“GET rid of it.”

That’s the message from Fox Sports commentator Warren Smith to Gareth Widdop, who says the St George Illawarra skipper needs to get his mind back on the job of playing football — and not his haircut.

After winning eight of their first nine games, the Dragons are in the midst of a late-season form slump having lost three of their past four games.

Round 20

Widdop’s form has also taken a dip in recent weeks, with Smith believing the five-eighth’s dyed hair — which was unveiled in Round 18 — is also playing its part.

Smith also drew comparisons to when rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns dyed his hair red in 1996 and ended up turning out the worst performance of his career in a game against Manly at Brookvale.

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“That hasn’t helped,” Smith told the Take Me Now, I Have Seen It All podcast.

“The moment you go and do that, you are courting disaster. It’s almost ‘Changa’ (former St George legend Graeme Langlands) and his white boots from the ‘75 Grand Final.

“ … I’m taking the mickey a little bit, but let’s think about it. He goes and does it and then he turns up to training — now what do you think psychologically is happening the first time he turns up? He is thinking, ‘what are all the boys going to say about this, I’m going to cop it’.

“ … It’s a distraction, get rid of it. Just get back to being able to focus, not having this anxiety about what the boys are going to say.

“I know it seems like a ridiculous old fuddy-duddy ‘get off my lawn’ attitude, but at the heart of it, subconsciously, it can’t help but change his mindset in some small capacity.”

Former NRL player Michael Ennis said the Dragons’ problems went much deeper than Widdop’s hairstyle, but suggested the timing of his decision was poor.

“For Gareth Widdop, he has definitely put a target on himself with that haircut,” Ennis told Fox Sports.

“I know it’s a minor thing, but it’s probably not the ideal time to do that given where the Dragons are at.”