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Yes... the top eight. That pinnacle of achievement.
Whinge whinge lil possm, top of the ladder and the place is humming, smile ffsMark Coyne urges St George Illawarra Dragons to re-sign Paul McGregor
St George Illawarra great Mark Coyne believes coach Paul McGregor "can't do any more" to justify a new contract after the club's outstanding start to the year.
McGregor came into the season as a man under fire after the Dragons finished the 2016 season in 11th place. Most pundits predicted a bottom-four finish after a poor Charity Shield showing but the Red V then went on to win five of their opening six matches to sit on top of the NRL ladder (before Saturday night's clash with the Cowboys).
Happy Dragons: The Dragons celebrate Euan Aitken's try during their big win over Manly. Photo: Getty Images
Coyne, a former Dragons skipper, returned to the club in an official capacity as a member of the football performance committee that was formed in the off-season. While he has no official input on coaching retention matters, the former Maroons centre believes "Mary" has proven himself worthy of a contract extension.
"Definitely – he can't do any more than what he's delivered," Coyne said.
New deal?: Paul McGregor is in line for a new contract after the Dragons' great start to the season. Photo: John Veage
"The team is obviously going outstanding this year and there's not much more he can do in terms of performing on the field. It's a call for the club on what is the right timing around re-signing; there are lots of things you need to factor in like where the players are sitting at, all those sorts of things.
"It will be a decision the club need to make. I don't get involved in that side of things, I don't get engaged in making any recommendations about Mary. But you'd have to say there's not much more he can do than what he's done at the moment."
One of the football performance committee's key recommendations was freeing McGregor of retention and recruitment responsibilities, allowing him to concentrate on coaching. The decision appears to have paid immediate dividends with a string of impressive victories, including against premiership heavyweights Penrith and Cronulla.
"The big one is freeing Mary up to do what he needs to do with the team on the field," Coyne said.
"Mary was a great attacking player, one of the best that's played the game and that's starting to come out. They're playing really good footy, like the Broncos and the Cowboys a few years ago, when they were just playing what's in front of them. That sort of attack is the way to go when everyone else is so structured.
"They can't do much more. The forward pack is outstanding; the way they cover for themselves defensively and fill the holes is really good. They're getting some good attacking football, the offloads are coming and they are getting the ball out wide to where the gaps are. It's really exciting to watch them at the moment."
The Dragons' director of league pathways, Ian Millward, has been charged with roster management. Having lured Ben Hunt from Brisbane, the priority now is to retain captain Gareth Widdop and fullback Josh Dugan.
Coyne believes the club is finally getting its salary cap in order after a series of post-premiership, back-ended deals.
"There's a bit of a hangover from the grand final [in 2010] where there were a few contracts back-ended to get Gaz [Mark Gasnier] back," he said.
"There's been some time to get over that hangover and they're now getting better control of the cap. It's about spending the money where you need to spend it and they're at the point where they are more proactive in managing the cap. There was a hangover from the post-Wayne [Bennett] days. He won them a grand final, which is great, but he made things a bit tough after that.
"They're planning through that now and being more circumspect on how to manage the cap differently."
There has been some conjecture over whether Dugan's best position is in the centres or at fullback. The NSW stalwart can command more money in the No.1 jersey, although youngster Jai Field is considered a potential long-term custodian. Coyne hopes he will stay put.
"He's great with the ball in his hands and at fullback you get a lot more carries," he said.
"Until he was injured he was one of the form players in the team. It doesn't matter where he plays as long as you get the ball in his hands a lot."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-to-resign-paul-mcgregor-20170414-gvl7sw.html
Well this says it all to me. Here was I thinking Coyne was going to be the voice of reason who would, with his colleagues bring the voice of change into the ears of the Board. Well talk about a Wolf in sheep's clothing, he is an old boy with the same mentality as the rest of the gang.
We may as well give up because there IS NO AGENT OF CHANGE FOR THE GOOD OF THE CLUB involved at the moment. So Coyne and his committee:
Recommended that Mary only be made to do a small portion of the Head Coach duties.
Recommended that Millward be the Director of Recruitment and Pathways.
Credits Mary with the turnaround of the team.
Believes Dugan and Widdop should be retained somehow.
Believes Mary's contract should be extended.
He didn't say that Mary's salary + Millward's salary should equal a Head Coach's salary.
He didn't mention Mary's track record since taking on coaching at the Dragons.
He didn't say how we would fit Widdop, Dugan, Lafai, Mann and others under the cap.
Our only hope now is for WIN to buy in and purge the lot of them.
i agree.
No, what that tells me is that he has had the cattle to do much better and just did not have the talent to do anything about it. Havili for Rein and discard his stupid game plans would have been a good start. Listening to his leadership group would have been another step in the right direction and his poor selection decisions really inhibited team performance - I mean Marketo, Benji and FFL not first grade players these days.
I'm very disappointed in coming to the realization that Coyne is just another old boy with his hand out.
Why? If Mary receives a contract extension before the GF, will he perform better as a coach?
And even more importantly, when the mentor is Mary.
This is a very good post. Somebody has poked the bear enough that we are light years ahead of 2016. Arguments can be made, for and against, as to who is leading that but the fact remains it is working.
