Dragons star Kyle Flanagan aiming to become one of the NRL’s biggest five-eighths in 2025 after bulking 10kg

Kyle Flanagan is on a mission to become one of the biggest five-eighths in the NRL, bulking on 10kg as he transforms himself for life at the Dragons without Ben Hunt.

Kyle Flanagan is aiming to become one of the biggest five-eighths in the game, bulking on a hefty 10kgs as he prepares to help steer the Dragons back to the finals.

Focused in his training and settled off the field after getting married to high school sweetheart Caity in October, Flanagan revealed his gains in the gym will hopefully develop his running game in the halves.

A noted defender, Flanagan upped his show-and-go game in 2024 by producing five tries from six line breaks and 20 tackle busts.

Flanagan finished most games at 83kgs in 2024, but weighed in at 93kgs this week during St George-Illawarra’s pre-season training.

And he is aiming to run out for Saints in round one at 90kgs – propelling him alongside the likes of Matt Burton, Braydon Trindall, Cody Walker and Ethan Strange as current NRL five-eighths over 90kgs.

“I’m 26 now and I’d like to think I’m fully developed in my body and I’m getting to the peak of my ideal weight and strength I want to play at,’’ Flanagan said.

Kyle Flanagan is working to become one of the biggest five-eighths in the game. Picture: Dragons media

“I’ve made a few gains off the field with my body and hopefully I can translate that to the footy field.

“The Dragons coaching staff and performance staff do a great job here, but internally I’m always motivated to go out there and do the best for my team.

“I pride myself on my defence and obviously the next part of my game is the attacking side of it and that (muscle gain) is obviously going to play a part in that.

“Somewhere around 90kgs is a good weight, I’m a bit heavier than that at the moment. So I’ll cut it back and get moving towards that before the season.’’

Flanagan said he had found the challenge to increase his muscle mass relatively simple.

“My body feels good,’’ Flanagan said.

“I got married in the off season, I had a good time.

Kyle Flanagan got married to his partner Caity recently. Picture: Instagram

“But I also ripped into my training and I’m really relaxed.

“I put in a lot of work in the off season, I was motivated the way last year finished and you get the reps in the gym and on the training paddock in the off season.

“I just want to do the best for my team and that’s working on myself first.’’

Flanagan said that he wasn’t guaranteed to start at five-eighth alongside Lachlan Ilias, while adding that the entire club were focused on finding that extra step after missing the finals by one victory last season.

“I’ll play anywhere,” he said.

“My mentality hasn’t changed since I first signed here, I’ll play anywhere and I just want to do what’s best for the club.

Kyle Flanagan is preparing for a new challenge in 2025 without the experience on Ben Hunt to lead the Dragons. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“I don’t want to overplay my hand, I just want to play my best for the team and the club.

“We’ll work out what that combination is in the pre-season and do the best thing for the club and to do the best thing to get wins for the club.

“When I first started here under the new coaching staff we set out on a journey.

“That's one thing we spoke about on day one of this year, we want to continue on that journey and continue to push for the top eight.

“Obviously we missed out by one game last year and we need to continue to push the needle at training and be fitter and faster than last year.’’

Asked how he felt about the TAB installing the Dragons as favourites to achieve the most losses in 2025, Flanagan replied: “It’s the same situation as last year, it’s just fuelling the fire and gives us motivation to show people what we can do.’’