Have your say: who will win?
The view from the ground
It’s the most perfect afternoon possible for a game of rugby league. Blue skies and a terrific crowd will greet players in a game that could and should be one-way traffic to the Roosters.
But, as we know, rugby league is a funny old game. Kade Reed hasn’t been sighted yet due to formalities on the field. A surprising number of people I’ve spoken to today know what he’s paying for man of the match honours ($23 for those playing at home). It would be the yarn of the season if he could help the Dragons pull it off but it’s hard to see the Roosters not winning by 25-plus. A Mark Nawaqanitawase hat-trick incoming.
Opinion: The ‘ritual scapegoating’ of coaches is rife in sport. Does it achieve anything?
Here’s the thing: the Dragons shouldn’t have sacked Shane Flanagan, and certainly not so unceremoniously. I didn’t think I’d ever write that. Yet here we are.
Apportioning a lot of the blame to former coach Flanagan says everything and nothing about the value of the “word” of the club. Of course, they’re not the first club to do something like this, nor will they be the last.
In August 2025, St George Illawarra proclaimed the extension of Flanagan’s tenure through to the end of the 2028 season. Eight months later, Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster announced it was all over.
What’s invariably lost in such matters is that it’s not as if the archetypal “sacked coach” now gets a payout akin to an unexpected Lotto victory, unless the contract specifically states that is the only path available to the employer terminating for convenience.
Big challenge for Dragons rookie as Roosters prepare to ruin Anzac Day debut
Roosters coach Trent Robinson said just enough at his pre-match press conference to make Dragons debutant Kade Reed sleep a little less ahead of a daunting Anzac Day examination for the pint-sized halfback.
For more than a century, big rugby league players have targeted the small ones.
Reed, undoubtedly the skinniest and lightest No.7 in the NRL, knows he will have plenty of big bodies coming at him this afternoon at Allianz Stadium.
The 20-year-old said this week that tackling teammates Luciano Leilua and Jaydn Su’A had prepared him for the step-up to first grade. Robinson, however, offered a pointed reminder of what awaits, with Roosters enforcers Angus Crichton and Siua Wong primed to test the rookie’s resolve and make his afternoon as unpleasant as possible.
Roosters team list: No changes for the Tricolours
1. James Tedesco, 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Hugo Savala, 4. Robert Toia, 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase, 6. Daly Cherry-Evans, 7. Sam Walker, 8. Naufahu Whyte, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Lindsay Collins, 11. Angus Crichton, 12. Siua Wong, 13. Victor Radley
Interchange: 14. Connor Watson, 15. Spencer Leniu, 16. Nat Butcher, 17. Salesi Foketi, 18. Cody Ramsey, 22. Tommy Talau
Dragons team list: Kerr moves to lock
Just the one change for Dean Young’s Dragons side, with Josh Kerr moving to starting lock and Hamish Stewart dropping to the bench.
Here’s how they line up this afternoon.
1. Tyrell Sloan, 2. Setu Tu, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Valentine Holmes, 5. Mathew Feagai, 6. Daniel Atkinson, 7. Kade Reed, 8. Emre Guler, 9. Damien Cook (c), 10. Toby Couchman, 11. Luciano Leilua, 12. Ryan Couchman, 14. Josh Kerr
Interchange: 13. Hamish Stewart, 15. Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga, 16. Blake Lawrie, 17. Jacob Halangahu, 18. Kyle Flanagan, 20. Hayden Buchanan
How the Red V can earn their first win of the season
The Dragons, once a team so dominant that they won 11 premierships in a row, are now going into the biggest game of the year on an 11-game losing streak stretching back to last season.
It isn’t a great sign ahead of their traditional Anzac Day clash against the Roosters, but there have been several circuit-breakers that could spark a turnaround. None is more significant is the appointment of interim coach Dean Young as Shane Flanagan’s replacement.
Young has wasted no time putting his stamp on St George Illawarra, sacking assistant Michael Ennis and handing young halfback Kade Reed his NRL debut. They are bold moves from a coach not guaranteed his position beyond this year and a clear sign that, while he’s in the job, he’s doing it his way.
When I asked Young during the week if he wanted to convey anything to long-suffering Dragons supporters, he simply said: “I don’t have any message to the fans. I just hope we can put in a performance that they can be proud of, that’s all I care about.”
Have your say: who will win?
Welcome
Good afternoon, and welcome to our Saturday afternoon rugby league coverage.
Billie Eder here to take you through the classic Anzac Day clash between the Dragons and Roosters.
Big occasion, big game.
Team lists and news to come, kick-off is 4pm.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
