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'Roster not the issue': McGregor has two weeks to save $750,000 job
Michael Chammas
June 1, 2020 — 12.01am
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St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has just two games to avoid the axe as Dragons powerbrokers gear up for the club’s most significant meeting in years when the St George Illawarra board gathers on June 16.
The
Herald can reveal the club is paying $750,000 a season for a coach whose only two wins in the last 15 games have come against the hapless Gold Coast Titans.
McGregor’s future is under a huge cloud, and not even the lucrative two-year extension he was bizarrely handed by previous Dragons management before a ball was kicked last year will save him should his team fail to land a blow against the Bulldogs and Sharks.
Saturday’s woeful showing against the Warriors has sent passionate Dragons fans into a frenzy as they call for the coach’s sacking after the club slumped to their 17th loss in the last 21 games.
When the Dragons agreed to McGregor’s extension before last season, they strangely did so without a performance-based pay-out clause.
He wasn’t a coach in demand either, which raises question marks as to why he was paid more than premiership-winning coaches Des Hasler and Michael Maguire. He is ranked in the top half of paid coaches.
At the time of signing there were still plenty of question marks over his coaching ability after the Dragons slumped from first place at the halfway point in 2018 to seventh to end the season. It’s a headache inherited by new chief executive Ryan Webb.
The Dragons would have to pay about $1m to McGregor if they terminate his deal in coming weeks, but club officials realise a failure to act could ignite an ever bigger backlash from disgruntled fans and a financial shortfall in membership that may take years to recover from.
Uncertainty around the Dragons’ future will also compromise its position when trying to lure stars such as Canberra’s John Bateman to the club in 2021, with up to nine spots available on the roster and money to spend following the departure of Tyson Frizell to Newcastle and the potential ending of payments to the off-contract James Graham and Jack de Belin.
Former premiership-winning five-eighth Jamie Soward believes the time for excuses is all but over for McGregor.
‘‘When you come out two years ago and say this is the squad you wanted, it certainly puts a lot of pressure on results going forward,’’ Soward told the
Herald.
‘‘When you say you have the squad you want, you need results. Unfortunately for Paul McGregor it hasn’t panned out that way. It looks like the players either don’t agree with the game plan or don’t like it.
‘‘On Saturday it looked like it was the last round of the year. It’s the game that upset me the most since I retired. Yesterday was the hardest to watch since I left. They’ve had eight weeks off and played against a team they should have beaten. Even if they don’t win, they need to show something for themselves.
Even wins over the next fortnight shouldn’t sugar-coat what is a dire situation for the Dragons. When the revised draw came out the joint-venture club was handed games against the Warriors, Bulldogs, Sharks and Titans – all winless teams after the first two rounds.
They also played against the Tigers and Panthers in the opening two weeks, both teams that didn’t feature in last year’s finals series. The Dragons have a top-six roster. Paul Vaughan, Frizell, Corey Norman, Ben Hunt and Tariq Sims all played State of Origin last year.
‘‘There’s a lot of smart footballers in the team, and strong leaders in the team. But it looks like things have taken their toll. It has shone through that the Dragons jumped the gun by re-signing Mary when there was no pressure to do it.’’
The second-most under pressure man at the Dragons is Ben Hunt, after another underwhelming showing against the Warriors. While former Canterbury hooker Michael Ennis believes Hunt and the Dragons will benefit by moving him to the bench, Soward has called for a host of changes that revolve around Hunt’s move into the No.9 jersey.
‘‘Ben Hunt has to start at nine this week, because you can’t have your $1.2 million player on the bench,’’ Soward said.
‘‘The way the game is going with the changes, Ben Hunt could be similar to Josh Hodgson. He has a good kicking game and knows how to manage his forwards. Cam McInnes is a fantastic player but as an attacking threat, Ben Hunt can provide them with more points. McInnes made 70 tackles on the weekend, which is incredible, but they need spark in attack.
‘‘Hunt at hooker, where he’s played for Australia and played well, makes sure he’s always in the game and hasn’t got the chance to drift in and out if it’s not going well. Then you move McInnes to lock, shift James Graham up front with Paul Vaughan, move Tyson Frizell back to the right edge where he plays for NSW, play Tristan Sailor at fullback and bring Adam Clune into the halves alongside Corey Norman.
‘‘Dragons fans are the most loyal fans I ever played for. As much as they bag you, they will support you to the hilt and stick by the team if they are making changes and blooding youngsters to improve the team. It makes it hard to support the team when they dish out what they did yesterday.’’
Some of the obvious names that will be linked to the job include former Dragons players such as Roosters assistant coach Craig Fitzgibbon, former Manly coach Trent Barrett and ex-Newcastle coach Nathan Brown. But Soward believes it’s time the club looks externally.
‘‘They need someone like Anthony Griffin,’’ Soward said. ‘‘The Dragons have had success when they’ve brought guys from outside to look inside the club. Wayne Bennett did that.’’
