St George Illawarra Dragons coach Dean Young has given his rising talent Hamish Stewart the ultimate blessing, calling for him to make his international debut for Australia in the upcoming World Cup.
Stewart is one of the many talented pathway juniors in the Red V lineup who are destined for illustrious honours, including Dylan Egan, Loko Pasifiki Tonga, Jacob Halangahu and Toby and Ryan Couchman.
The crop of rising forwards was on full display on Sunday afternoon, with the Dragons pulling off an upset for the ages against the in-form Cronulla Sharks, thwarting them 24-16 in the local derby.
Young was full of praise for Stewart's performance on the left edge, who had his best outing in the top grade since his NRL debut in early 2025.
“He's a special talent, and it wouldn't shock me if Kevvie Walters picks him in the Australian tour at the end of the year; he's that good,” Young said of Stewart in his post-match press conference.
“(Stewart) is a bloke that can play edge backrow and middle just as good with his skill set… he's got a big future, and it's going to be at the Dragons.”
Despite languishing at the bottom of the ladder for the entirety of the season, the Dragons have highly improved under Young since his promotion to the top gig in April.
With Cronulla on a hot run of form and scoring the first try in the fifth minute, the Dragons rolled up their sleeves and overcame the odds to give the hungry Dragons fans something to cheer about.
“I reckon the resilience we showed was probably what stood out for me,” Young said.
“The Sharks have got threats all over the field, and I think they ended up having 35 play-the-balls inside our 20 and we only had 15, so to win the game against a team like that with that much ball, you need to be resilient, and the boys are certainly that at the moment."
Couchman had a killer performance in the Red V engine room, recording 67 tackles, only missing two in 80 minutes, all while in the wet.
On the other side of the ball, he and Pasifiki Tonga both ran over 150 metres against the Sharks' vast and mobile pack.
“We've been playing good footy the last three months, and we've just been losing just by sort of a try or a silly mistake, and we didn't have that tonight,” skipper Clint Gutherson said.
“Against a team that's put (big scores) on a couple of teams, it's really pleasing.
“These young kids, they deserve it. The fans deserve it, and Deano (Young) deserved it.”
The club is shaping up as a formidable force following a strong recruitment drive for 2027, including Scott Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf, Connor Watson, Keaon Koloamatangi, Phillip Sami and Kodi Nikorima.
All eyes now turn to the Brisbane Broncos, who now sit only three wins ahead of the Dragons.
The Red V was all but set to receive the dreaded wooden spoon in 2026, but if the Dragons can conjure some late- season form, the defending premiers will begin to sweat.
