Michael Ennis has delivered a withering spray to quickly fading St George Illawarra, telling them to "stop sooking and sulking".
The Dragons' NRL season was sent into a tailspin after their 40-4 flogging at the hands of cellar dwellers Parramatta on Saturday, their fifth loss in six starts.
Crunch time: Michael Ennis says Ben Hunt’s effort against the Eels wasn’t good enough.
Having wilted badly in the back-half of the season over the past four years, they have been forced to wear the tag of the "May premiers".
Since Paul McGregor took the reins in Wollongong, their end-of-season performances have been worrying.
According to Fox Sports Stats, in 2015 they won just four of their final 13 regular season matches. The following year they recorded two victories in their last nine starts and last season just four in their last 12.
Gareth Widdop's dislocated shoulder, which is expected to keep him out until the finals, has only compounded their slump.
Former Cronulla premiership-winner Ennis, who spent a season with the Dragons back in 2005, said they needed to get over their reputation as chokers.
"They're talking about blocking out the noise," Ennis told Fox Sports' Big League Wrap.
"We lost four of our last five games heading into the finals in 2016 and the external noise grows. We had that at Cronulla – about how we were a club that just couldn't get it done.
"Do you let the fans or the external dictate where you're going to finish or what happens to the remainder of your season?
"The individuals in that side need to stop sooking and sulking and get back to what worked for them at the start of the season.
"They built their season on aggression, on hunger and desire. The senior players in particular need to take responsibility for them."
Million-dollar halfback Ben Hunt has had the finger pointed at him for their disastrous loss to the Eels after he finished the game with zero runs and zero metres.
Ennis stressed there were other players in their line-up also not pulling their weight, but said Hunt needed to earn his pay cheque.
"We can single out Ben Hunt because he's come to the club as the marquee man, as the No.7, and did he have any impact on the game the other night? No he didn't. None at all," Ennis said.
"That's why he was brought to the club, to fix this time of year. You come there as the marquee in the No.7 jersey, you're expected to stand up and deliver."
AAP
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