Dragons fans breathe fire with petition to torch head coach Paul McGregor
By late afternoon on Sunday, a dormant petition to remove St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor had fired up again.
By late afternoon on Sunday, a dormant petition to remove St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor had fired up again. The petition was started 11 months ago, claiming a lack of vision and leadership from the coach.
It accused McGregor of being blinded by his own poor decisions and strategies. On and on it went, with close to 3000 signatures on a document that signifies the frustration felt by Dragons supporters with the way their side has played not just this year, but last year and the year before that.
McGregor is the latest whipping boy for Dragons fans, just as former chief executive Peter Doust and ex-coach Steve Price were before him. Fortunately for “Mary” McGregor, no crowds means the “Fail Mary” banner hasn’t made an appearance on the hill this season.
Regardless, Dragons fans have been given plenty of ammunition, not just this weekend but over a sequence that has resulted in the Dragons winning just two of their past 13 games, stretching back to Round 21 last season.
That win came against the Titans. So was the other. Remarkably, the only games the Dragons have won since August last year were against a side that has gone a year without a victory.
Results are one thing. The nature of those results is another. The Dragons were truly awful against the Warriors on Saturday afternoon, the performance of their halves Corey Norman and Ben Hunt encapsulating the woes.
Hunt limped through most of the second half, but he was legless before that. So dire was his display, some have called on the Dragons coach to axe his million-dollar No 7 to save his own career.
Even that may not be enough. McGregor signed a new deal last year and has the rest of this season and next on his contract, which means a payout won’t be cheap.
The Dragons have a reputation for being thrifty and it is unlikely the Gordon family, which owns 50 per cent of the club, would want to shell out more than $1 million to pay out their coach.
The other question is who would replace McGregor? The premiership winner Shane Flanagan is on staff, but he is banned from becoming a head coach for another year.
Acting NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo told The Australian last week he would be happy to sit down with Flanagan, but it seems difficult to fathom a scenario whereby the NRL would relax its ban on his coaching aspirations.
The other name linked with the Dragons is Wayne Bennett. The last time St George Illawarra fans were really happy with their coach, the seven-time premiership winner was the man in charge.
Bennett knows he will be on his way out of Souths at the end of 2021, and he has made it clear he wants to coach again — and he has a good relationship with officials at St George Illawarra.
The Australian was told a third party had contacted Bennett to gauge his interest, but there is no indication the approach was done with the Dragons’ knowledge.
Regardless, Bennett may find the lure of the Dragons and a fresh contract palatable. Alternatively, he may decide to wait and see what the NRL decides when it comes to a second team in Brisbane.
As for McGregor, he is fighting for his future, and the next three weeks are likely to be decisive.
Former State of Origin teammate Brad Fittler urged the Dragons to keep the faith.
“Stick with Mary for two years. Seriously, you’ve got to start giving the coach a bit of power,” he said.
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