Dragons coach lifts the lid on secret behind most astonishing stat of 2024 NRL season
Shane Flanagan's team are making a habit of bouncing back from big losses to beat heavyweight teams.
It could just be the most astonishing statistic of the 2024 NRL season. Four times this year, St George Illawarra has bounced back from 40-point defeats to beat more fancied opposition in the very next game.
It all started in round three when the Dragons were pumped 46-24 by North Queensland. Seven days later, the Red V came out and beat Manly 20-12.
In round 13, Saints were coming off a 44-12 loss to Canterbury and downed three-time premiers Penrith 22-10 in an amazing form reversal. The trend continued in rounds 18 and 19 when the Dragons, backing up from a heavy 42-12 defeat to the Roosters, overcame the Broncos 30-26 in Brisbane.
Those were all stunning victories but nothing compared to what was to come next. Shane Flanagan's side headed to Melbourne on Saturday night a week after going down to the Panthers 46-10.
They had not beaten the Storm in Melbourne for 25 years. In one of the upsets of the year, the Dragons held on to claim a courageous 18-16 win. It has them sitting in eighth spot with five rounds to go and in with a chance of reaching the play-offs for the first time since 2018.
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When it was suggested the club's ability to bounce back from heavy losses was down to astute coaching, Flanagan jokingly told Radio SEN: "Well, good coaching you shouldn’t be getting beat by 40 – that's the first one. There is no excuse to get beaten by 40 in this competition but we're straight onto it (when we do).
"We're filthy about those losses – two in particular to the Roosters and that one to Penrith – but it’s about trust and belief. They need to trust in the systems and believe in each other and the coaching.
"It takes a bit of time to change the mindsets of players that have been down near the bottom of the competition table. That's not easy. You can get them up for one week but the challenge is to get them up week in, week out."
The Dragons face a massive challenge on Saturday night, facing the in-form Bulldogs at a sold out Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. Places are so tight at the bottom of the eight that a loss could send the Dragons back to 10th.
The Dolphins, Raiders, Titans and Knights are all snapping at their heels, but only Newcastle have a worse points-differential than the Dragons (-90). Flanagan said: "We can beat anyone in the competition if we get ourselves right."
