PART 2
2016 – Unfortunately the team didn’t rise. McGregor got the team ‘
in the position to fight hard consistently [and] get the highest finish possible’. They scraped into 11th. Had Parramatta not lost 12 points for salary cap irregularities it would have been 12th. (
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/st...on-2016-nrl-expectations-20151111-gkwqs4.html)
Towards the end of the year McGregor said he wanted nothing to do with rumours that Corey Norman was coming to the club (a couple of years before he signed on), but was interested in code-crossing start Jarryd Hayne (who the club later tried to sign just before he was arrested for sexual assault).
McGregor’s trademark tactic of not having any tactics, not utilising his bench, and not changing direction under any circumstances really emerged this year. While the team were a ‘mathematical chance’ of making the finals and needing a win over the Roosters to keep the season alive, McGregor
‘left the great red and white hope and off-load machine, Luciano Leilua, on the bench’ until the team was 30 points down and the season done (
https://www.nospam47.com/g00/au/other-sports/news/the-coaching-tactic-destroying-dragons-fans-nrl-national-rugby-league-st-george-illawarra-paul-mcgregor-luciano-leilua/)
While other teams have brought generations of players through, McGregor has continually strangled emerging talent, playing Josh McCrone and Kurt Mann in front of Jai Field; Euan Aitken and Tim Lafai in front of Zac Lomax, Tanne Milne, Reuben Garrick, Patrick Herbert, Mikaele Ravilawa; Jeremy Latimore in front of Josh Kerr, Lachlan Timm, Jackson Ford, and the list goes on. It would be one thing frustrating the fans/people paying your bills in what is ultimately an entertainment business if you were winning, but another thing entirely when you are continually shown up and losing with the same lack of tactical nous and management year on year.
An end of season review was undertaken by former skipper Mark Coyne, sports scientist Dr Craig Duncan, and coaching and performance specialists Clare Prideaux and Dirk Melton.
The club acknowledged ‘a number of factors’ were to blame, but not McGregor, who had a ‘positive future as an NRL coach’. (
https://africa.espn.com/nrl/story/_/id/17657802/coach-mcgregor-survive-dragons-axe)
Benji Marshall and Mitch Rein were sacked, and recruitment and retention were taken from McGregor, however he promised changes to key positions. Mary also said that ‘Our results in 2016 were not acceptable and no one within the club is happy or comfortable with our results and inconsistent performances this year.’ Luckily, he was later able to learn how to be ‘
comfortable being uncomfortable’.
2017 – The Dragons surprisingly shot out of the blocks, winning 8 of their first 12 games to sit in the top 4.
In June, the club beat away competition from no one to hastily lock in McGregor for a further 2 years. They then faded losing 8 games in the second half of the season to finish 9th.
Reporters again started asking whether it was
‘time for McGregor to start playing some of the young-guns the Dragons have in their ranks’ (
https://www.nospam47.com/au/league/news/dragons-win-but-redv-fans-still-fuming-nrl/vw6nd0se57au1vzrhuk55s5t3)
)
. McGregor answered with an emphatic ‘no’, persisting with Josh McCrone until the high-flying Toronto Wolfpack snared his prized signature.
Euan Aitken noted that ‘there were a few injuries at crucial times that disrupted our season’ and that sometimes ‘after a really good first half we didn't finish it off in the second half so that's what we've been focusing on at training, making sure our second halves and our second efforts always going to be as good as our first.’ (
https://www.nrl.com/news/2017/12/12/st-george-illawarra-dragons-2017-nrl-season-by-the-numbers/) Two years later this is still a problem.
2018 – With the signings of Ben Hunt and James Graham, ‘
McGregor has mentioned in the press that he finally has the roster he wants in his fourth full season in charge, so there really can’t be any excuses this season.’ (
https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/03/05/st-george-illawarra-dragons-2018-season-preview/)
They shot out of the blocks again, winning 12 of 15. The bench appeared under-utilised and youngsters were again ignored with the top 13 (not 17) playing until they were physically and mentally fatigued. Again.
They lost 38-0 in a game earmarked to honour Lance Thompson and farewell Jason Nightingale. McGregor said ‘We are missing a couple of key players at the moment but that happens in footy.’ (
https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/08/26/angry-st-george-illawarra-dragons-fans-turn-on-their-own/)
They fell to 7th, appearing completely bereft of ideas and tactics. Mary refused to change the team other than for injury. Eventually a couple of young players got a start and Dufty and Lomax starred in a fine performance against Brisbane in the elimination final (48-18), and a stoic loss against Souths (13-12) in the finals.
2019 – Worst season in living memory. Summary: Lomax dropped, juniors leaving, plodders locked in for forwards, players not given a spell in reserves when under-performing or clearly busted.
Proven plodders like Maranta are started in place of young up and comers. Promising players like Ravilawa and Pereira are dropped multiple times and made scapegoats for non-existent game plans.
Players leading basically all stats in reserves not given a start in firsts (
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/1d8bb26bae7e106c1a13311a06a6c683). Long suffering fans are instead treated to the same excuses, and lack of vision until panic stations are hit and the odd radical move (
like promoting an admittedly very promising SG Ball player once the season is gone. Just one though, and only when all has been lost, ala the use of Leilua in 2016).
The hopeless use of the bench and youngsters in 2019 is nicely
set out here. I would point to the customary end of season fade but this one started a bit earlier, around round 1. The press focuses on De Belin and Widdop’s injuries, ignoring the fact that this is a team chock full of rep talent.
Oh and in the meantime, the club locked in McGregor for 2 more seasons after 2 losses and 2 one-point wins at the beginning of the season. Another season of failure has led to the board reportedly guaranteed him an entire 2020 to add to his failures while sacking the poor sods that report to him.
