Under fire St George Illawarra Dragons head coach Shane Flanagan is set to recall son Kyle straight into the number seven for this Friday's clash with the Manly Sea Eagles.

Flanagan junior suffered a sickening head knock on the Gold Coast just over a week ago, and will be only just past the mandatory 11-day stand-down period when Friday night's clash rolls around.

But Flanagan, who was originally expected to miss more than the minimum 11 days, has apparently recovered well ahead of schedule after a hospital visit immediately following the head knock and will now be tasked with turning the Dragons' season around.

News Corp have revealed the coach has run out of patience with Daniel Atkinson after the Dragons produced an insipid attacking display, failing to register a shot against the North Queensland Cowboys at Kogarah on Saturday, despite the fact the Townsville-based club were letting in 28 points per game prior to facing the Red V.

The loss saw the Dragons slump to a zero and four start, with calls for the coach to be sacked growing after the playing group were booed from the field by the home fans.

Flanagan, who struggled at halfback last year, will need to find his feet very quickly, with Daniel Atkinson likely to be shuffled to five-eighth for the game.

It'll mean Lyhkan King-Togia misses out, and Kade Reed continues to hone his craft in the NSW Cup.

The Dragons are also going to be without Clint Gutherson for a period of around three weeks after he injured his hamstring in the closing stages of the game against the Cowboys.

It's likely that Tyrell Sloan, who has struggled to get game time under Flanagan, will start at the back, looking to add speed to a very slow Dragons' backline.

Sloan, who struggles under the high ball and in defence at time, is an excellent attacker and will provide the Dragons a point of difference compared to what they have dished up so far this year.

Other changes could be likely, with rookie winger David Fale facing a suspension, and calls for more minutes and opportunities for the likes of Loko Pasifiki Tonga and Jacob Halangahu in the forwards, while Jacob Liddle has also only played roughly 20 minutes in each of his games from the bench so far.

St George Illawarra will kick-off at 6pm (AEST) on Friday against the Manly Sea Eagles who themselves have had a tumultuous start to the year, with Anthony Seibold sacked before they registered their first win last weekend, scoring 52 points in Redcliffe against the Dolphins under interim coach Kieran Foran.

1 COMMENT