IF HE were alive today, the Greek mathematician Pythagoras could have a job in the NRL working on the top eight combinations and sorting out the for and against records of teams battling it out for the finals.
St George Illawarra's dismal second-half effort against the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday at Cbus Super Stadium saw the Dragons waste a chance to secure eighth spot.
Leading 20-12 at halftime the Dragons ran out of puff, losing 28-26 against a Titans outfit missing nine players. They also lost three with injuries during the clash, reducing their roster to 14 instead of 17.
The Dragons remain eighth on 26 points with one game to play against Wests Tigers on Saturday, September 5, at ANZ Stadium.
So, here it is in a nutshell:
If the Dragons win they move to 28 points and make the top eight no problem.
If Wests Tigers beat the Dragons by 31 points or more and Manly (ninth on 24 points) — who tackle Cronulla, on Sunday, September 6, at Remondis Stadium — win by 31 points or more, the Sea Eagles make the finals and the Dragons miss out.
The Dragons have a +25 differential compared to Manly's -35.
McGregor was blunt in his post-match assessment: "A lot of things came really easy during the game early and we put some points on the board but, in all honesty, they had 20 off-loads."
"From a good defensive side, that's way too many. They had three tries from kicks and two from dive-overs. It's just not the standard we set so it's not good enough."
McGregor said they can fix the problem themselves. "The game's pretty simple: if you want to do the right things in the right areas you're OK. We've come a long way in 12 months and to let it go now would be a huge disappointment.
"We need a week of concentration, working hard for each other and come game day we'll be OK."
Dragons five-eighth Gareth Widdop was team best, with four goals and a 90-metre runaway try.
Titans 28 (David Mead 2, Dave Taylor 2, Agnatius Paasi tries, Kane Elgey 4 goals) defeated
Dragons 26 (Gareth Widdop, Mitch Rein, Benji Marshall, Mike Cooper tries, Gareth Widdop 4 goals).
Leader Man of the Match: Titans halfback Kane Elgey.
Crowd: 12,335.
