The Dragons, once a team so dominant that they won 11 premierships in a row, are now going into the biggest game of the year on an 11-game losing streak stretching back to last season.
It isn’t a great sign ahead of their traditional Anzac Day clash against the Roosters, but there have been several circuit-breakers that could spark a turnaround. None is more significant is the appointment of interim coach Dean Young as Shane Flanagan’s replacement.
Young has wasted no time putting his stamp on St George Illawarra, sacking assistant Michael Ennis and handing young halfback Kade Reed his NRL debut. They are bold moves from a coach not guaranteed his position beyond this year and a clear sign that, while he’s in the job, he’s doing it his way.
When I asked Young during the week if he wanted to convey anything to long-suffering Dragons supporters, he simply said: “I don’t have any message to the fans. I just hope we can put in a performance that they can be proud of, that’s all I care about.”
To that end, here are the key areas the Dragons need to get right if they are to upset the Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
Kade Reed’s debut
What an incredible stage to make your first-grade debut on. If Kade Reed is nervous about running out in front of a packed crowd on Anzac Day, he isn’t showing it. The 20-year-old handled his first media conference with aplomb, showing an unflappable nature that will stand him in good stead in the NRL.
His first test will come in defence on the Dragons’ left edge, where the Roosters’ 107kg back-rower Siua Wong will target the 73kg playmaker. Normally, Reed would have Jaydn Su’A as his defensive “bodyguard”, but the suspension of the Parramatta-bound forward means the role will go to Luciano Leilua.
Regardless, Reed will need to put his slight body on the line when he is targeted without the football.
With the football, Reed doesn’t need to overplay his hand. The rookie halfback has a clever short kicking game – his signature play is the grubber for himself – but can leave most of the longer kicks to five-eighth Daniel Atkinson. According to Champion Data, the Dragons are ranked third for kick metres (741 a game), so that’s not a concern.
One area where Reed can help his team is straightening up the attack. The Dragons play too laterally, particularly when they are in “good ball” areas. Reed needs to take the ball to the line, and also push up in support when his forwards are on the front foot and looking to offload.
“Obviously it’s not the way we wanted to start it, but we’re looking forward to turning that around and hopefully I can be a part of that,” Reed said during the week.
Valentine’s day
Young would be forgiven for dropping Valentine Holmes after his shocker against South Sydney last weekend. Holmes missed 10 tackles, made two handling errors and was chiefly responsible for allowing opposing centre Latrell Mitchell to score four tries. It’s simply not good enough from the Dragons’ highest-paid player.
However, the Queensland and Australia representative has been given a chance to atone and must do that against the Roosters.
“Val’s the ultimate pro, he’s played rep football and everyone has bad games,” teammate Ryan Couchman said.
“I’m sure Val will admit it wasn’t his best game on the weekend, but he’s one of our best players. I think he will bounce back and we need him to.”
Dragons need more from their back three
With fullback Clint Gutherson still on the sidelines, it’s another opportunity for Tyrell Sloan in the No.1 jersey. One of the knocks on Sloan, as well as wingers Setu Tu and Mathew Feagai, is that they get dominated when bringing the ball off their line. The Dragons are ranked 11th for kick-return metres (average of 152 a game) and that gets their sets off to a poor start.
If they don’t win the opening collision and get a quick play-the-ball, it puts a lot of pressure on their forwards.
Forward momentum
It’s not all bad news for the Dragons. Fox Sports Lab revealed their starting pack makes more metres (3880) than any other team, ahead of the Warriors (3715) and Rabbitohs (3488). The suspension of Su’A is a blow, but his absence allows Ryan Couchman to start alongside twin brother Toby for the first time after returning from his own suspension.
A forward rotation that includes Hamish Stewart, Leilua, Jacob Halangahu and Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga should hold their own against most teams.
Two focus areas for the side are the amount of tackle breaks the opposition makes (average 22.1 a game, ranked worst in the NRL) and ineffective tackles (16.4 a game, ranked 12th in the NRL).
“Everyone at the club knows we’re not living up to expectations, we are not where we want to be,” Toby Couchman said.
“Deano knows that and most importantly the players know that. We need to be better, we need to play for 80 minutes and hopefully we can do that this weekend.”
Dead-Dragon bounce
Manly’s fortunes turned around after the appointment of Kieran Foran and the Dragons will be hoping for a response after their own coaching change. I headed to the club’s new centre of excellence on Wednesday to watch the entirety of Young’s first training session in charge. It was sharp, Young’s messaging was on point and the players were in good spirits (although it should be noted it was the first Dragons session I’ve attended this year, so I’ve nothing to compare it to).
“We trained really well and we’re making sure we’re ready for Saturday, because that’s what important – making sure we can turn this around,” Gutherson said after the session.
“Young’s in charge and we have to do what he says.”
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