"Dean’s as hard a worker as anyone I have had on my staff, he is loyal to the club, he has bled for the club, he will only do good things for the club and he is a very smart coach. In Round 1 2017, St George Illawarra beat the Penrith Panthers 42–10.In the 2018 season, McGregor guided St George Illawarra to a 7th-place finish as they qualified for the finals. For a time McGregor contemplated retirement but he returned to his best form and joined Brad Fittler in the NSW centres. "It's important to note that Craig Young excused himself of any decision making pertinent to Paul's departure and Dean's appointment. During the Super League war McGregor maintained his ranking as one of the best centres in the game but in the three years after the 1995 World Cup injury restricted his Test appearances to just one match (v. Rest of the World in 1997). McGregor and the club came to the conclusion on Thursday that the best course of action was for the 52-year-old to vacate the position. This was the club's first finals appearance since 2011. McGregor said: “I wish to thank the Dragons for allowing me to be head coach over the past seven seasons as well as everyone who has … Two other teams have interim coaches - Souths and Brisbane - due to Wayne Bennett breaching biosecurity rules and Anthony Seibold taking leave due to a personal matter.Webb said the Dragons' decision to end the 52-year-old coach's tenure was "one that nobody took lightly". You have skipped the navigation, tab for page content The directors at next Tuesday's board meeting will begin the process of appointing the next full-time coach.Bird and front-row recruit key to roster rejig for Mary's successorVB Hard Earned: McInnes not slowing despite hybrid roleThe two key reasons McGregor and Dragons parted waysDragons selection committee became untenable for McGregor McGregor was later an assistant coach to Nathan Brown with the Dragons. He made just three appearances before he was forced to return home early to treat a worsening hamstring injury. Rugby League NRL guru Phil Gould has revealed he conducted his review into the Dragons’ football department with both hands tied behind his back. The Dragons may opt to delay under-fire coach Paul McGregor’s sacking until the end of the season for financial reasons and it could affect Shane Flanagan’s future at the club. "Paul has had a 25-year association with our club and the joint venture's founding club, the Illawarra Steelers and has shown great passion, integrity, character and a strong work ethic throughout this time. VIEW ALL PARTNERS McGregor said: “I wish to thank the Dragons for allowing me to be head coach over the past seven seasons as well as everyone who has … "I approached the club's chief executive Ryan Webb earlier in the week regarding a number of matters and we eventually came to an agreement that this week will be my last as coach of the Dragons. That was discussed between [then Dragons chief executive] Brian Johnston and I at the time and sometime later, Brian Johnston resigned and went back to do other things.“It’s difficult to talk about without giving away confidences but there was no real review, or what I would call a review, and I certainly wasn’t going to put my name to any document or review at that time. In 1999 he was ruled out of the ANZac Test when he suffered a recurrence of a blood-clotting problem which required surgery on his legs but he finished the season by captaining the merged St George I’warra club in its grand final loss to Melbourne. He had played 124 games with the Steelers club from 1991 to 1998, scoring 44 tries. DRAGONS Regarded in most quarters to have played over the top of Australia's Test pair of Mal Meninga and Steve Renouf he was selected as a reserve back in Australia's Test team against France at P’matta Stadium. Assistant Flanagan is suspended from coaching until 2022 for breaching restrictions placed on him after being banned for his role in the Sharks supplements scandal, but behind the scenes there are reportedly moves being made to ask if the NRL would consider altering their stance.Paul Green is available and ex-Penrith coach Anthony Griffin is without a job, but Knights legend Andrew Johns believes the Dragons should target Roosters assistant coach Craig Fitzgibbon.McGregor will coach one final game this week, against the Eels on Friday night, before assistant coach Dean Young officially takes over for the remainder of the year.NRL 2020: Phil Gould slams Paul McGregor, Dragons review after coach walksNRL 2020: Phil Gould slams Paul McGregor, Dragons review after coach walksWe and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. Dean deserves this great opportunity to showcase his capabilities in the head coach role. McGregor took over as coach during the 2014 season, leading the club in 153 NRL games for 70 wins at 46 per cent. McGregor was at first reluctant to return to grade but was finally lured back to the Steelers in 1991. McGregor made the most of his opportunity and scored a try when he made it onto the field but the 1994 Kangaroo Tour was personally unrewarding. Full breakdown of statistics for rugby league's Paul 'Mary' McGregor. McGregor and the club came to the conclusion on Thursday that the best course of action was for the 52-year-old to vacate the position.