there is a club who needed a strong end to 2023 off the field, it’s the St George Illawarra Dragons.
But instead, they have lurched from one disaster to the next in recent weeks, and the fast exit from a dismal period under Shane Flanagan’s rebuild has all but stalled.
The incoming coach, who led the Cronulla Sharks to a premiership in 2016 before being deregistered at the end of 2018 over failing to adhere to the conditions of a previous suspension in 2014, has more than his work cut out for him at the Red V in his return to the head coaching chair.
Flanagan’s rebuild – which every indication suggests he didn’t want to be a patient one – hinged on being able to sign star New Zealand Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake, Roosters and now rugby-linked outside back Joseph Manu and fringe Queensland State of Origin half Thomas Dearden for 2025.
The Dragons have put substantial money in front of all three players, but have already missed two. Fonua-Blake hit the Dragons with a mega rejection, instead signing for the Cronulla Sharks on a figure reported to be well under what Flanagan and his recruitment staff had on the table for the released forward who is relocating to Sydney on compassionate grounds.
That rejection was announced just hours after the North Queensland Cowboys confirmed Dearden had re-signed on a long-term deal.
Missing Dearden was compounded on the same day when reports first emerged that young half Talatau Amone had been deregistered by the NRL.
That means his contract has been torn up with the Red V, which of course came months after the joint-venture elected to let another young half and Amone’s SG Ball premiership winning halves partner from 2019 in Jayden Sullivan walk to the Wests Tigers.
Set to the backdrop of Ben Hunt’s ongoing future speculation – he has two years left on a contract but it’s well known he wants to be back in Queensland – it’s fair to say the Dragons have a messy situation on their hands heading into the new season.
Signing Kyle Flanagan and, more recently, Ronald Volkman will give a little bit of competition for roster spots in the halves, but the Dragons urgently need big-name signings.
Some of Flanagan’s coaching improvements will undoubtedly help the club. There has been chat from players publically already that the pre-season has been more intense, and it’s been obvious for some time now that the Dragons have been one of the unfittest teams in the competition.
In fact, the comments from now Dolphins prop Josh Kerr suggesting this pre-season in Redcliffe was unlike anything he had experienced previously are probably more alarming to Dragons administrators when weighing up past staffing decisions than anything else.
But fitness can only go so far. So can good coaching.
Without the cattle, it’ll prove to be an impossibility to improve beyond small amounts, and the bottom line is that the Dragons need new signings.
The talk is that the Dragons will reset their recruitment course moving forward in a far more private manner, although Heilum Luki may well be as good as a done deal for 2025 after touring the club’s facilities.
What the Dragons need as much as anything though is experience – but more specifically, experience at winning. That’s something Flanagan has clearly already earmarked by signing Tom Eisenhuth out of the Melbourne Storm system.
He isn’t elite or a star, but will add plenty to the Dragons’ playing group.
When you look at the off-contract list for 2025, there is really very little that may interest the Red V in areas they need replacements, but the likes of Nick Meaney, Matt Eisenhuth, Angus Crichton and even Daniel Tupou could be of interest.
They all bring that competitive edge and come out of successful systems. The recruitment play for the Dragons must now be a smart one after missing out on big names, although Manu is still on the market.
Reports suggest he is weighing up a move from Japanese rugby before returning to the Roosters, although whether the NRL would grant approval to a move like that remains to be seen.
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While Manu must be a player the club move mountains to gain, and others need to be signed, more immediately, the Red V need better results than they had in 2024.
The way they are going about the pre-season will help, but so too would some of their younger players standing up.
The Couchman and Feagai brothers have excellent potential, and so does Tyrell Sloan even if he hasn’t shown it on a consistent basis at first-grade level.
The form of Ben Hunt too will be under a major microscope in 2024 given the very public speculation over his future, while forwards like Blake Lawrie and Jaydn Su’A will need to continue to go to another level.
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