With the St George Illawarra season officially coming to an end on Saturday night, it's now time for the post-season review to begin
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The Dragons closed out the year in winning fashion on the Gold Coast, a Ben Hunt double helping the team to a 24-16 victory over the Titans.
Despite the victory, St George Illawarra finished the season in 15th place, the worst result in the joint venture's history and coach Paul McGregor said there will be plenty of lessons for all at the club to take out of 2019.
"We'll learn from what didn't work this year and grow," McGregor said.
"As a group of men, we understand we've got to be accountable for the season we had.
"In life, you get obstacles in your way, you've got to make sure you work through them and this year's been one obstacle after another.
"We look forward to the guys having a break and getting away. We've got some very good players in this team and we need to make sure when we attack it (pre-season), we come back as rookies and start all over again."
Saturday's win was reflective of the Dragons' season, with the team showing flashes of brilliance alongside periods of poor play.
While Gold Coast were in control for portions of the match, St George Illawarra ultimately finished over the top of the Titans in the second half to secure the win.
With Gareth Widdop departing the club and Jeremy Latimore retiring, McGregor was pleased his side was able to send the pair out in winning fashion.
"It was a good result for the milestone guys, Paul Vaughan's 150th, Gareth's last game as captain and playing for the club and Jeremy's last NRL game.
"They were three important milestones to get a result and we wanted to thank our fans. It's been a difficult time for them as well, you like to get a win for them. We've got a good fan base, so it was nice to get a win for them and give them something to cheer about."
Widdop and Latimore may not be the only men to leave the club in the off-season, with the Phil Gould-led performance review set to assess all facets of the team's performances this year.
While McGregor looks set to keep his job, assistant coaches Ben Hornby and Dean Young are on shaky ground.
McGregor confirmed on Saturday night that he had reached out to Gould to lead the review and he backed the former Penrith powerbroker to deliver a number of strategies to help the Dragons return to the finals in 2020.
"I feel we needed a full review and we needed an external review. That (Gould) was a name I sought and the club sought.
"When teams don't finish in the top eight and finish in the bottom eight, reviews are a lot deeper. Last year we still had a review, it was done internally, but we all thought this one had to be done externally.
"The review has to be done by someone and when you look at someone like Gus, he's a very educated person that's got a bigger knowledge than most in the game."
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