Pressure is mounting on under fire coach Anthony Griffin as the St George Illawarra Dragons spiral towards another season without finals on the back of two straight losses.
While a board meeting was held on Tuesday to discuss the coach and the club's ongoing struggles after a horror fortnight with losses to the understrength Brisbane Broncos and an out of sorts Sydney Roosters, who managed to run up 50, attention is set to fast turn to the club's struggling recruitmemtndepartment.
While the Dragons have lost Tariq Sims for 2023, and Daniel Alvaro on an immediate move for 2022, a club on the edge of the top eight, potentially set to miss the finals, should be refreshing their roster.
The Dragons have done anything but, with a grand total of zero new signatures made so far for the 2023 campaign.
It's now being reported the Dragons could be in for a major cleanout ahead of the next campaign, with no salary cap space currently at their disposal to bring in new players.
All of Billy Burns, Poasa Faamausili, Jackson Ford, Jack Gosiewski, Josh McGuire, Tautau Moga, and Jonathon Reuben are yet to be re-signed, and it's reported a host of them have been told they will need a new club for 2023.
โThe Dragons salary cap has not been touched on enough,โ The Daily Telegraph's Dave Riccio said on SEN Radio.
โThey havenโt bought anyone for next year and they havenโt signed a player for next season.
โTheir salary cap is so tight (and) thereโs not a lot of wiggle room.
โThey have huge money tied up in Jack de Belin, huge money tied up in Zac Lomax and Ben Hunt obviously.
โWe will see a player clean-out at the end of the year just to try and alleviate some cap space.
โItโs very difficult to change results when you canโt replenish the roster and thatโs the situation going forward for the Dragons.โ
It's understood Josh McGuire's career will continue in England, where it's tipped he will link up with former teammates Paul Vaughan and Matt Dufty at the Warrington Wolves.
No other player on the Dragons' off-contract list has been touted for a potential move away from the club at this stage, although Jonathon Reuben only joined this year from the QLD Cup and has made his debut.
Jackson Ford has struggled to reach anything near his potential, while Jack Gosiewski, Poasa Faamausili and Billy Burns all sit on the fringes of the club's battling first-grade side.
