Proud Mary: how fate led Paul McGregor to the St George Illawarra Dragons

"We'd be having a smoko and I'd be trying to have a sleep," said former teammate Shaun Timmins about their days working together in the mines.

"But he was up and doing game plans or training schedules for Wests [as coach of the Illawarra Rugby League outfit].

"I couldn't believe how into it he was. Even though it was just local league, he was very particular even then."

That attention to detail is evident in other aspects of McGregor's persona. Like when, on playing trips away, he would neatly lay out all of his clothes for up to a week in advance. Or being just as meticulous in preparing items for his chemical cleaning products business as he would in compiling Sunday's game plan against local rivals Cronulla.

"His attention to detail was always there, he was fastidious," said former colleague Mick Potter. "If it wasn't perfect, it wasn't right."

But while few appreciate it more when a plan comes together, even McGregor acknowledges there are some things in life left to chance.

That was never more evident than on the fateful night of October 12, 2002. McGregor and wife Nicole, sans kids, had just arrived in Bali to enjoy a holiday with three other couples.

"Normally we would get in, drop off our gear and go out and have a drink," McGregor said. "We only went out for a short time and the girls said they were tired and we should head home.

"Normally what would happen is we'd say 'we'll be back in a couple of hours' and we'd stay. For some unknown reason, on this night, we decided we'd go back home together."

A short while after leaving the Sari Club, McGregor felt a blast that reverberated around the world. The bomb, planted by extremists in the popular tourist nightspot, killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

"Within about 10 or 15 minutes of walking through the door it felt like someone was trying to barge the door down of the hotel we were staying in, there was that loud a bang," McGregor said.

"We looked outside to see what it was but couldn't see anything. Then we were getting phone calls saying what happened and the devastation of it all.

"It was one of those ones that could have gone the other way because we were actually at that bar. We were just there with [AFL footballers] Jason McCartney and Mick Martyn, I'd met them the year before on our trip away.

"Everything is about timing in life, isn't it? That was the decision there. It wasn't my time."

There is never a good time to be taking over from a sacked mate. But since replacing Steve Price - who happens to be in the opposition coaching box on Sunday - McGregor's Dragons are on the rise. The man dubbed 'Mary' has defied all expectations by leading the joint-venture outfit into a share of top spot on the ladder.

"After round two we had blokes not worth being at the club and they all had soft underbellies," McGregor said. "It's really strange, you look back at the start of the year and no one as a sportswriter or media identity gave us a chance of making the eight. No one."

After being written off early, the Dragons are looking the goods. It is something McGregor himself is known for. Even as a player, McGregor was always on trend. If double denim was the look, McGregor had it down pat. If turtlenecks were in, the Dapto product had a cupboard full of them.

"He would religiously clear out his wardrobe every year," Potter said. "There were some players that would gratefully take any hand-me-downs because they were barely worn. Certainly some of the guys playing reserve grade who weren't quite as financial cherry-picked his cupboards when he was doing his spring cleaning."

However, his dress sense also made him a target for pranksters. One of McGregor's prized possessions was a pair of crocodile-skin shoes. Not long after they mysteriously went missing, photos of them started getting mailed in from all over the world. One would be of the shoes eating sushi in Japan. Another would show them having a smoke and a pina colada in Bali. On another occasion they were marching alongside soldiers in Afghanistan. And on it went for months.

To this day, the culprit remains at large, although McGregor has whittled down the suspect list to three.

"Rylesy [Jason Ryles], Timmo [Timmins] or Trent [Barrett] - it would have been one of them," he said.

"When you think about the time they took to do it, it's quite funny. You take pride in everything you do, your manner and your dress, your work. How you dress is important, you are what you are.

"I got a few hints thrown at me but I never actually nailed the person."

Not that the pranksters always got away with it. During his days as a strength and conditioning coach of the Dragons, McGregor arrived early to set out the witches hats. As is his way, they were lined up in colour co-ordinated rows and spread evenly across WIN Stadium in preparation for a Mark Gasnier fitness test. They were a work of art.

"I was very meticulous in how I approached the session, I'd set up things 45 minutes to an hour prior to training," McGregor said. "Very organised. That's probably my biggest strength, I like forward planning and thinking about what I do."

It was too much for Barrett. The Dragons pivot stole the keys to McGregor's F150 ute, veered towards the field and went about destroying his handiwork. Not a single cone went undisturbed.

"To say I wasn't happy about it was an understatement," McGregor said. "They thought it was funny at the time. They didn't think it was too funny afterwards. [A flogging on the paddock] followed, that's for sure."

McGregor is still paying the price from his own playing days. The work ethic that is now his hallmark - his 18-hour days begin when the alarm clock goes off at 4:45am - was not as evident during a glittering career which included 158 games for the Steelers and Dragons, as well as 14 Origins and three Tests for Australia.

The former centre has been under the surgeon's knife 14 times, the latest a neck operation during the off-season to alleviate pain caused by vertebra pressing down on the nerves in his spine.

"That's the thing that stuck with me, I blame myself for my body breaking down throughout my career," he said. "That's why I make sure people I coach don't go down the same path, I didn't look after myself as good as I needed to do.

"I played Aussie Rules as a young guy, where I lived there was an Aussie Rules park close by and I played that and rugby league, generally on the same day.

"I obviously chose rugby league but my body at the time was probably more suited to being an Aussie Rules player."

While he always wanted to be in a profession in which he could "tutor people", the opportunity to coach also came about by chance.

Struggling to find his niche after football, he accepted an offer from Barrett's father to work with children in juvenile detention. There were other courses and jobs, such as working in the mines or in his True Blue Chemicals business, which he has kept to this day.

Football, however, was his passion. But when Wayne Bennett came to the Dragons, McGregor - then an off-contract physical performance coach - was deemed surplus to requirements. It was that setback that led him to coaching Wests, a team that hadn't won a premiership in 18 years. With 'Mary' at the helm, they won three straight and a new career was born.

"Wayne wanted to bring someone in he could totally trust and knew what was needed," McGregor said. "Obviously with me not being under contract, I was moved on. I took up coaching from that day on. If I'd stayed with Wayne, who knows whether I'd be coaching.

"Again, it's a sliding door. Out one, into another."