Dragons coach admits St George Illawarra won’t win premiership this year

It’s not often you hear a coach concede before a ball has been kicked that their team can’t win the competition, even if they know that to be the case.

But for Dragons coach Shane Flanagan it makes no sense to set “stupid expectations” of a rebuilding St George Illawarra team that finished third from the bottom last season.

Flanagan raised eyebrows in the lead-up to the round-one headliner against Canterbury at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday Australian time, admitting that “we probably know that we’re not going to win the comp this year”.

It was doubtful Flanagan was telling St George Illawarra supporters anything they didn’t know.

They are considered outsiders to be near the top eight, let alone challenge for a first premiership or grand final appearance in 16 years.

If it sounded defeatist, Flanagan said he was just being honest about the Dragons’ immediate prospects, believing they will be better placed next year, by which time he hopes his play-making combination will be bedded in and Kangaroos forward Keaon Koloamatangi will have joined from South Sydney on a five-year $5 million contract.

“I’d love to say we’re good enough, we’re the big dogs to go at it this year,” he said on the eve of the clash with the Bulldogs. “We’ll win a lot of good footy games this year. But I’m just realistic.

“We’ve obviously had a lot of new staff come in, some new players come in, Keaon [is] coming in next year. We’d like to think we’re going to get maybe two, three more signings, big ones, for next year. We’re building towards that.”