DRAGONS boss Dean Ryan has asked the Welsh Rugby Union for more input into contract negotiations so that he can keep Wales stars Ross Moriarty and Cory Hill at Rodney Parade.

The duo's deals expire in the summer and they are currently in talks with the WRU, who are bringing in a new system where they pay the wages of 38 home-based Test players.

The regions are still waiting to learn who is on that list but new Wales boss Wayne Pivac is likely to select back row forward Moriarty and lock Hill.

However, Moriarty could get a more lucrative offer from England and has also been linked with a move to his home region of the Ospreys while Hill has been mooted as a potential target for Cardiff Blues, where he came through the academy.

South Wales Argus:

In the past, regions have had to weigh up the benefit of paying for Wales stars who are missing for large chunks of the season but now the WRU will be picking up the tab, and Ryan wants more of a say in keeping two of his stellar names at Rodney Parade.

"It's a new system. I feel that we lack input in it, but it's a new system and we are trying to find a way through it," said the director of rugby, who hopes for more clarity from the governing body in the coming weeks.

"It's here to retain the best players in Wales, so we've got to get behind the system and hope that it keeps the best players in Wales and that the Dragons is an attractive place that they feel they can keep getting better.

"We are entering into a new phase and those players that are currently in the mix of going through negotiations, it's crucial that we secure them and we know that they are coming forward with us.

"But we have gone from a system where we've been in control to one that is partly controlled by the WRU, and that's very new to us."

The Dragons have already secured contract extensions with scrum-half Rhodri Williams, back row forward Ollie Griffiths and stalwart prop Brok Harris, with more deals for first team regulars set to be confirmed soon.

South Wales Argus:

"We've been more focused on retention and we recognise the challenge here. It wasn't about ripping it all up and selling a new story that everyone would buy into," said Ryan.

"This club has had its challenges and we wanted to spend six months saying that we believe the next few years could be different, but we know that we are going to have to prove it.

"We have done that in a different way, we have not stood at the front and promised the world. We have been quite transparent about how tough this will be, and that has got the majority of people engaged.

"We need a couple of others and we probably need the WRU to move in terms of solving some of the national 38 and making sure that we convince them here is the right place.

"That is something that hopefully over the next couple of weeks we can secure."

Ryan also distanced the Dragons from a move for Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb, who has been released from the final year of his deal with Toulon.

Media reports in France linked the Lions ace with a move to Rodney Parade or the Ospreys.

"Rhys isn't talking to the Dragons," said Ryan.