True Blue Paul McGregor has a deep affection for the Dapto Canaries.
The next chapter of their bond begins this weekend with the opening round of the NSWRL Harrigan Cup in the Illawarra Rugby League this weekend.
McGregor is Dapto’s new Director of Coaching bringing him back to where he won two premierships – in 1990 the year before he went up into the NRL, and in 2002 for his first season after retiring from the NRL.
It’s given McGregor the chance to re-engage with a club that means a lot to him.
“It’s something they’ve been asking me for a while, and I’ve been trying to take a break from the game a little to get my weekends back,” McGregor told nswrl.com.au ahead of the First Grade Canaries’ Round One game against the Corrimal Cougars on Saturday 26 April.
“We had a talk and I’m basically doing a few things for them but I’m not coaching – they’ve already got good people in place,” he said.
“I’m sort of helping the coaches to coach if that makes sense.
“I oversee the program and make sure preparation is right for each training session scheduled.
“We haven’t had an 18s side for two years or more, which is great to see them back.
“And we have a lot of first-time Rugby League players amongst them which I think is good because we can start good habits.
“Reserve grade last year only won one game, and first grade haven’t played finals in six years,” McGregor said.
“So what we’re trying to do is put structures in place that makes three teams sustainable because Dapto has always been a very strong grounding for our game.
“We want that excitement back, where there is a pathway for players to come through the grades and the education they’ll get by doing that.”
Naturally a name like McGregor is a powerful recruitment magnet after 14 Origin games and four tries for NSW, and being a part of four winning series.
The strong-running centre affectionately known as ‘Mary’ scored three tries in four games for Australia.
“They are telling me that (bringing players to the club), but we need to field better performing sides than we have in the past,” McGregor said.
“We haven’t played a game yet so it’s only early days.”
He currently attends one or two training sessions a week, where all three grades train together, and he will get to a few games each weekend too.
“I don’t want to overstep the mark as the coaches need to do their job. But I can help them with video analysis, prepare training sessions for them, that kind of thing.
“I’ve got the time to do it now and while I’ve got that, I don’t mind helping.
“We all want to see better results but I think it might be a slow burn.
“Everyone has to be patient because culture isn’t built overnight and we have to get the Canaries culture going strong again. It’s club first, team second, self third.”
