DRAGONS boss Bernard Jackman has pledged to be "ruthless" when shaping his squad after his second string went down to a 52-25 defeat at Ulster.

The Rodney Parade region shipped eight tries in a chastening evening in the Guinness PRO14 at Kingspan Stadium.

Scores by hooker Rhys Buckley, scrum-half Dane Blacker and wing Will Talbot-Davies reduced the deficit but it was a one-sided contest in Belfast.

Jackman, with one eye on next Saturday's home clash with the Southern Kings, made 13 changes from the round three victory against Connacht.

The management team didn't get the selection headaches that they had hoped for and the head coach is starting to judge players as he prepares for a busy recruitment period for 2018/19.

"It was as we feared. You are always hoping that you can be more competitive but unfortunately we weren't," said Jackman.

"It was always going to be a big ask but I have an obligation to give people an opportunity, I have spoken about that before, and they have an obligation to perform.

"It's a cutthroat business and people are accountable. The guys that played against Connacht put in a really good shift and showed where they are at and at Ulster it was about individuals trying to step up and show they deserve more game time.

"Certain players did, I was really happy with some performances, but others didn't hit the level that is needed to be competitive.

"That's another black mark against their name. The Dragons just need to be ruthless and if you want to build a winning region you have to make some hard decisions."

Jackman insists he has no regrets over the decision to ring the changes, despite some suggestions that the Dragons had given up the game.

The head coach will stick to his guns and do the same with certain away games throughout the campaign.

"This is our squad and everybody else rotates their squad," he said. "The Irish have been doing it for years but what they have is depth when they don't have their frontline players.

"I need to get that depth and that's the project. Anyone who plays well will get bumped up the depth chart.

"If you look for a short-term fix all the time to give you comfort and you lose to Ulster by 10 points then that is not going to help you win games in January and February.

"We have to be very selfish about what the Dragons need this year so that we can be good next year.

"I believe we need a really good mix of targeting games to get that winning feeling and also need to upskill the players that don't play in those targeted games."

A plus point for the Dragons was that they gave a raft of young prospects a chance.

Flanker Max Williams (19), scrum-half Owain Leonard (19) and wing George Gasson (20) made their full debuts while Talbot-Davies (20), lock Joe Davies (21) and flanker Lennon Greggains (18) came off the bench along with lively on-loan Cardiff Blues scrum-half Dane Blacker (19).

"The fact that we were chasing a bonus point at the end shows a really good mentality and some of the youngsters did really well," said Jackman.

Captain Ollie Griffiths was forced off at the end after a blow to his right leg, one of many bumps the all-action flanker suffered, but it hoped he will be fine for the Kings.

Number eight Robson Blake underwent a scan on an injury to his left collarbone and the extent of the damage will become clear in the coming week.

Hooker Gerard Ellis was forced off in the first half after a blow to his left cheekbone but a scan showed there was no fracture and he just has heavy bruising while wing/centre Adam Hughes went off with an injury to his left foot.