The well-publicized scrutiny of Steve Price by the media and fans alike, culminated last week in his sacking. Temporary savior Paul ‘Mary’ McGregor will step in as the caretaker coach for the remainder of the season. Mid season coach changes are not at all a good look, it shows a club that is so desperate that they sack the man who is in charge rather than looking at the real issue, the players. I agree that letting Price go is the correct decision, he had a poor record and this year whilst starting off well, has slumped to 3 straight humiliations but it was not the bulk of the problem.

The Dragons losing trend will certainly continue under Paul McGregor unless, as stated in the title, he is well versed in the dark arts. Only if McGregor can come down to Wollongong and conjure out of thin air two 115kg props, things will not change. In the last three weeks Dragons have lost to the Roosters 34-14, the Bulldogs 38-6 and the Eels 36-0. In those three defeats, the Dragons forward pack were treated like the U/10Bs from the Berkeley Eagles as they suffered an average difference of 648 metres gained between the teams, peaking against the Bulldogs with 753 metres.

When you compare the size of the Dragons pack to what I think is the best and biggest in Canterbury, the disparity is staggering. The combined total weight of the Canterbury forwards is over one ton at 1003kgs compared to the Dragons total of 944kg. The average weight of the forwards for the Dragons is 104kg whilst the Canterbury average is 111.5kg. That means that the average player for the Bulldogs weighs more than Dragons biggest, Leeson Ah Mau (111kg) and in actual fact, 5 Bulldogs forwards edge him on the scales. Whilst having a mobile and smaller pack can work for teams such as the Tigers occasionally, those players have to be playing out of their skin to match and defeat packs like the Roosters, Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs which is something the Dragons are not able to do.

In this situation of a smaller pack being consistently dominated, I feel bad not only for the forwards, but for the backs. The Dragons have some excellent talent in Widdop, Dugan, Morris and Marshall if he can find form, who have the ability to break games open with flashes of brilliance. But Rugby League is grit first, glamor second. When twisting the top off a stubborn jar of strawberry jam, you first need to loosen it and then with a few more spectacular twists the top will pop off and allow you to reap the rewards of your labour. This concept applies to the Dragons. Without the forward pack loosening the jar lid with metres gained and tackles made , the backs have no chance of ripping off the top and actually winning games. Unfortunately the Dragons forwards are incapable of doing this legwork.

So Paul, the solution is simple. Either collect as many books on Haitan Voodoo Magic as you can or recruit a few forwards with size and skill, otherwise this trend of a dominated Dragons team dwelling near the bottom will continue.

This post was published on the Roar: http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/05/31/unless-mcgregor-sorcerer-cant-help-dragons/