 24 games – amid fan anger, player injuries, Jack de Belin’s suspension and calls for McGregor to stand down.
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“Off the back of this year, I don’t think anyone was overly impressed with how we went. The Saints are a very strong and proud club so to drop to that standard wasn’t good enough,” Vaughan said.
“It’s a little bit embarrassing to be honest. Second last is pretty embarrassing, especially with the roster that we had. It’s a little bit unacceptable, to be honest.
“That is the biggest thing – if that doesn’t motivate you to go and prove everyone wrong and get the fans and everyone back onside, I don’t know what will.
“It’s all well and good to say you’re training (strongly) and all that sort of stuff in the pre-season but I think there needs to be a change in things where there needs to be an improvement in mental toughness.
“Obviously if you looked at a couple of results last year, where the points blew out, it comes down to mental toughness and hanging in there but there were more than a couple of occasions where we didn’t do that. That’s pretty disappointing.
“That’s one of the biggest things – when things don’t go our way or the ball doesn’t bounce our way, we have to react positively.
“Our fans are very passionate and they’re pretty vocal as well at the same time. From one side, you can understand where they’re coming from. They are just proud and want success.”
Vaughan was at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence on Tuesday to model the three playing strips for 2020 – the traditional sky blue jumper, a navy blue alternate strip and a captain’s run jumper which includes an image of a blue heeler.
The giant prop was quick to throw his considerable support behind McGregor.
“Mary is such a passionate bloke. He puts his ‘all’ into every day of training – he is the first one there and the last one to leave,” Vaughan said. “I believe he is a great coach and has done wonders for me personally.
“Hopefully he gets what he deserves coaching-wise and the boys have a solid season for him and put all the other stuff to rest. I think he is the man to take the team forward.
“We have had our review and had a sit-down and put things in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again, whether it be with new staff and new things put in place. Hopefully we can have a more successful season last season.
“All the boys are now back training to rectify this season so it’s going to be a big one for us this year.”
Dragons forward Tyson Frizell continues to be linked with rival clubs after next season. Frizell has been adamant he will not quit Saints early but speculation is rife he could walk after 2020.
“Tyson’s commitment to the club is definitely there,” he said. “He wants to stay at Saints and I think it’s a little unfair the rumours surrounding Tyson that he wants to go elsewhere.
“I don’t think any of them are true – I hope they’re not true. He is an integral part of our club and I’m sure he will stay for a long time.”