St George Illawarra Dragons head coach Shane Flanagan has admitted the pressure is on him as he prepares for a crunch fortnight.
The Dragons have lost four straight games to start 2026, and while it was a gallant effort against the Canterbury Bulldogs, and a solid first 60 minutes against the might of the Melbourne Storm, the last fortnight has seen the club go actively backwards at both ends of the park.
After bolting out to a lead last week against the Gold Coast Titans, their defence was poor during the second half, and ball handling not much better, with the Gold Coast getting their account of wind underway for the year.
In between those games, the Dragons had another horror loss to the Parramatta Eels.
Speaking with AAP ahead of the Round 5 clash with the North Queensland Cowboys, Flanagan admitted he needs to find wins if he wants to survive in his role, and said he couldn't simply turn the playing squad around to do it.
"I fully understand it. If you're going to coach at a big club we expect to win," Flanagan told AAP.
"That's the cut-throat nature we're in in sport. You see it all over the world if you don't win.
"The club and CEO, chairman and board have been rock solid. But I am not silly enough to understand that if you don't win, they've got to change something.
"We can't change our 30-man roster, I can't sack 30 players. So guess what, it's [on me]."
The Dragons play the Manly Sea Eagles in Wollongong next weekend, and losses in both home games prior to games against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on April 18, and the Sydney Roosters on Anzac Day, could leave Flanagan staring down the barrel of his contract being torn up.
The veteran coach, who led Cronulla to a premiership in 2016, is arguably now the most under pressure coach in the game following Manly's call to axe Kieran Foran mid-week, and Todd Payten's Cowboys winning two games on the bounce.
At the heart of the issues for the Dragons are team selection, with Flanagan seemingly unwilling to shuffle his team, particularly in the halves, despite the struggles in attack.
While Clint Gutherson is also under pressure at fullback, Shane Flanagan's son and five-eighth Kyle Flanagan will miss this week's game with a concussion, but the senior Flanagan has opted not to rush boom youngster Kade Reed into the side, with Lyhkan King-Togia to play instead, while Daniel Atkinson remains at halfback.
