Dragons chief executive Brian Johnston admits the club's recent performances have been "unacceptable" but says sacking coach Paul McGregor is not the solution.
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Having reached week two of last year's finals the club extended McGregor's deal for a further two seasons in April, leaving him at the helm until the end of 2021.
The Dragons have since won just three of 12 games to sit 14th on the ladder, with fans flocking to social media to call for McGregor's sacking after Friday's 40-18 loss to the Panthers.
Johnston understands the depth of fans anger, but said laying all the blame at the coach's feet is a "simplistic" view.
"This is a performance driven business that we have and I can understand their frustration, I feel the frustration myself," Johnston said.
"I'm listening to the criticism but I don't think removing a coach at this stage of the season in isolation to everything else is the right move.
"Mary's working very hard, as we all are, and I think there needs to be shared responsibility for the results. I talk the players as well and they're disappointed as everybody else.
"It's my job to run the club and I take responsibility for the overall performance of the coach and the players. The buck stops with me. I take that responsibility personally and I take that hurt personally.
"I think taking ownership is what we all need to do at the moment."
The run of poor results has come amid a heavy injury toll that's seen them without skipper Gareth Widdop for the bulk of the season.
Tyson Frizell, Korbins Sims, James Graham, Tim Lafai and Zac Lomax have all spent time in a crowded injury ward at different stages.
They've also been without star lock Jack de Belin, who became the first player subject to the NRL's new no-fault stand-down policy in February.
De Belin has mounted a legal challenge to the no-fault policy in the Federal Court, while he's due to appear in Wollongong Court on Wednesday as he continues to fight a sexual assault charge.
Johnston said the various different circumstances have all contributed to the club's predicament.
"I would say we've missed having Jack de Belin on the football field, as far as measuring any disruption off the field that's very difficult to do," Johnston said.
"I certainly wouldn't accuse Jack of anything outside of not being available to play football. Rules were changed by the NRL in that respect so that that couldn't happen.
"Compared to the last few years, we have had a very high injury rate. We've never really had our full squad available for selection.
"We're not making an excuse for the performance we dished up on Friday night. That's not acceptable and at the moment, as much as anything else, you'd probably suggest we're a team that's lacking confidence."
The Dragons remain a mathematical chance at reaching the finals but are at very long odds with seven games to play. A single loss would resign them to missing the finals for sixth time in eight seasons.
Johnston said it will all be looked at as part of the club's end-of-season review, but said there hasn't been cause to second-guess the decision to extend McGregor's deal in April.
"It wasn't just a case of renewing the coach, you go through a process," Johnston said.
"We reviewed all potential coaches that were on the market or in the business of coaching in Australia and overseas. We looked at what would become available in the next few years as well.
"A lot of the senior players are signed for the duration of Mary's contract. Our playing group was settled, 22 players in our top squad were signed for 2020, which had Mary's endorsement and vice versa.
"Yes, performance at the end of the day is the overriding factor, but there's certainly a number of other factors that we look for in our coaching and coaching structures.
"That will all be addressed in our review at the end of the season."