‘Have to be a little bit patient’: Shane Flanagan’s message to Dragons fans after Red V miss out on high-profile recruits

Shane Flanagan has no doubt his team will be competitive this year, but the Dragons coach has warned the club’s loyal fans that they’ll need to be patient.

Shane Flanagan has promised Dragons fans that their side will scrap for everything this year. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Shane Flanagan has promised Dragons fans to have his side fighting for a finals spot at the business end of the season, but he’s urged the Red V faithful to be patient, with the new coach declaring the club will have to wait another 12 months to make big moves in the transfer market.

The Dragons are one of the favourites for the wooden spoon following an aggressive campaign to sign players that ultimately failed to land stars like Addin Fonua-Blake and Tom Dearden.

St George Illawarra finished 16th last season and fans desperately wanted to see the club make big moves on a number of stars on the open market.

The Dragons were desperate to sign Addin Fonua-Blake. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“I can’t blame them for being impatient. They want their team to win and I love that passion,” Flanagan said on Friday.

“But there aren’t too many players out in the market that can slot in there. If they can find some for me, then I’ll ring the leagues club and I’ll get onto it straightaway, but it’s a tough market.

“Our focus is ’25. We’ve made some changes in ’24 and we’re still looking for some players maybe in ’24, but our real focus will be for 25-26.

“Dragons fans will have to be a little bit patient.”

While few people are giving them a hope of making the finals, Flanagan has promised supporters that the Dragons will compete on every play this season and show the same fighting spirit that his successful Sharks sides did when he was at the helm.

“(I want us) to compete right to the end and be in the semi-final race right until the end of the season,” he said.

“We’re going to be a side that’s hard to beat and we’re going to be a side that won’t beat ourselves. We’ll be there fighting right until the end.

“If you have a look at all the sides that I’ve coached at the Sharks, we’re going to scrap and fight and kick right until the end. We’ll win footy games on the back of that.

“If we add a few classy players in recruitment, then you’ll see us start climbing the table.”

It might take a while for everything to gel this season, with Kyle Flanagan set to partner Ben Hunt in the halves, while Kyle’s dad has made a number of changes off the field that he hopes will turn things around after a disastrous 2023.

Shane Flanagan has changed training habits at the Dragons. Picture: Supplied

“I just thought that the way I wanted us to play and defend, we needed to move quicker and faster and be a bit fitter and stronger,” the coach said.

“With our new high-performance staff coming on that I had with me when I was at Cronulla, they sort of understand what kind of athlete and middle forward we need.

“It wasn’t a criticism of the players, it was just the way they trained, and we’ve trained differently for three months now and we’re starting to see the results of that.

“You’ll see that during the year that we’re a faster moving and fitter side.”

The Dragons learnt some lessons after a scrimmage against Manly. Picture: Supplied

Flanagan got his first glimpse at where his side is placed against the rest of the competition during a scrimmage in Manly on Friday morning, with the Red V conceding three early tries before they clicked into gear.

“It was good to train against someone else,” he said, two weeks out from the trials.

“You spend most of the pre-season training against your second grade and they know your movements and what you’re trying to achieve.

“Our combinations have still got a lot to work on. Manly have been together for a long period of time and they’ve got a head start on that.

“It was a good opportunity for all our players to see what level they’re at and where we’re at. There’s not a lot in it, but we need to improve.”