“Positives” for the Dragons but is there really anything to be positive about?

It is practically deja vu for the St George Illawarra Dragons.

The script remains the same, written off in pre-season by commentators, analysts and fans alike, with many predicting the club to finish with the wooden spoon.

Many attribute it to their lack of muscle in their forward pack, inexperienced halves, or the Red V are simply labelled as not good enough to compete.

Then Round 1 arrives, and ironically, for two seasons in a row it has been the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

No one is expecting them to do well, but they end up exceeding expectations.

They don't win, but they're not embarrassed.

As Daniel Atkinson said,

"There's a lot of positives to take out of the game."

This was the case in 2025 when the Dragons were defeated by the Bulldogs in the opening round 28-20, a spirited performance which highlighted some positives in the Red V, such as their ability to fight for games.

Fast forward to the opening round of 2026, the Dragons go down to the Bulldogs again, this time, 15-14 in golden point.

While they were extremely unlucky to lose in the way they did, it seems that those supposedly positive signs remain.

The squad was praised for sticking in there and pushing the Bulldogs to the very end.

But taking a closer look reveals the Dragons truly never looked like they were going to win the match, seemingly on the back foot the entire time.

They ran for an average of only 38 metres per set, while the Bulldogs were averaging 46.

Or how about their 418 post contact metres compared to the Bulldogs who had 483.

Their lack of metres truly hurt them in golden point, with all three field goal attempts taken from at the 40 metre line or behind, hardly ideal field position.

But forwards are going to be spent by the end of the game, it is simply a fact.

This is where creativity prevails, but the Dragons had none.

Kyle Flanagan and Daniel Atkinson were praised for showing good signs but they took quite literally zero risks with the game on the line.

Your halves are your game winners, and if all they can muster is a harmless bomb and the end of the five lacklustre tackles, that is something to address, not to praise.

But the halves aren't the only players who are allowed to be creative, the fullback can be, and very much should be.

Clinton Gutherson started 2025 in red hot form, with early calls for buy of the season.

As the season progressed, though, his form regressed, and significantly so.

After the Las Vegas season opener, Gutho was again praised for his work rate, but he looked slower, less agile.

No moment was more telling than when Jacob Preston embarrassingly stepped him for the Bulldogs' opening try.

The moment set the tone for the Dragons' night, plenty of effort, but a step behind when it mattered most.

To put it simply, there are too many uncomfortable parallels between the reaction to the Dragons opening round game this season compared to last.

It is almost the exact same narrative.

Two narrow defeats.

The Dragons were brave, they fought hard, but ultimately, they still walked away with zero competition points, on both occasions.

It was the story of the Dragons season in 2025, so close but no cigar, losing six games by four points or less.

If they had won those six games, the Dragons would have made the top eight.

As demonstrated, the harsh reality of the NRL is that the ladder does not reward moral victories, close losses or valiant effort.

It certainly doesn't reward positive signs.

It rewards teams that find a way to win.

For the Dragons, the challenge is now to prove that their loss to the Bulldogs represents genuine change, otherwise, the narrative surrounding their season may be all too similar to that of last year.

And unfortunately for the Red V faithful, history seems to always repeat itself.