St George Illawarra coach Steve Price has dismissed the notion of a radical shake-up after being held scoreless for the second time this year on Saturday night.
Price stood by his misfiring attack, claiming the responsibility for drawing another blank was with him and not his halves combination of Nathan Fien and Chase Stanley.
Fien was a standout in the first half for the struggling Dragons, but they couldn't find a way through the Roosters' defence, hitting a new low point in the season with a 36-0 loss at Kogarah's Jubilee Oval.
The Dragons were beaten 19-0 by Penrith at the same venue in round 11.
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Amid criticism of Price's decision to shift Stanley to No. 6 following the mid-season exit of Jamie Soward, Price signalled there would not be major changes after next weekend's bye. ''There's been pressure on [Fien and Stanley] for a number of weeks now,'' Price said.
''But as a coaching group and the players around them, we need to take responsibility for that and help them be in position and execute our plays around them also, so we'll stick together and the buck stops with myself.''
The Dragons were missing key personnel and Price maintained his faith in the senior players, revealing Matt Cooper is likely to return for the round-19 game against front-runners South Sydney on July 22.
Josh Dugan returns from a controversial one-week suspension for a shoulder charge, while Price is also confident Tyson Frizell and Cameron King will also be fit after both missed the Roosters clash.
''It is difficult when you're missing some of your best players on the sideline,'' Price said.
''We've got a number of players out injured at the moment, [but] at the end of the day, we're a proud footy club and the 17 players that take the field with the red V on, we expect nothing but 100 per cent effort and commitment.''
The Dragons would need to win seven of their remaining eight games to have any chance of making the finals.
Realistically, finals footy appears a mere pipedream now for a second consecutive year, which cannot auger well for Price's long-term future.
