What direction are the Dragons heading in?
Watch all three games of Rugby League in Las Vegas live and ad-break free during play is Fox League, available on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
The Red V have some of the most exciting young prospects in the competition in their forward pack, with the likes of Hamish Stewart, Toby Couchman, Dylan Egan and Jacob Halangahu: local talent with a sprinkling of junior representative honours.
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Look to their spine, and it’s somewhat of a different story.
Between hooker Damien Cook and fullback Clint Gutherson, there’s 475 games of NRL experience, and 21 State of Origin appearances between them. While experience is everything, eventually time catches up with the best of us.
It means the Dragons will eventually need to plan for the future in two of their most key positions.
Their halves, meanwhile, are another question entirely. Will Daniel Atkinson be the answer for them at No.7? Can Kyle Flanagan guide the club to better results? Is Kade Reed the long-term answer for the club?
Reed stole the attention of many in the NRL world after his impressive trial performance against the Newcastle Knights, but he is yet to make an appearance in a real competition game.
At the very least, it’s fresh competition for Flanagan and Atkinson.
But with cynicism over the halves and how long their marquee players will be able to stay at the top of their game, it begs the question: is this Dragons roster, as currently constructed, built on a two-timeline philosophy?
And by the time the young talent develops and big-name recruit Keaon Koloamatangi arrives, will it already be too late, or will the Dragons be able to strike the right balance?
This week’s game against the Bulldogs will be a stern test of just how far the Dragons have to go, but even before then there are a few big questions hanging over Shane Flanagan’s team.
THE HALVES ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
That starts with the fact the Flanagan duo have been at the centre of much public criticism in recent years and Reed’s emergence has only put even more of a spotlight on Kyle’s spot in the team – at least externally.
Speaking to Matty Johns on Fox League’s Face to Face, Flanagan issued a stern defence of his son’s position in the halves, declaring a lot of comments are without the backing of any facts.
“He was one of our four or five best players last year, and Dean Young will tell me when he’s not playing well,” Flanagan said.
“I definitely prefer him playing in my team. When he was at the Roosters, we had a really good one year there. They won the World Cup Challenge, he was with Keary and had a good year.
“Then the year he had at the Bulldogs wasn’t that great and I used to worry a lot about him there, but I’ve sort of got control of him now… but it’s tough, especially when there’s probably a fair bit of undeserved criticism.”
Flanagan is joined this season by 25-year old Atkinson, who has been starved of first-grade minutes in the NRL recently. Atkinson featured in 16 games for the Cronulla Sharks in 2025, with many coming off the interchange bench. This followed an unfortunate ACL injury.
Coach Flanagan thinks Atkinson being a bit of an unknown prospect will be a positive for the team, and potentially a solution to future-proofing their spine.
Get all the latest news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports NRL Sportmail. Sign up now!!!
Flanno not putting pressure on Atkinson | 00:24
“He’s (Atkinson) just a little bit of a smoky for us because no one’s really seen him this year (2025), and he’ll come in next year,” Flanagan told the Dragon’s Den podcast.
“We bought him as a seven, but he can play six, he can play 13, he can play one – so he’s got a bit of that utility value.
“But I’m not going to come and just say, you know, ‘wait and see where you are’ – we’ll put him into the seven and see how that evolves over a period of time
“I think the adding of Daniel is just going to give us that little bit of a spark and he’s a good defender, and as I said – got some more qualities that we need.”
While Dragons fans will be keenly watching how Atkinson progresses in the halves, there’s no denying youngster Reed is a future star.
After his stellar performance in Round one of the trials, it seems to be a matter of when and not if Reed will receive a call-up to the squad ahead of Flanagan and Atkinson.
Those calls were quashed quickly when Reed wasn’t named in the Dragons’ squad to take to Las Vegas for their clash with the Bulldogs.
It seems patience, and putting together consistent performances for St George Illawarra’s NSW Cup side, will be the key for Reed.
His rise in the public eye certainly makes the halves picture more promising for the Dragons, given they lost both reserve halves in Lachlan Ilias (Titans) and Jonah Glover (Rabbitohs) in the off-season.
DRAGONS SEASON PREVIEW: Flanagan’s big promise… and the huge gamble to make or break season
AN AGEING SPINE IN A GAME ‘BUILT ON SPEED’
When you search heart, leader and determination into the web browser- chances are you’ll find Clint Gutherson at the top of the list.
The 31-year old has built his career on supreme fitness, ticker and guiding his team from the very front. It’s those qualities which still have his coach excited about what’s to come.
“A lot of his (fitness) times and his effort, he’s so far out in front, it’s ridiculous – and his attitude towards training, he wants blokes to follow, he’s a follow-me type of leader,” Flanagan told Matty Johns on Fox League’s Face to Face program.
“He’s all in for the Dragons at the moment. He knows this is the back end of his career and he wants to do well for us. He’s said at different stages, ‘I’ll play lock, I’ll play hooker’, he’ll do anything for us.”
Hooker Damien Cook is another key player in the spine who isn’t getting any younger.
Cook’s blistering acceleration was a key part of his game during the prime of his career, when he was representing New South Wales while donning the red and green of South Sydney each week.
But Fox League’s Braith Anasta is questioning whether Cook and his fullback can maintain the speed needed at NRL level.
“Gutho is a freak but he’s not getting any quicker at fullback,” Anasta told the Kayo Sports NRL podcast.
“Cookie was one of the quickest hookers in the game but he’s also getting on. He’s still quick but probably doesn’t have that same acceleration he did have.”
