The St George Illawarra Dragons have promoted local junior Hayden Buchanan into the NRL Top 30 squad for seasons 2026 and 2027.
The local junior has risen through the Dragons' pathways, making his Jersey Flegg debut in 2023 at 17, in the same year he donned Australian Schoolboys colours.
He represented the under-19s NSW Blues in 2025 and went on to make his NRL debut in Round 23 of the season that year.
He scored a try and notched up a try assist in a win against the Cronulla Sharks at home.
He represented the Gerringong Lions in his junior honours, the South Coast-based club that has unearthed ample NRL pedigree, including Reuben Garrick, Jackson Ford, Tyran Wishart, Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan and Ashton Ward.
Buchanan had this to say about his promotion.
“I'm stoked to be extending my time here at the Dragons,” Buchanan said.
“I grew up here, played junior footy here, junior reps. Making my debut last year was really special and I'm looking forward to building on it. We have a great group of players and staff here and we're on a really exciting journey together.”
Head coach Shane Fanagan had all praise for the youngster as he goes from strength to strength each year of development.
“Hayden's worked really hard throughout the preseason and deserves this opportunity,” Flanagan said.
“He's one of our local juniors who has been in our system for a while. He played some NRL towards the back end of last season and showed he has what it takes to compete at that level. He's a good trainer and a good teammate. We're looking forward to seeing his continued development over the next few seasons.”
