The changes Shane Flanagan must make for Round 5 to save his job

The St George Illawarra Dragons were awful on Sunday night.

There are no two ways around that.

Not just poor and a bit unlucky. Not just bad, with some good moments. They were objectively awful as they slumped to four straight losses to start the 2026 NRL season.

In truth, the Gold Coast Titans weren't that good in securing a much-needed first win under the coaching of Josh Hannay, but they scrapped against a horror penalty count to take the two points, with Arama Hau, running a beautiful angle more than once, the chief destroyer of the Red V.

The Dragons dropped the ball for fun, moved too laterally and had awful defensive lapses. Hau's two tries were training runs.

Despite, as mentioned, having a great time of it with the penalty count particularly early, and all the running in the first half, the Dragons went to the break just six points up before failing to fire anything approaching a shot in the second half, with the Gold Coast running on those two precious tries and a pair of penalty goals to take the chocolates.

As a Dragons fan, I can assure you, it wasn't pretty to watch, or, likely for those with me, listen to me throughout the contest.

It has been a long stint between drinks for the Dragons now with eight straight losses (four in 2025, and four in 2026), and even that came after a 2025 season that, despite showing some promise, came with its fair share of head scratchers and close losses.

The issue is that Shane Flanagan has shown he has no desire to change his team. His playing group look like they are playing with far too much job security.

That's not to say the care factor is non-existent, but it's either lacking, or the talent isn't there.

In any case, with a zero and four start to the season, that means changes must be made for next Saturday's clash with the North Queensland Cowboys who had a poor start to the season, but managed to knock over the Melbourne Storm in Townsville on Saturday in a shock win.

That game will be played at Kogarah, with the Dragons then welcoming the also under fire Manly Sea Eagles the following week to Wollongong.

The Cowboys don't like travelling to Kogarah, and the Sea Eagles have a horror record in Wollongong.

Right now, if the Dragons lose both of those games and show no signs of change, you might well consider that the club will move in the same way Manly did on Anthony Seibold - that Shane Flanagan, come Anzac Day, may not be in charge of this football club anymore.

That is an extraordinary claim given his status as a former premiership-winner and the fact he, like Seibold, holds a contract with the club that spans into the coming years, but right now, how could you possibly go another way?

Zero and six, ten straight losses and a coach not willing to change? Mark the cards, stamp the papers, get Michael Ennis in the hot seat and see how he goes.

The start of Flanagan saving his job needs to be firing an enormous warning shot to his squad.

Changes simply have to happen.

While the forward pack actually hasn't been too bad, the backs have been awful.

First things first - I hope, genuinely, that Kyle Flanagan is okay. The knock he copped was horrific, and he was reportedly unconscious for five minutes. Shane Flanagan was understandably rocked in the coaches' box and again at the post-match press conference.

As much as the younger Flanagan has copped a lot of heat from Dragons fans, anyone wishing him injury, or suggesting he somehow deserved it, needs to pull their head into line.

That said, there is little doubt Kyle will be missing for a number of weeks, and there is an opportunity for the Dragons to experiment.

Kade Reed must come into this footy team. Lyhkan King-Togia had his opportunities last year and while he had some nice moments in attack, it wasn't enough, and his defence was also a major issue.

Reed was fantastic in the pre-season challenge, and, as raw as he is, has been the Dragons' best over the opening weeks at NSW Cup level.

It's time for him to come into the side, which will allow Flanagan to knock over two birds with one stone. Daniel Atkinson is not a halfback.

He has a tremendous kicking game, but his running game has been seriously stifled in the number seven. Let him play five-eighth and help Reed out with the organisation as he adjusts to the top grade, but that should be the new halves combination.

Elsewhere in the backline, Tyrell Sloan should probably retain his spot just for his raw pace. He had one opportunity on Sunday evening and scored.

Christian Tuipulotu has struggled at both ends of the park though, and David Fale, who is built like the side of a house, should come straight in. He ran for 142 metres in a well-beaten reserve grade side on Saturday against North Sydney and it's that type of production the Dragons could use right now.

Valentine Holmes has also run out of chances. He has had an awful start to the year and should be running around at Collegians Sports Complex in his next appearance, with Hayden Buchanan surviving alongside the returning Moses Suli at the top grade.

The Dragons have been too slow in their shifts, and it has been far too often.

They have a good forward pack, but need to use them. They need to attack the middle third rather than looking to go around opposition at every turn, and a halfback with real direction, Atkinson with a running game, and some changes in the outside backs could do it.

Clint Gutherson should also be heading towards his final chance at fullback. It's hard to see him - or Holmes for that matter - getting dropped, but it's something that probably needs to be weighed up.

In the forwards, Toby Couchman returns next time out against the Cowboys from a head knock, so comes straight in for the underwhelming Emre Guler, while Josh Kerr also needs to be starting and getting some serious minutes. That knocks Blake Lawrie out of the side.

Luciano Leilua and Jaydn Su'A survive, while the next person who suggests Hamish Stewart should be playing from the bench needs their head checked. He has been the Dragons' best over the opening weeks, and there is little surprise there. He is the future of this club.

Damien Cook and Jacob Liddle also survive in the one-two punch at dummy half, although need to find more output and production in a hurry.

As for the rest of the bench, Hame Sele survives, but it should be Loko Pasifiki Tonga and Jacob Halangahu moving into the main four-man rotation. They are two of the most talented juniors at the club, and the fact they are being criminally under-used by Flanagan is, well, criminal.

Ultimately, that final spot came down to Sele and Guler. Sele made as many runs on Sunday night, and more metres, in 28 minutes less on the park than Guler.

That is inexcusable for Guler.

Lyhkan King-Togia and Setu Tu then claim the last two spots to balance the bench.

The bottom line is the Dragons need to put everyone on notice.

They are playing like a group who can't be dropped. Flanagan needs to remind them this week that it is in fact, possible.

The attitude of the players looked to be awful on Sunday night. The effort, the execution, and the willingness to play for the jersey were simply non-existent.

If Flanagan doesn't find a way to fix it, he might be joining Anthony Seibold on the unemployment line sooner rather than later.