Tyson Frizell won't be wearing the Red V for much longer, but the Dragons gun has called an honesty session amongst his teammates in a desperate bid to end the club's miserable run of form.
The NSW Blues and Kangaroos forward will join Adam O'Brien's high-flying Knights in 2021 after eight seasons with the Dragons, in what is a tale of two clubs in starkly different positions.
The Dragons find themselves pegged to the bottom of the ladder through an 0-4 start to the season, after a pair of dire losses to the Warriors and Bulldogs since the NRL returned a fortnight ago.
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Eager to ensure his last season with the club isn't one to forget, it's been revealed the Newcastle-bound Frizell declared a players-only meeting on Thursday ahead of a rivalry battle against Cronulla on Sunday.
"Frizz called for a little meeting in the video room just amongst the players," winger Jordan Pereira revealed. "We just spoke about what's going wrong and we just had a really open discussion amongst ourselves to try and get to the bottom of it.
"It was never taken from a malicious standpoint. I just felt like it was constructive. There was definitely no finger-pointing - just an opportunity to get around each other."
The Dragons have only scored two points since returning from the COVID-19 lockdown, with simple errors and a clear lack of confidence infecting the side's attack.
With their coach Paul McGregor's future on a knife's edge, captain Cameron McInnes said the players had had enough.
"We had an open and honest discussion with each other and we all came to the agreement that we're not doing our part," McInnes said.
"We were all in agreeance that we need to respect the footy and help each other by completing sets and not putting each other under pressure.
"That was pretty much what we spoke about there and that would be the focus going forward."
Good to see the boys are on the same page ahead of the local derby 👊 #redv pic.twitter.com/UdYOnxZ6Oy
— St George Illawarra Dragons (@NRL_Dragons) June 11, 2020
McGregor entered Monday's clash against the Bulldogs under immense pressure, such was the performance the week prior against an injury-ravaged Warriors outfit.
Forced to face fierce questioning from the media after the 22-2 loss to the Bulldogs, McGregor cut an emotional figure inside the Dragons sheds at Bankwest Stadium.
Fox League's cameras captured McInnes approaching his distraught coach after he addressed the team, with the first-year skipper admitting he needed to apologise on behalf of the team.
"I know how hard he works, I know how hard the coach's work. I know that they leave no stone unturned to prepare us each week and we're not delivering," McInnes added.
"I believe in my heart that it's not a coaching staff problem. I get that it's an easy excuse or solution to think they're the one that needs to change.
"But we're the ones on the field making the unforced mistakes. Some of the mistakes we made [against Bulldogs], that's just individual recklessness.
"I thought that we owe him more than what we produced, so that's what I was saying to him."
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The Dragons' board met urgently on Tuesday, hinting McGregor's tenure with the Saints was over. But the club came out in support of their coach, who they re-signed just last season.
Whilst McGregor is not yet safe, McInnes said the players are determined to relieve the pressure on their coach.
"For him to be the scapegoat of our situation I think is unfair and I'm glad [McGregor was kept on]. The stance the club's taken is a strong one and I think the right one," he declared.
"Now it's up to us players to do our bit and turn this around.
"There's a lot of us not performing to our potential but people aren't speaking about that as much because all the pressure's on Mary, and that's just the type of guy he is, he takes that off other people.
"That's why we're so passionate about taking some pressure off him now through the way we play. That's the theme across the whole group."
