IF the Dragons don’t beat the Bulldogs tonight, Paul McGregor and Peter Doust better find themselves a bomb shelter.

I admire the way McGregor came out and stuck up for his team this week. But I can’t agree with what he said.

After losing their past three games, in which they conceded more than three times (93-30) as many points as they scored, McGregor suggested it was unfair to see his team copping so much heat in the media when other underperforming clubs were getting off lightly.

Obviously McGregor was referring to the Roosters, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles, who are below the Dragons on the NRL ladder.

media_camera Fans have been lashing out at the Dragons top executives like Peter Doust.

“For some unknown reason they (media) seem to enjoy targeting some clubs more than others and some players more than others, and some coaches more than others,” McGregor said.

With respect, that’s not the point.

The point is this: It’s the club’s own fans are leading the attack. At other clubs, fans, most often, ­defend their team and the people in charge.

If you were to come out and say Trent Robinson was a lousy coach, Roosters fans would howl in protest.

And when was the last time you saw a “nick off, Nick” banner at a Roosters game? Or a “rack off, Richo” at the Bunnies?

This is the difference.

When something critical is written about the Dragons, most fans want to know why you didn’t go harder.

Why can’t we score points, they ask? Why can’t we attract big-name players? Why is the club in so much debt? Why are the crowds not ­turning up?

media_camera Dragons coach Paul McGregor is under pressure from unhappy fans. Picture: Gregg Porteous

They want action, and they want it yesterday. And at the heart of their argument is the style of football the Dragons play.

Go and look on social media, or any online story about the Dragons.

“It is not that we are losing,” one punter wrote this week. “It is the way we are losing.”

You couldn’t put it better.

That one sentence encapsulates this entire argument. As The Big Marn, Darryl Brohman, said on The Footy Show on Wednesday night: “Oh, they are an awful team to watch, the Dragons, boring!” Then Brohman pointed to the fact that the Dragons are only averaging 13 points a game this year.

“That’s two tries and a field goal,” he said. “Hello! You’ve got to do better than that.”

And the other problem is, as hard as they try, the Dragons just can’t find a way to score more points.

Most of the blame gets directed at their halves Benji Marshall and ­Gareth Widdop.

There has to be more to it.

media_camera Dragons fans are pushing for big changes at their club. Picture: Mark Evans

Even last year, when their defence got them into the finals, they still averaged the second-fewest points of all teams (17.8) and the fewest tries (2.9) and fewest line breaks (3.8).

This year, instead of improving, it has gone backwards. They are now averaging 13.3 points, second-fewest behind Newcastle, with the secondfewest tries (2.3) and second-fewest line breaks (2.9).

This year they have only scored more than 20 points four times.

Once was against the Storm during Origin, and the others were against Newcastle, South Sydney and the Roosters.

If you take Parramatta out of the equation, that’s the three bottom teams on the NRL ladder.

And while last year their defence was the fourth-best in the league, this year they are 10th.

Like that fan said in his comment this week — it is not the results, it is the way they are losing that is frustrating everyone.

And probably why the club is struggling to sign any significant reinforcements for next year.

If you were a top-line player, would you gamble your career at the Dragons right now?

media_camera The Dragons playing squad is not performing as well as fans want.

This is the famous Red V we are talking about.

And they can’t attract players.

It’s been the case pretty much since Wayne Bennett left, and that was five years ago.

In that time they have made one finals series, last year, when they were knocked out in week one.

Yes, if the Dragons can turn around their recent form and beat the Bulldogs tonight, they will still be a chance of making the finals.

As McGregor pointed out, they need to win four of their remaining six games to put them on 28 competition points.

But even then, a terrible points differential that is currently -158 (the NRL’s second-worst), could still cost them a place.

In reality, they probably need to win five from six to be guaranteed a top-eight finish.

And the games following the Bulldogs tonight are against the Broncos, Sharks, Roosters, Eels and Knights.

Achievable, perhaps?

But you wouldn’t take the odds.