St George Illawarra Dragons take first steps to extending Paul McGregor's deal
It has freed up McGregor to mould the Dragons into surprise table-toppers leading into the Anzac Day showdown with the Roosters after a superb early season run that has confounded critics who thought he would be the first coach axed in 2017.
The Dragons refuse to put a time frame on announcing their coach for next year, but Doust told Fairfax Media "common sense would say we're starting to contemplate" an extension for McGregor.
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"We're all very happy with the way 2017 has been going, but we haven't got a time frame on which we have to apply a decision on this circumstance," Doust said. "It doesn't have to be done by the end of April or the end of May.
"I don't know that anybody should think we haven't had a commitment to Paul and don't think he has a long-term future as an NRL coach. We've stood by him in that sense as well.
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"The decision is for the board and they'll make that when they think it is appropriate."
If it wasn't already a fait accompli, victory over the Roosters and fellow high-flyers Melbourne in the next fortnight before the representative round will all but seal McGregor's future, which appeared increasingly bleak last year.
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Long term future: Dragons boss Peter Doust has talked up Paul McGregor as the future of the Dragons. Photo: John Veage
Doust denied the Dragons had erred by taking recruitment responsibilities away from McGregor and handing them to Ian Millward, who will turn his attention to tying down Josh Dugan, despite claiming he is viewed as a long-term centre.
It has been in contrast to McGregor openly stressing Dugan is the best No.1 in the club.
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Four more years: Dragons skipper Gareth Widdop has also signed on for another four years. Photo: Cameron Spencer
Doust said Dugan was "a marquee player and a priority" for the Dragons despite the seeming gulf between the club's valuation and his management's asking price.
"I think it's surprising the way some people have reacted [to McGregor's press conference on Wednesday] and their lack of knowledge of what's happening in the modern sporting environment," Doust said.
"It was one of the areas we could achieve a marked improvement with in 2017. We're happy with the way that separation between recruitment and coaching of the team – I think the players are too – has been going.
"And we think it's the modern model in how football clubs should operate going forward.
"Coaches are to be working on the performance of the team. In this hot marketplace we're in at the moment the recruitment manager would be receiving 20-odd calls a day and having to return them.
"How does a coach, if he's concentrated and focused on his priorities, try to fit that into a day and be allocating the right sorts of priorities in terms of the team and its performance?
"We can look at [Ian] Millward's accountability as list manager over three to five years being a development club and then we have the coach to manage a roster he has been provided with from one year to the next."
The Dragons shake-up has also included the front office with Brian Johnston taking over as chairman from 16-year boss Warren Lockwood, who stood down from the role last month.
Negotiations for WIN to take a 50 per cent stake in the club are continuing.
"We're very keen to see WIN be a long-term partner in the management and ongoing development of the Dragons," Doust said.
"Nobody, we don't believe, in the position of stakeholders in the game, such as the [ARL] Commission or NRL, is unhappy with our governance model. We always want to be contemporary and improve."
Widdop will form a potent scrum-base combination with Broncos halfback Ben Hunt in 2018 after the Englishman agreed to a revised four-year deal.
It leaves Widdop's former club Melbourne empty-handed in their pursuit of Cooper Cronk's replacement with another halves target Kieran Foran likely to wind up at the Bulldogs.
"The Dragons have grown more and more since I've arrived," Widdop said. "There's a good environment here and it's a good place to be so I wanted to play my part in that.
"At this stage of my career it certainly was a big decision for my family. I have three young kids, I'm very settled here in Wollongong and I'm enjoying my time here. So while it was a big decision, I'm happy to be staying."
