St George Illawarra Dragons head coach Shane Flanagan has revealed exactly how he believes his side will turn things around in 2026.

Flanagan's outfit are widely tipped to again struggle in 2026, after finishing 15th in 2025.

That doesn't tell the whole picture though, with the Red V having an enormous injury toll and losing ten games by less than points.

Flanagan though acknowledged his side's attack must improve, and told News Corp he will encourage his playing group to take more risks on the field.

“Taking more risks is something we will encourage this year. We score one more try per game and we're in the top eight,” Flanagan told the St publication.

“If something is on then they need to be able to back themselves. We play a bit of eyes-up footy but we can sometimes be a bit conservative about completing our sets.”

The Dragons have plenty of questions to answer heading into the new campaign, and none may be more important than the make-up of their halves.

Kyle Flanagan - Shane's son - spent the entirety of 2025 in first-grade despite the squad's attacking issues, while Lachlan Ilias languished in reserve grade.

Ilias is now at the Gold Coast Titans, while his replacement throughout 2025 in the NRL side, Lyhkan King-Togia, remains at the club.

The arrival of Daniel Atkinson - who is tipped to play the number seven for the Red V - adds to the equation.

In the clearest sign yet that Kyle Flanagan's role is under pressure though, coach and father Shane admitted his son needed to improve.

“Atkinson will get the first crack at seven,” Flanagan said.

“We will slot him in and see how the combination works with Kyle. Kyle has been good for the last two years and only missed a couple of games through suspension.

“But he probably needs to evolve his attacking game, play with a bit more risk and chance his arm a little bit more.

“We need to get the ball to where our strike is – Val Holmes, Moses Suli, Clint Gutherson, our outside backs. We need to get the ball to players in space.

“Kyle and Daniel are both really consistent footballers with good kicking games but we need to get more out of them offensively."

The Dragons will open their season against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Las Vegas.