St George Illawarra will return to Kogarah on Saturday just six days after some Dragons fans demanded Paul McGregor leave the club following the red V's turbulent season.
The Dragons welcome wooden spoon certainties the Gold Coast to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday knowing their own season is over, with no hope of reaching the finals.
St George Illawarra are 14th on the NRL table with five games remaining, six points outside the top eight. The Dragons are almost certain to miss the finals for the sixth time in eight seasons and third time in last four years under McGregor.
It has been a dismal season for St George Illawarra.
The NRL stood down star forward Jack de Belin before the campaign had even started as the 28-year-old dealt with serious sexual assault charges.
The ongoing question of de Belin's availability and use of the NRL's new 'no-fault' stand down policy was an unwanted distraction for the Dragons as they attempted to cover the NSW Origin forward's absence on the field while he continued to train with the side.
The Dragons then lost captain Gareth Widdop to a serious shoulder injury in round three, only returning a fortnight ago with their season all but over.
There was also the added difficulty of developing a new halves combination with the signing of Corey Norman, while replacing the experienced Jason Nightingale has proved testing.
St George Illawarra were also hit by more disruption with another large red V contingent involved in State of Origin football.
The Dragons return to Kogarah having lost their fifth match in a row against Parramatta on Sunday, with fans holding banners on the hill with a blunt message for McGregor.
The Dragons coach said after the game it had been a tough season.
"There's a part of me that wants to win. A big part... [the loss to the Eels] obviously puts away any thoughts of playing finals regardless of the result. So it's tough," he said.
"I'm not going to hide the fact that when you're not winning games of footy everyone wants to know why and the reasons behind it and everyone wants to come at you and attack you. As a coach you've got to just make sure you're comfortable being uncomfortable.
"[You have to] stay composed and still give the boys confidence. I'm competitive as ever so you just want to make sure that you finish on a strong note to the year. We've got another game next week and that's what I said to the boys.
"The last couple of weeks have been pretty hard because when you're not winning games you're out of finals contention and you build your whole year and your team around that it's difficult. Because it's the first time in my coaching career I haven't been vying for a semi-finals position at this time of the year."
