Dragons “no chance” of playing finals as Flanagan hints at team changes

St-George Illawarra cannot play finals football after their second-half capitulation against the Bulldogs on Thursday night, says journalist Michael Carayannis.

In the first game of Indigenous Round, the Dragons were comprehensively beaten 44-12 despite leading 12-6 at half-time.

An ugly ankle injury to centre Jack Bird just before the break saw a new makeshift edge for the Dragons, which ultimately conceded most of the points in their collapse.

Following the match, Carayannis was perplexed by the stark difference between the Dragons’ good and bad games, causing him to put the red line through the Red V’s finals aspirations for 2024.

“I’d give the Dragons no chance (of playing finals),” Carayannis said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“Compared to last year, there’s no doubt they’re a better side but the difference between their best and their worst this year is so much different to the last couple years.

“Even last year when they lost games, very rarely did they scores racked on them like we’ve seen this year.

“Their lapses are terrible and once they lose momentum, they’ve got no way of reigning it back.”

The Dragons conceded seven tries in the second half, including doubles to Jaemon Salmon and Jacob Kiraz, with coach Shane Flanagan visibly dejected in the post-match conference.

“So bad you’ve got to try and laugh about it,” Flanagan said of the Dragons’ performance.

“If I could my finger on exactly (what went wrong), I’d fix it but it’s a tricky one… you can't do it in one half and not in the other half.

“The frustrating thing is how well we played in the first half. We controlled the game, played it our way, and then a complete 360 in the second half so we have to address that.

“Without a doubt (there’ll be team changes) … if you keep getting these results and you keep picking the same side, they’ll pick a new coach.”

In addition to losing Bird, the Dragons also lost prop Hame Sele in the 14th minute, meaning they played the second half with two players on the bench.

The Dragons will look to redeem themselves against the Penrith Panthers next week, where both teams will be without their Origin stars.