CATALANS DRAGONS’ captain Ben Garcia is the kind of player whose actions speak louder than words on the pitch and he is taking the same approach in the dressing room.
Les Dracs are in freefall after five successive defeats and 122 points conceded and none scored in the last three games.
The loss of coach Steve McNamara, which is still to be officially recognised by the club because of a legal dispute, has compounded problems at Stade Gilbert Brutus and Garcia is determined to get a grip of the situation.
“I am the captain of this club and I am not going to fold my arms, actions will be taken,” he told League Express.
The 32-year-old French international skipper, who was switched from loose-forward to hooker this season, added, “It’s hard to find the words. Five games, five defeats, we are solely responsible for this.
“If there are some who disagree with me in the locker room, there are choices that will be made.
“We’re all competitors, myself first and foremost. I think at some point you have to take responsibility. Right now, we’re not good enough.
“I will do everything I can to get the club back on track.
“I’m thinking of the fans, because they come to see tries, victories. What we’ve been offering for the past few weeks isn’t pretty. We haven’t scored a single try and I sincerely apologise for that.
“It is time for action from us as players, we have no choice. I don’t think we can fall any lower, we can only go up.
“Our discipline is really bad and we are conceding tries because of it. We exhaust ourselves defending, and at the slightest mistake, we bury our heads in the bucket and fall back into this vicious circle.
“There are no excuses, we have experienced players, and that includes me. We know where our strengths lie; we just need to use them.
“We believe we can still reach the top six, and those who don’t believe we can do it will not be a part of it. I’m not judging anyone. But at some point, if we make silly mistakes and don’t know the game plan, every player needs to know about it.”
The Dragons are hoping to have fullback Sam Tomkins back from injury for the trip to Hull KR this weekend.
Tomkins has been in full training all last week following recovery from a serious knee infection and looks likely to be ready for Friday’s match.
The Dragons have admitted that interim coach Joel Tomkins may remain in charge until the end of the season although efforts to find a new permanent head coach continue, with current England coach Shaun Wane understood to be the top target.