Dragons go from bad to worse and are the NRL’s new laughing stock

The hopes and prayers of the Dragons hierarchy that Monday’s messy split with coach Shane Flanagan – and the hastily convened press conference that followed – wouldn’t be the most shambolic episode of their week were not answered on Saturday afternoon.

A new coach and a new halfback made diddly-squat difference as St George Illawarra plummeted to comical new depths, becoming the competition’s laughing stock after a 62-16 defeat on the biggest regular-season day on the rugby league calendar.

Without any of the spark Kieran Foran has appeared to ignite at Manly since Anthony Seibold’s exit, the Dragons somehow find themselves in an even more dire position six days on from Flanagan’s unsurprising departure. This is a club that now looks an unbackable favourite for the wooden spoon and they only have themselves to blame.

They ran into a slick, ruthless Roosters outfit and could do with an old-fashioned truth session – perhaps over a few schooners at a Wollongong pub on Sunday – to thrash out their issues ahead of a bye week and a clash with Newcastle on May 9.

Dean Young’s first outing as interim coach was as forgettable as they come. It is far too early to make any definitive calls on whether he should be part of the club’s long-term future, but this was the kind of performance that lingers in the minds of decision-makers. The contrast with Foran’s early impact at Manly over his first three weeks does Young no favours.

The “bounce-back” sporting boards yearn for when a coach is moved on was nowhere to be seen, but that said, there is only so much responsibility a coach can shoulder when the basics fall apart.

Mathew Feagai endured a torrid afternoon under the high ball, while the Dragons’ completion rate of 69 per cent told its own story.

Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster, sporting a bright red tie, cut a conspicuous figure on the field during the anthems after a tumultuous week, with Young – the club’s caretaker saviour – standing a few metres to his right.

Young kept both hands to himself, with no arm around Setu Tu – a subtle but telling contrast to Roosters coach Trent Robinson’s tight grip of Cody Ramsey as Advance Australia Fair reverberated around Allianz Stadium. It was a small moment, but one that spoke to a team that has struggled to present a united front in recent weeks.

The Dragons have at least been competitive at stages this season, but there was no hiding from the humiliation here. If there is one day on the calendar you cannot afford to be embarrassed, it is this one.

Few expected an upset, but the gulf was still stark. The Roosters’ ruck speed was elite, their execution crisp, and their creativity late in sets on another level as Mark Nawaqanitawase, Sam Walker and Daniel Tupou bagged doubles.

Dragons No.6 Daniel Atkinson remonstrated with officials after his sin bin before half-time, but it merely underlined the ill-discipline that continues to plague the side. The absence of Jaydn Su’A, sidelined after his shoulder charge on Cam Murray, was keenly felt.

Before kick-off, debutant halfback Kade Reed slipped away from his teammates in the sheds to gather himself. Television cameras captured him spinning a ball in his hand, kicking to himself, lost in his own thoughts. If only he knew what was to come.

It was probably a blessing he was spared a warm-up in the middle of Allianz Stadium, with formalities and anthems taking precedence, given the size and intensity of the crowd.

For all the moments for the bunker to intervene, why did it have to after Reed’s double cut-out pass to set up Mathew Feagai for an eventual disallowed try?

Reed’s looping pass off unstructured play was the kind of instinctive brilliance that can kick-start a career. Instead, like a no-ball in cricket, technology (correctly) intervened to erase a moment those in attendance would have remembered for years.

The game’s great halfbacks have experienced mixed fortunes on debut. Andrew Johns was exceptional in 1994, scoring 23 points – two tries, seven goals and a field goal – as Newcastle thumped South Sydney 43-14.

Johnathan Thurston helped steer the Bulldogs to a 38-24 win over Penrith in 2002, missing three of his 18 tackles but showing enough to suggest what was to come.

Nathan Cleary, meanwhile, earned plaudits for making 38 tackles on debut in a 24-6 loss to Melbourne in 2016, despite the defeat.

One of those teams – Thurston’s Bulldogs – ultimately collected the wooden spoon, albeit under the cloud of salary cap breaches.

No one is suggesting Reed is destined to reach the heights of those esteemed halfbacks, but the harsh reality is this: the Dragons’ season is only a third complete. Canterbury finished that year with eight competition points – a number the Dragons might settle for at this stage.

If this latest car crash is not enough to force meaningful change, across the whole organisation, from a board that has overseen years of mediocrity and not played finals football since 2018, it is difficult to imagine what will be.