St George Illawarra Dragons head coach Dean Young has confirmed the club's captain for 2027 is yet to be set, with Clint Gutherson still in the mix to retain honours.
Gutherson is viewed as only a chance of retaining a spot in the Dragons run-on side for 2027, and will need a big pre-season.
The experienced fullback, who had a mixed 2026 campaign as part of the wooden spooners, is heading in to the final year of his current contract at the joint-venture, and the Dragons will use new recruit Scott Drinkwater in the number one jumper.
Gutherson could find a home in the centres, where the Dragons seem to have the biggest question mark for 2027, but will be up against another potential mover in Daniel Atkinson, while Moses Suli is still at the club for now, and Hayden Buchanan has impressed when handed opportunities at the top level.
Speaking to News Corp, Young revealed that all of the new recruits will be in the mix to captain alongside Gutherson, while club insiders believe Hamish Stewart is a future captain, although potentially not ready for that responsibility yet, despite being named back-rower of the year in the 2026 Dally M team of the year.
“I'm going to watch closely how everyone trains, behaves and acts before I pick a captain and senior leadership group,” Young told the publication.
“I'm going to work hard with our emerging leaders group for the first nine weeks.
“Gutho will obviously be in the mix, but it's important that we also recognise that this next chapter for our club includes senior, experienced players that I haven't worked with before.
“So it would be naive of me not to consider what is best for our team, without first assessing where our greatest strengths in leadership are.
“I like to have one leader, but I'm keeping an open mind on what the players show me and the rest of the coaching staff across this pre-season."
The one leader comment will fly in the face of what multiple teams do with co-captains, but with the Dragons no guarantee of picking Gutherson, and Damien Cook leaving during the off-season, there is a real chance one of the recruits could take over.
Keaon Koloamatangi, who will lead the forward pack and play big minutes in doing so, could be an option, while Kodi Nikorima is viewed as a leader and has played at multiple clubs throughout a lengthy career with a range of on-field success.
Phillip Sami is unlikely to get the nod, while Luke Metcalf could be in a similar boat given his injury issues.
Scott Drinkwater was among the leaders in Townsville and may fit in at the Dragons, while Connor Watson will only be at the club for a single year before departing for the PNG Chiefs.
The Dragons returned to pre-season training on Monday in the first instalment of clubs, although most of the senior players still have a week or two away from the training paddock before beginning the pre-Christmas stint.
New recruit's Koloamatangi and Nikorima are also away from training until potentially the Christmas break given they have been on Rugby League World Cup duty, potentially complicating things further for the Dragons who will chase a fast start to the new year.
