That may well be the scenario following the Tigers 25-12 win, the Dragons third straight loss and one that may have sounded the death knell on their finals hopes.

The win came at the end of a week in which Taylor dumped a club legend and current State of Origin hooker Robbie Farah reserve grade. It saw an extraordinary groundswell of support for Farah, amid unflattering banners, chants and all, at Leichardt Oval on Saturday. 

Sunday’s victory was not quite the ringing endorsement of Taylor’s claim that the Tigers are a better side without the incumbent NSW hooker. He admitted that his side “lacked a bit of execution” post-match but said he remains comfortable with the call.

“It was never going to boil down to just this game and the result on the scoreboard, I’ve worked hard at trying to say that over the last few days,” Taylor said.

“I don’t think it’s about vindication it’s about a direction that I wanted to see the team keep moving toward and I saw that today. 

“It’s a clear decision that I’m comfortable with and I’m confident it’s the right one.”

Despite Taylor making a potentially career-defining call, it was counterpart Paul McGregor who was under the blowtorch amid growing fan discontent.

McGregor said he was hasn’t been immune to the criticism but said he won’t let it distract him from his week to week task of coaching his side.

“I haven’t read [media reports] but I got enough phone calls from other coaches and players that I’ve coached before...you’ve just got to push it all aside,” McGregor said.

“This is a proud club, I’ve been part of this club for a very long time, and our fans expect wins. That’s what you carry when you’re coaching this club so I can understand [fan frustration].

“A few clubs go through it at different stages of the year and at the moment we’re going through it. We’re not happy about it, it’s very tough, but all you can do is work hard. Sometimes you have to go through tough times to get success. It’s not always a straight line.

McGregor conceded external pressure could be weighing on his players but said they’ll need to cast it aside with their finals chances still in their own hands.

“Things you hear outside, whether you like it or not, you do carry it at times into the games. It’s just human,” McGregor said.

“It’s hard to play in the absence of fear and they’re probably taking a little bit on their shoulders at the moment. The boys have got to unload that expectation that everyone wants I suppose and play more of a natural game.

“We still can make the eight, there are some teams who can’t. We’ve got to come through and play well against the Dogs. We can’t look at three week’s time we’ve got to look at next week.”