2023 review: St George Illawarra Dragons

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Our 2023 NRL club reviews reach the 17th-placed Dragons today - check out how Justin Davies saw their 2023 campaign.

Well, that was another year for the Dragons. The joint venture was once again an afterthought in the NRL competition and really only made headlines for the wrong reasons. They also turfed another coach in Anthony Griffin midway through the campaign. 

St George Illawarra started the season off with a home win against the Gold Coast Titans then it all went downhill quickly. There were brief flashes of brilliance in their wins over the Dolphins, Roosters and Rabbitohs intertwined with demoralising losses which made you question why you ever chose rugby league or supporting the Dragons. 

The Dragons had to constantly battle rumours that their star halfback - Ben Hunt - would leave the club to return home, which didn't help their morale in 2023.

Hunt stayed, but 'for how long?' might be the question, because he did look one of the few bright sparks for the joint venture and a departure of that gravity would leave them back to square one again.

They did avoid the spoon, which... congrats? But since the 2010 premiership, it seems like the Dragons have just spiraled down with only a handful of finals appearances which haven't seen them get past the second week.

Now we're onto another coach, another chance for redemption and the hope that it won't be another gut punch for a Red V team who will likely already be without another star - Talatau Amone - due to off-field discretions.

Turning point

That first month. Dragons won their opening game, but then had 40 points put on them by the Broncos and Sharks, which set the tone for the season.

The turning point in terms of effort from the team came when interim coach Ryan Carr took over from the deposed Anthony Griffin. He seemed to get some more juice from the squad, seeing them beat the Roosters in his debut at the helm, but it petered out late in the season as they limped towards the finish line.

What went right

Keeping Ben Hunt is probably the best thing for the Dragons from 2023 maybe also avoiding the wooden spoon. The best win for the team was their last second win against the Roosters but otherwise, it was a year to forget, and the Dragons hope they won't be enduring more pain next season and can move forward.

What went wrong

Everything else. The Dragons won five games all season and were depressing to watch for most of the year alongside the "will he? wont he?" drama around Hunt going home.

They chopped and changed all season and finished with six straight losses. It wasn't a fun time for Dragons fans who have some key questions to answer before next season.

2023 week-by-week

Best Players

It seems we're mentioning Ben Hunt a lot but the halfback was one of the few Dragons who turned up every week and tried his guts out.

Blake Lawrie had some solid contributions and got to captain the club in one game, and was named the club's player of the year.

Rookies

There weren't many debuts for the Dragons in 2023. One of the few was Sione Finau who got injured before half-time in his only appearance and hooker Connor Muhleisen who was apart of the rotation alongside Jacob Liddle in parts of the season.

Shoutouts to mature rookie Dan Russell and the Couchman brothers (Toby and Ryan) who had some solid games in first grade. 

Season snapshot

30 players, 26.46 average age

Coaches: Ryan Carr (14), Anthony Griffin (10)
Captains: Ben Hunt (22), Jack De Belin (1), Blake Lawrie (1)

Biggest home crowd: 17,357 (vs. Souths in round 15)
Average home crowd: 11,867

Top pointscorer: Zac Lomax (142)
Top tryscorer: Mikaele Ravalawa (21)

Club award winners

Dragons Medal - Blake Lawrie
Club Person of the Year - Scott Stewart
Immortals Trophy - Jack de Belin
Geoff Selby Memorial Trophy: NRL Emerging Talent - Toby Couchman
Red V Members Player of the Year - Blake Lawrie
Mark Coyne Trophy for Career Development - Tyrell Fuiamoano
Community Involvement Award - Blake Lawrie
NSW Cup Player of the Year - Alexander Lobb
NSW Cup Coaches Award - Zane Musgrove
Paul McGregor Trophy: Jersey Flegg Player of the Year - Ben Johnson

Looking ahead

Dragons move onto another head coach and hopefully this time it sticks. Shane Flanagan served his time and goes into the hot seat at the joint venture.

The club needs to overhaul the roster and start moving forward because they have been stuck in neutral for too long and further waste might see the fans become apathetic to the team. 

Best 17 in 2024

based on current signings

1. Tyrell Sloan
2. Mat Feagai
3. Moses Suli
4. Zac Lomax
5. Mikaele Ravalawa
6. Talatau Amone*
7. Ben Hunt
8. Blake Lawrie
9. Jacob Liddle
10. Francis Molo
11. Jayden Su'A
12. Jack Bird
13. Jack De Belin

14. Connor Muhleisen
15. Ben Murdoch-Masila
16. Dan Russell
17. Michael Molo

*pending court outcome