St George Illawarra Dragons coach Paul McGregor says he finally has the squad he wants
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It's taken the best part of four years, but St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor finally has the roster he wants heading into the 2018 season.
McGregor will begin his fourth campaign as head coach in Saturday's trial clash with Hull at ANZ Stadium, with new faces Ben Hunt and James Graham to have their first outing in Dragons colours.
The pair of Internationals put the finishing touch on a roster several seasons in the making since McGregor took the reigns from former coach Steve Price midway through 2014.
His ascension to the head-coaching role came amid a salary cap squeeze that ultimately resulted in local juniors Trent Merrin and Brett Morris departing the club as part of a dramatic roster overhaul.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor is finally happy with his roster.
Photo: Anthony Johnson
Contract talks and roster instability have been a constant headache in the ensuing two seasons but McGregor is confident his current squad is the best he's had at his disposal.
"I think it's the best roster we've had in my time here," McGregor said.
"As a head coach it does take you probably three years to get the roster you want unless you inherit a very good one that are currently in the top four to six sides in the competition.
"We weren't that when I started back in '14 and the start of '15. I feel now I've got a roster I'm totally comfortable with.
St George Illawarra Dragons coach Paul McGregor in 2014.
Photo: Andy Zakeli
"I think our balance of youth and experience is good with the nine debutants we've had in the last two years. They're a good age, they're into their second and third pre-season which is great.
"With the addition of the two Internationals in Ben and James, as well as bringing in some experience into that middle part of the field, I feel this squad is the best one we've had for quite some time."
McGregor will be hoping the added experience can arrest the late-season fade-outs that have been the club's Achilles heel in recent years and dramatically cost it a finals berth in 2017.
"We exceeded the critics expectations to start they year but we didn't live up to our own at the back end of the year," McGregor said.
"We've got to be consistent for a longer period. We did lead the competition, and we were in the top four in round 14, but we didn't finish strong enough.
"Two out of the [last] three years we've been in the top four past the halfway mark of the competition so it's about maintaining that standard, regardless of the opposition we play, on a weekly basis.
"We dropped five games to teams that finished below us and that's not good enough. For us, it's about closing that gap between our best and our worst and being consistent on a weekly basis.
"I feel we've got the squad to do that now with depth in important positions."
McGregor said new-look halves Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop will get between 40 and 50 minutes of action against Hull, in what will be there first hit-out as a pair.
"I think that combination will grow as the season goes on," McGregor said.
"Benny's a genuine [number] seven. He likes to play on the ball and likes to run the footy, he's a dominant kicker, which will take a lot of pressure away from Gaz.
"I feel Gaz is one of the best instinctive players in the game and he's got bottomless talent so he'll be released to do that instead of looking to organise a footy team.
"That'll be up to Ben to execute the game plan so I'll be looking for those few things from him [on Saturday]."
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sp...y-has-the-squad-he-wants-20180216-h0w7pz.html
