NRL: Players urge Dragons to sign coach

Adam Quinlan of the Dragons. Photo / Getty Images

St George Illawarra NRL star Trent Merrin says the joint venture should move swiftly to sign caretaker coach Paul McGregor given the resuscitation effort he's performed since former mentor Steve Price's sacking.

The Dragons have won five from eight matches under McGregor since Price was shown the door in late May.

St George Illawarra's impressive 28-12 win over Wests Tigers on Sunday lifted them to 22 points.

NSW forward Merrin, who returned from a shoulder injury in the win over the Tigers, has called for McGregor to be given a new contract.

"He deserves the job, he has turned this team around and all the boys believe and trust in him," Merrin said.

"He has played the game at the top level and he demands perfection, which is what you need - especially the experienced players and the representative players."

Dragons halfback Benji Marshall said McGregor had been the key in turning the club's fortunes around.

"He demands perfection at training which I think a lot of these guys haven't had for a long time.

"[If there are] dropped balls we're doing push-ups now. He just punishes us for errors at training and it's starting to show in games."

- AAP