They say heโs safe, but after what appears to be another bottom eight finish for the Dragons, the drums are beating louder and louder for the sacking of Paul McGregor.
And despite a lack of quality coaches on the market, thereโs one former Manly stalwart that can instil some pride into the Red V jersey.
This season marks the sixth year that โMaryโ McGregor has taken the reigns for St George Illawarra, but regardless of the abundance of Origin and international players on their roster, has only secured a finals spot twice.
But even with the clubโs losing form over the last two months, the kicker came before their game against Penrith, when McGregor announced heโd be resting his highest-paid player in Ben Hunt for the match.
With both teamโs teetering on the edge of the top eight, it was simply a must-win game. The Dragons lost 40-18.
What makes the decision even more peculiar is the fact that in less than three weeks, St George Illawarra play the lowly ranked Gold Coast Titans at home.
Plus the fact that theyโll have a fit Gareth Widdop on hand at that point, meaning you could easily rest Hunt for a week and have an international slot into the halves, instead of 30-year-old, three-game rookie Darren Nichols.
But if McGregor were to get the sack for his subpar performances, who could they possibly snag?
Enter Geoff Toovey.
The man knows how to win, and more than anything, thatโs what the Red V need right now. Wins.
โToovesโ managed a winning record of 58% in his four-year coaching stint in the NRL, a lot better than the 48% of Paul McGregor.
Taking over in 2012, Toovey led the Sea Eagles to three consecutive top-four finishes, including a Grand Final berth in 2013. However, he was sacked by the club after finishing one win short of the top eight in 2015, one of the more shocking coach sackings in recent years.
While he spent a year in England coaching Bradford, Toovey hasnโt be sighted as an NRL head coach since his Manly sacking four years ago. The time is perfect for him to return.
With the court case of Jack de Belin and the departure of Gareth Widdop, the expectations on Toovey wouldnโt be intense.
Yet heโd be taking over a roster featuring Origin stars Corey Norman, Ben Hunt, Paul Vaughan, Tyson Frizell and Tariq Sims, as well the likes of Cameron McInnes, Zac Lomax and James Graham.
The Dragons arenโt a side that needs rebuilding, and Toovey could propel them deep into the top eight.
McGregor has been questioned for years by the Dragonsโ fans, some of the most passionate in the competition, and he certainly canโt last until his contract expires in 2021.
Weโve seen glimpses of the side's best this year, but Mary has failed to really get the most out of his side. They were known as the โMay premiersโ for the last few years, starting the season outstanding before a drop in form has seen them either miss the finals or just scrape in.
The year that Toovey missed the finals, and was ultimately sacked for, was the season headlined by off-contract stars Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans, and the drama that pursued that saga.
The fact that no club has hired him since is simply bewildering, but if the St George Illawarra side wants their club playing finals footy, itโs time for that streak to end.
Geoff Toovey is your man.
Dragons “great” Barrett coached Manly.
Manly great, Toovey to coach Dragons.
What could possibly go wrong.
I honestly think Mary is a decent man manager but at no point during his tenure has he got the attack to do anything decent. Defense has been the strength of the team, but this year the defense has been disgraceful. Every single time the opposition gets into our 20 they score. The recruitment in general is just too passive. Waiting for bargains wont win premierships – and we generally lack speed in the backs and size in the front row/bench. Depth is now also really poor. The boys club needs a clean out.
A bit tough there butters.
The St.George Canterbury Cup team has been doing fairly well for a few years.
The forwards including off the bench, looked huge compared to Penrith’s .
Who’s slow in the backs?
They may be struggling at the moment, but Des Hasler at Manly has shown how things can change quickly, with just a new coach & a few minor buys.
Think a new coach and letting Widdop go and freeing up some money could be a good thing. Think they should also look at moving Lafai and replacing him with Zac Lomax at centre and getting in another winger. They havenโt really decided what to do with Jai Feild and they just lost Reece Robson, wonโt be surprised if Jai did the same. Tristan Sailor has been coming through good and would also probably jump at the opportunity for first grade. So there youngsters coming though are good talents but just donโt have a clear path way.
They should let Lafai go and sign Reimis Smith
Then with Widdop leaving use that coin to bring in Peni Terepo and Nat Butcher
1. Dufty
2. Smith
3. Aiken
4. Lomax
5. Rawalawa/Peirera
6. Norman
7. Hunt
8. Graham
9. McInnes
10. Vaughan
11. Frizzell
12. T Sims
13. K Sims
14. Feild
15. Terepo
16. Faitala-Mariner
17. Leilua
I won’t be getting carried away with this story because it is merely a figment of someone’s imagination. I would be very surprised if the Dragons hierarchy approached Geoff Toovey to coach the first grade team. He is a Manly man from head to toe. I do believe however that there are two good coaches without a first grade job, being Neil Henry and Jason Dimetriou. Henry has a lot of first grade coaching experience and did well in his stints at Canberra and North Queensland, while Dimetriou is a first grade coach in waiting. Another option would be to get an experienced assistant for Mary if the club want to persevere with him.
There would seriously have to be an investigation if toovey was appointed dragons coach.