St George Illawarra utility Moses Mbye has laughed off suggestions of player unrest at the Dragons and says uncertainty about Anthony Griffin's coaching future is only natural given the side's poor recent form.
The Dragons entered the State of Origin period a genuine chance of playing finals football but finished it with decisive losses to fellow finals aspirants Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters.
The club's board met on Tuesday and Griffin's future was on the agenda, but Mbye said extra scrutiny was to be expected in the lead-up to the finals.
"It's that time of the year where if you're not performing very well, you're going to be under the pump," he said.
"The last couple of weeks we haven't been playing good footy.
"The pressure comes back on us as a playing group and as a club. Obviously, there are headlines that you don't really want to be reading. But that's just the reality of what it is."
Griffin is known as something of a hard taskmaster but Mbye dismissed reports the playing group was unhappy with his coaching style.
"It's a bit laughable to be honest," he said.
Mbye said the only way to ease pressure on the coach would be to improve on-field, starting with Friday's match against Manly.
If the Dragons lose they will be two wins and points differential out of the top eight with only six games in hand to close the gap.
"It doesn't really matter what I say," he said.
"I'm not going to stand here and throw fuel on the fire or tell everyone why (Griffin) is so good or why he's bad.
"We're going to be judged on how we turn up on Friday night."
Mbye was at a loss to explain the Dragons' recent form.
"I'm not quite sure what's been missing," he said.
"It's something that we've been looking at during the week.
"There are a lot of variables in rugby league: teams change, fatigue, injuries.
"You just need to prepare as best you can and for us that starts now."
