Jul 24th, 2017

Jul 24th, 2017

Mary set to get more help

The Dragons are set to sign highly-rated English coach Richard Agar to help embattled coach Paul McGregor next season.

Agar is one of the most respected coaches in Britain, having coached the French national team as well as Wakefield and Hull at club level.

He is currently assistant coach to Tony Smith at Warrington but is believed to be close to signing on at the Dragons in a recruitment and high performance manager role.

The Dragons started the season strongly and signed McGregor to a new deal as a result.

But the club hit the wall mid-season and is battling to make the finals - although Sunday’s splendid win over Manly eases the pressure somewhat.

The move to bring in Agar shows the Dragons believe McGregor needs help - and hopefully the veteran coach will bring more stability to the inconsistent Dragons week to week.

Fergo's gamble

Blake Ferguson is a gambler - on and off the field - and the controversial NSW star is about to take one of the biggest punts of his career.

I’m hearing Ferguson has accepted a one-year deal to continue playing at the Roosters in 2018 - despite the fact at least one rival club was prepared to offer him a three year contract.

Ferguson likes life at the Roosters and the club has got him out of strife more than once in the past couple of seasons - so he feels he owes them and will stay on in the hope of securing a longer term deal beyond next season.

Wests withdrawal

There’s more drama brewing in the Tigers joint venture, with the rich Wests Ashfield club considering ditching the Wests Magpies team from the Ron Massey Cup next season.

Leading officials believe it’s time to kill off the Magpies, and play a Wests Tigers team in the second tier competition instead.

The move will upset fans of the Magpies, a foundation team of Australian rugby league way back in 1908 with a rich history in the game.

Warriors in search for assistant

The Warriors are still searching for a replacement for assistant coach Steve McNamara, who quit the club recently to take on the top job at Catalans in Super League.

One man they are looking at is Tigers assistant Craig Sandercock, who has an impressibe resume, having coached Hull Kingston Rovers in England and been an assistant at the Knights and Tigers.

With Stephen Kearney set to be under massive pressure next year at the under-performing Warriors, Sandercock could well see the job as a stepping stone to a head coaching role in the NRL.