2019 Preview: St George Illawarra Dragons

In the constant rollercoaster ride that is rugby league, St George Illawarra remain the competition's firework display - they burn brightly earlier in the season before they fade late on before one final bang to keep everyone coming back.

Corey Norman was their main off-season acquisition, the five-eighth coming off a troubled time at Parramatta, and now looking to rebuild himself alongside former Brisbane teammate Ben Hunt. Otherwise, the Dragons retained the core of the squad that had fans lined up for Grand Final tickets halfway through the year.

St George Illawarra had started 2018 with six straight victories, piling on the points and their early season form saw them pick up the scalps of both eventual Grand Finalists before their consistency waned, the lowlight coming in a 38-nil thrashing at their spiritual home against Canterbury late in the season. The Dragons limped towards a seventh placed finish, their first finals appearance since 2015. Ambushing the Broncos in the first week, South Sydney half Adam Reynolds kicked them out of the competition in the second week and into Mad Monday.

2019 brings many of the same questions of their credentials. Can Hunt and Norman work together? Is the swap to fullback a good idea for Gareth Widdop? Will the Dragons find a way to avoid groundhog day again and put themselves up with the Premiership elite? And the perennial question since he took the reins - is Paul McGregor the man to lead them there?

The first month brings three tough away trips for the Saints to Townsville, Brisbane and Newcastle respectively before a generous schedule that bar Magic Weekend in Round 9, sees them not leave NSW until their final round trip to the Gold Coast, which they will be hoping is in preparation for the 2019 finals series.

Why they'll win it

A majority of the side from their 2018 run has returned and they are a year wiser. They are buoyed by their finals success against Brisbane and retain the forward pack that crunched metres at will last season, including some fearsome displays in the early rounds. If the Saints can find consistency in their form across the whole home-and-away season with the spine of Widdop-Norman-Hunt-McInnes - who are all proven commodities - that can lead St George Illawarra into the top four and a good shot at bringing home their second title in almost 40 years.

Why they won't

It's been a stressful off-season for the Saints. With the issues around Jack De Belin and the reconstruction of their spine - the side still lacks the final push to get them to Premiership glory. The backline features some raw youth in Lomax and Pereira alongside the existing Lafai-Aitken pairing but no gamebreaker, with Dufty relegated to the bench.

Much like last season, Corey Norman will need time to bed-in and while the Saints will remain a top eight side through their powerful forward pack, until they can find consistency across the 24 rounds they'll struggle to breakdown the top sides.

2019 Draw

Key players

Ben Hunt. Once again the former Bronco is coming into a season part of a new halves pairing, this time with Corey Norman, albeit a former Brisbane teammate. The playmaker will shoulder much of the responsibility of an expectant fanbase (after their rocket start to the last few seasons) and if they can't match those expectations this season, things might go awry - especially with Gareth Widdop heading home to Warrington in 2020.

At times in 2018, Tariq Sims willed the Dragons to results, shown in his hat-trick performance in the qualifying final against Brisbane. After making his Origin debut, Sims has become a monster on the edge, and will want to take a further step as a leader of the 'Red V', and possibly move himself into the top tier of forwards in the competition.

Lastly, Euan Aitken had magnificent first half 2018, scoring eight of his 11 tries before succumbing to injury. As that - and form - hampered the tail-end of his season, if the defensive centre can repeat the Autumn of last year and give the Dragons that attacking option needed, it could help McGregor's men to break open games.

Rookies to Watch

Paul McGregor sprinkled in debuts for a handful of promising talent in 2018 - including Zac Lomax, Reece Robson, Darren Nicholls and Jordan Pereira. A few of those have worked their way into the top 17 with both Lomax and Pereira to feature on the wing early in the season - Lomax showing some impressive glimpses of his potential appearing for the Junior Kangaroos in the 2018 post-season. Aided by a smooth step, that should see him lock down a backline spot in 2019.

Also again, 'Mary' might look to bring through rookies slowly through some bench minutes to get them used to the difference in First Grade and have them ready to deploy during the heavier part of their schedule this year.

Player movement

Gains: Korbin Sims, Jonus Pearson (Broncos), Mikaele Ravalawa (Raiders/Mounties), Lachlan Timm (Storm), Lachlan Maranta (rugby union), Corey Norman (Eels)

Losses: Leeson Ah Mau, Patrick Herbert (Warriors), Nene Macdonald (Cowboys), Reuben Garrick (Sea Eagles), Hame Sele (Panthers), Kurt Mann (Knights), Jason Nightingale (retired)

Best 17