2025 NRL: St George Illawarra Dragons Season Preview

It’s been seven years since the Dragons featured in the NRL Finals series. Will their drought end in 2025?

Season Preview

Shane Flanagan undertakes his second season at the helm of St George-Illawarra Dragons as they look to improve on their thirteenth placed finish in 2024.

Last year the Dragons were in some respects undermined by the constant talk of Ben Hunt wanting out of his contract, which was resolved in the off-season with his return to the Broncos.

Zac Lomax is the other notable departure along with Jack Bird who moved to the Tigers. The Dragons have been able to find a like-for-like replacement in Valentine Holmes with both players having the ability to score tries in bulk and solid goal kicking options.

A point of difference around the Dragons in 2025 will be a little more experience among their spine. Damien Cook returns home after making his NRL debut at the club in 2013, while Clint Gutherson finds a new home after 206 games at the Eels where his leadership through tough times in 2024 has to be commended.

Despite the experience being onboarded, the Dragons lack quality in the halves. It’s a big year for Lachlan Ilias and Kyle Flanagan as to who will lead the team in attack and set-up try scoring opportunities. This is not easily replicated given Hunt set up 30 of the Dragons 89 tries in 2024.

The headache of Hunt’s future is playing out similarly with Francis Molo. His future seems in the air after a rocky off-season where the Dragons have allowed him to speak to other clubs.

In the first month the Dragons face 2024 NRL finalists in the Bulldogs and Storm. Their run home through August and into early September will see them finish the season taking on the Sharks (home), Sea Eagles (home) and Panthers (home). There doesn’t seem to be an easy path to ending their NRL finals drought.

Best Signing

Clint Gutherson’s role at the Dragons will be significant. For a player incoming to be handed the captaincy is high regard for the quality of leader that Gutherson is. Afterall, in the good times and tough, his passion and enthusiasm at Parramatta didn’t shy away from his on-field performance. Gutherson is no Tyrell Sloan but brings a solid game with him to the Red V.

Key Player

Val Holmes reunites with his former coach Shane Flanagan as he begins life at his third NRL club. The Queensland representative was the leading points scorer in the NRL last season with 266 points and in doing so completed the 100 try and 1,000 point milestones in 2024. If the Dragons are searching for points, there’s no doubt they’ll be looking to the Holmes side of the field to create chances.

Player to Watch

Tyrell Sloan looks likely to be shifted out to the wing and partner Mosese Suli. In his previous 59 appearances in the NRL, Sloan has played on the wing twice. There’s no doubt he has the pace and speed to play out wide, but it will take some adjusting to become accustom to the positional change. If he can adapt to the change well, Sloan could be on his way to being the Red V’s top try scorer in 2025.