Carr's wild Red V ride hasn't turned him off coaching caper

He may have only coached half a season but Ryan Carr has run the full gamut of emotions since taking charge of the Dragons in May.

Handed the role in an interim capacity after Anthony Griffin was shown the door, Carr got off to a flyer with a dramatic win over the Roosters in his first game in charge and backed that up with a victory over old rivals Souths three weeks later.

The ensuing nine games have been a rollercoaster as Carr dealt with Ben Hunt’s requests to leave the club and thumping losses to the Warriors and Sharks before some late season resistance against heavyweights the likes of Melbourne and Parramatta.

Far from being put off by the drama and the demands of the job, Carr declared “I love being a coach, I love having that as my job” as he prepared for his last hurrah against the finals-bound Knights on Saturday at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

“It’s a privilege to be able to do it, especially at such a proud club like this,” Carr said.

“Nothing has deterred me from coaching, if anything it has just made me more hungry and more excited to do more of it.

“I think everyone can see how much it means to these players and we’re getting better, we’re improving a lot.”

The 16th-placed Dragons will miss the finals for a fifth straight year, but Carr is taking pride in the fact the players have refused to make excuses when plenty were on offer.

“Everyone has brought into the team mentality and putting the team first and you can see that in how we are performing,” Carr said.

“We are learning a lot as we go and I think it’s going to make us better in the long run.

“I’m super proud the boys haven’t let anything be an excuse and their accountability has been 100 per cent.

“I’d like to see the boys get a win on Saturday because they deserve it.

“At the same time you have to earn it, nothing comes free in the NRL, it’s not just going to come.

“We’re going to have to work really hard for it but we’re confident we can do that.”

Amid speculation of a move to Wests Tigers in 2024 to join Benji Marshall's coaching staff, Carr insisted he had looked no further than finishing 2023 on a positive note.

"I said it from the start when I took over, it's my responsibility to focus solely on this year and to look after this team," he said.

"I'm proud of how we've done it and how we have gone about our business but ultimately it's a results-driven business and we want to get a win on Saturday to finish our season on a high."