The St George Illawarra Dragons enter 2026 looking for a dramatic turnaround in fortunes, but it may still be at least a year down the road.

The Red V have one of the better crops of junior players in the competition, but whether 2026 is the time they all break through and become established NRL stars or not remains to be seen.

Off-season shuffles will also raise their fair share of questions for coach Shane Flanagan heading into 2026.

Whether Daniel Atkinson can cement his role or not remains to be seen, while experienced players Clint Gutherson, Damien Cook and Valentine Holmes must lead from the front again, even as they approach the end of their careers.

General fitness and injuries were also a major headache for the Dragons in 2025, and despite beating three of the top four, they finished well down the ladder.

Here are the big selection questions for Flanagan heading into 2026.

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Does Kyle Flanagan remain in the 17?

The Dragons halves - and the way coach Shane Flanagan selects them - will be among the bigger questions to follow anywhere in the NRL over the opening weeks of the campaign.

Daniel Atkinson's arrival could be the spark the club needs to turn their stuttering attack into something more, but it's a risk.

Atkinson, who has been a utility during his time at the Sharks - although an impressive one who has looked the goods each time he has been tasked with playing in the halves - will likely take the number seven jumper for the Dragons.

It'll be a career-defining season for the Italian representative, particularly with Dragons' youngster Kade Reed to push for first-grade likely by the time 2027 rolls around.

Maybe the bigger, and certainly more immediate question, though, is whether Kyle Flanagan slides back into the number six jumper.

His form there in 2024, while Ben Hunt was at halfback, was strong enough, and if he can recapture that, there shouldn't be too many disputes, but if he can't, he could find himself reduced to a role on the new six-man bench, or even dropped to reserve grade with Lyhkan King-Togia pushing for a run.

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