RUGBY LEAGUE
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The jury's still out on Dragons centre Dane Nielsen's future but coach Paul McGregor admits he's disappointed that a player of his experience has been caught up in off-field drama.
The club is still investigating reports that Nielsen allegedly bit a woman on the leg at Cronulla nightspot Northies a day after the Dragons' first win of the year over Canberra.
The matter is not subject to a police investigation but the club is making its own inquiries into the incident after the woman lodged a complaint this week. The NRL's integrity unit is also monitoring the situation.
It's the first time the 29-year-old has been caught up in off-field drama but McGregor said he expects more from senior players.
"I brought him here for that reason," McGregor said.
"He's experienced, he's played in grand finals and World Club Challenges and played Origin football and you accept that [extra] responsibility when you've got that tag.
"At the moment it's only an allegation but it's a disappointment. I spoke to Dane [on Thursday] but what I say to Dane is between us. When we get the full story the club will look really deep into it and we'll get the answers. Obviously I'm a little bit disappointed at what's allegedly happened but we haven't got too much more on that at the moment."
McGregor has trodden a similar path to Manly coach Geoff Toovey so far this year with both sides 1-2 and with boards under siege. McGregor said that won't affect himself or Toovey come Saturday.
"I think everyone's under siege these days," McGregor said.
"You win or lose a couple, everyone's questioning why you're winning or why you're not.
"I think that's just the environment we're in every week. Next week it'll be someone else, so it's just a matter of not focusing on that and just focusing on what you can control and that's the group you're with. Tooves is obviously a tough character and he played that way.
"I was fortunate enough to play with him in a bit of rep footy and I know how emotional he gets and it's a credit to him with the success he's had with Manly in previous years."
The Sea Eagles will be boosted by the return of skipper Jamie Lyon and star five-eighth Kieran Foran for the match but doubts remain as to whether they're 100 per cent.
"You like to beat a side at full strength and they're pretty close to it now," McGregor said.
"In saying that Lyon's only had a week away from hurting his groin and Foran came off a pretty bad hamstring and it's only been a couple of weeks, so whether they're fully fit ... that's questionable. We've got 17 guys who are fit to go out there and give our best."