THE Dragons were the better team yesterday. They defended better, created more opportunities, made more line-breaks and dominated field position for the majority of the contest. So why did they lose?

Was it great play by their opponents, bad luck inflicted on them by the football gods or simply bad management on their own behalf?

We could argue all three took their toll; but if the Dragons are to learn from this loss, they need to acknowledge their own role in their demise before they go looking for excuses.

Parramatta didn't play that great; but they didn't play badly, either. Their performance was solid, combined with a fair dose of resilience and a couple of very professional touches at vital points in the game.

They displayed much-improved ball control and their goal-line defence was significantly better than it has been for a long time. Their ability to scramble in defence and save certain Dragons tries played a big part in their win.

The Eels also took their chances. They got only three real try-scoring opportunities in the whole game, but converted every one of them into maximum points.

The big play came when they led by six points with seven minutes left on the clock. They worked themselves into position for a field goal to give them an unassailable 19-12 lead. So, it's fair to say Parramatta contributed to the Dragons' loss.

As for bad luck, well, there was a heap of it. It was one of those days when everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Players stumbled when seemingly in the clear. Others were ankle-tapped or dragged back by the shorts when headed for open spaces. Balls bounced the wrong way or too close to sidelines for the Dragons to take full advantage of the errors they had forced from their opponents.

They were pulled down inches from the tryline on several occasions. As is always the case when you're struggling or playing without confidence, a couple of 50-50 calls went against them at vital times, too, and any one of them could have turned the game back in the Dragons' favour.

At this point, let me say that the "stripping rule" in rugby league (and the pedantic interpretation of this rule by match officials) is a joke. Something must be done about it.

Everyone who follows the game knows the rule is wrong. It's been wrong ever since they tried to formulate a rule to stop Allan Langer from stealing the ball off opponents while they were being held in tackles by his Broncos teammates.

As a result, we ended up with this ridiculous application that continually causes frustration amongst fans, players and coaches.

No ball-playing sport in the world consistently rewards players and teams for losing possession like rugby league does, thanks to this rule.

The no-try ruling against the Dragons yesterday after Parramatta's Eric Grothe lost possession was a joke and a clear indication (yet again) that we have this rule totally wrong. Please fix it immediately.

Anyway, Parramatta playing well, bad luck and bad refereeing decisions all contributed to the Dragons' disappointment. But they were not the major factors in their loss. Bad management played the biggest part. It's bad management when you make a line-break and the fast men in your team fail to support the ball carrier.

It's bad management when you make the line-break and have one player to beat but you can't position your support runners to take it in for the try.

It's bad management when the playmakers in the team can't manufacture time and space for the two best centres in the game to make an impact.

It's also bad management when you react poorly to setbacks and allow the opposition to immediately take full advantage of their good fortune. Twice yesterday the Dragons had tries disallowed and compounded the problem by allowing Parramatta to post a try in the very next set of six.

If the Dragons are to improve, they need to deal with the realities of their own poor play and poor management, rather than using the notion of bad luck or bad decisions as a crutch for their broken hearts.