It’s a worry shared by Code Sports’ Michael Carayannis, who feels explosive speed is something the Dragons are lacking right now on their roster, especially through the middle of the field.
Flanno confirms Holmes fit for Vegas | 00:19
“It’s the same elements of concern that I had at times last year where the game is getting faster and the Dragons aren’t. That’s a concern,” Carayannis added on the Kayo Sports NRL podcast.
“Gutherson is a heart and soul player. The game this time now is built on speed. Who in that Dragons line-up, particularly in the middle of the field and then playing off the back of that, have something that can cut a game open?
“The strength is their edges… that’s where their strike is. But can they roll forward enough? Can the halves and fullback get them clean enough ball to give these guys one-on-one opportunities on an edge?”
When asked about Gutherson, coach Flanagan said he doesn’t believe speed is an issue at all for the number one despite admitting they’ve spoken about potentially moving him out of the fullback role.
“I’m not even sure if he’s slowed down speed wise. We could probably measure it a little bit if we wanted to, but the game’s so fast now and he can keep up,” Flanagan told Face to Face.
“Have we thought about moving him? Well we have and Gutho is sort of like, if we can find a fullback that can push him to the centre or to the wing, he’s all for it.”
If you look at his performances last season, Gutherson definitely has plenty left to give in the NRL and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
In fact, he seems as durable as ever after making 24 appearances for the Red V in 2025, not missing a single game for his new club.
He averaged 152 running metres a game in one of the most physically enduring positions on the field, crossing for seven tries and having a hand in 16 try assists. Adding to those, his 18 line breaks for the year were the most he has ever recorded in a single season.
Regardless of how long they’re at the club for, Gutherson and Cook will be key to blooding the next generation through. For the time being, it is a matter of seeing which youngsters come knocking on the door.
Watch all three games of Rugby League in Las Vegas live and ad-break free during play is Fox League, available on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
THE ‘EMERGING’ FORWARD PACK WHICH COULD POWER THE CLUB FOR YEARS TO COME
The Dragons have some of the most exciting up-and-coming forwards in the competition.
If you add Keaon Koloamatangi to the mix, it has a recipe to potentially be destructive.
The New South Wales and Kangaroos forward has signed a five-year deal with the Dragons, meaning once he makes the move from South Sydney in 2027 – he’ll be in the Red V until 2031.
It was a statement move from the club given had previously fallen behind on the recruitment side of the game.
“I felt like for so long players would be on the market and the Dragons would read about it instead of knowing about it before they were on the market,” Carayannis said.
“They’ve strengthened those ties up getting Daniel Anderson in there and Tim Watson the CEO is a guy that is a go-getter as well.
“They have changed the energy in and around the club, and I think getting that Keaon deal done — whilst it was five years and probably too long — they did what they needed to get it done and I think it just changed that narrative a little bit and I think the optimism for performances wrongly came off the back of that signing.”
Before the big $5 million Koloamatangi signing though, it was the young local boys in the forwards which had St. George Illawarra fans clinging to hope for the future.
Gerringong product Dylan Egan was a real star to start 2025 before a cruel ACL injury against the Broncos prematurely ended his season early. He’s due back midway through 2026.
Egan’s not the only one from the small coastal town in his team though. 21-year old Hamish Stewart impressed with much better fortunes in his debut year – making 19 appearances in 2025 and signing on until the end of 2029 back in October.
The Couchman brothers? You guessed it, more Illawarra locals. Both twins in Ryan and Toby are ones to watch for the Red V. Ryan in particular will be looking to bounce back from a cruel ACL injury which occurred just minutes into their Round one clash last season. Both brothers are signed until the end of 2027, meaning they are free to enter the open market at the end of this year.
‘IT’S ALWAYS UNFAIR’: Gutho in passionate defence of teammate… and Bulldogs rival
Burton unleashes 110ft bomb in Vegas! | 00:09
To top it all off, you have a six-foot-four, 116-kilogram colossus in Loko Pasifiki Tonga beginning to make his mark – along with New South Wales junior representative Jordan Halangahu pushing into the top grade.
The best thing about all of those players listed? They’re all 22 or younger. Halangahu is still a teenager. This pack has all of their best years ahead of them.
It’s a prospect which excites their coach, who drew similarities to his premiership winning side at the Cronulla Sharks from 10 years ago.
“There are some real big similarities (to the early rebuilding years at Cronulla). I think we’re probably at that start of 2015, we’ve got Keaon coming next year who’s massive for us as that forward leader.” Shane Flanagan said on Face to Face.
“(We also have) the emergence of some really elite talent. By the end of this year some of those boys, the Couchmans, Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan – they’re going to be up around 40 and 50 games.’
It’s an excitement which is shared by many, with Code Sports’ Carayannis saying there’s a platform there at the Dragons.
“They’ve got an emerging roster, particularly (in) the forward pack.” Carayannis told the Kayo Sports NRL podcast.
“They’ve got some really, really good young forwards and signing Keaon Koloamatangi compliments that next season. I think the forward pack and the foundation is there.”
However, Anasta believes there will be some challenges for the youngsters.
“They’ve got a young forward pack who need to go from boys to men very quickly and I think they can but to do that week in, week out (in a) long season is going to be difficult.” Anasta added to the Kayo Sports NRL podcast.
It’s clear that there is a blueprint for the Dragons moving into the future. There’s plenty of young talent to guide the club into the future. Add being in the rugby league nursery which is the South Coast of NSW and the club should be in a good position.
However the question as to who succeeds the likes of Gutherson and Cook, as well as if Atkinson, Reed or Flanagan are the long-term answers in the halves, remains to be seen.
Discussion about this post