The St George Illawarra Dragons have come a long way since Shane Flanagan took over the lead job in 2024.

Having lured in stars such as Keaon Koloamatangi, Clint Gutherson, and Valentine Holmes, as well as debuting young stars in Hamish Stewart, Toby Couchman, and Dylan Egan, Flanagan is building a respectable rugby league side that the Red V faithful can be proud of.

The Dragons haven't made the finals since 2018, and Flanagan admitted he is committed to building long-term success for the club, while also boasting one of the younger sides in the NRL.

"I feel [like our goal includes] building foundations with some of those young boys to have NRL careers — Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan, the Couchman's, Jacob Halangahu," Flanagan told Zero Tackle.

NRL Rd 9 – Wests Tigers v Dragons
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 03: Hamish Stewart of the Dragons makes a break during the round nine NRL match between Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra Dragons at Suncorp Stadium, on May 03, 2025, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Despite the youth littered throughout the squad, Flanagan declared finals as a major priority heading into 2026.

"They're all babies, but they're playing first grade now, so while it's building foundations, but we also expect to play finals."

The 2016 premiership-winning coach knows what a finals side looks like, and while he highlighted a few similarities between the Cronulla Sharks side that one it all and his current one, he acknowledged this Dragons squad is far less experienced.

"I suppose you could draw a couple of lines [between the 2016 Sharks and the 2026 Dragons], but we probably didn't have as many young fellas in that ‘16 side," he admitted.

"We had the experienced players, but we only had ‘Val' and [Jack Bird as our youngsters], but this Dragons side has 8-10 young ones."

Cronulla Sharks Training Session
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 26: Jack Bird of the Sharks shares a joke with team mate Valentine Holmes during a Cronulla Sharks NRL training session at Southern Cross Group Stadium on September 26, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

He doubled down on his main focus, being his young players in 2026, believing that their development is the first step toward finals success for the Dragons.

"Hopefully our young ones have really breakout seasons, and they excel," Flanagan said.

"They've been spoken about as future rep players… I'm excited about the young ones, and with the experience we've got, [our veterans] will help guide them."

The youth movement is well and truly underway at the Dragons, but the expectations of finals remain.