The Dragons are now 0-3. Their season hinges on the next three weeks

St George Illawarra were unlucky not to return home from Las Vegas with one competition point.

They led Melbourne with 20 minutes remaining in round two, only for the visitors to click into gear and score five tries.

But the toughest loss yet was the 30-20 result against Parramatta on Sunday.

What you would have given to be a fly on the wall in the Dragons’ coaches box in the second half at CommBank Stadium.

The 25,573 fans sensed it was only a matter of time before the Dragons ran over the top of the Eels, especially late in the game.

They had all the running courtesy of a 6-1 penalty count. Parramatta forward Charlie Guymer was sin-binned for tackling Jacob Liddle in an offside position after he took a quick tap, which made the Dragons’ job even easier.

But the Dragons simply lacked the polish and patience to seal the win.

They were clunky in attack, and kept going left to Moses Suli, who appeared troubled by an ankle injury. The attack became so predictable at one stage, Phil Gould asked on the Nine commentary why Valentine Holmes did not bother to swing around from the right side of the field to get involved.

Flanagan received some heat while in Vegas for admitting the Dragons would not win the premiership this year, and their window would open in the coming years once the generation next had a bit more game time.

But they have now lost their three opening games. The last time they started 0-3 was 2020, when the Dragons dropped six of their opening eight games, and coach Paul McGregor was sacked later in the year.

The last thing Flanagan can afford is for losing to become a habit. The next three weeks is so vital for the Red V with the Titans away, North Queensland at home and Manly at home. No game in the NRL is easy, but on paper right now, they are three games the Dragons can win.

The Dragons looked good early when they raced to a 14-6 lead when Luciano Leilua and Jaydn Su’A stormed through some soft defence to score.

But two minutes after Su’A got across the line, the Dragons had Ryan Couchman sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle on J’maine Hopgood. Hopgood did not return, which will be taken into consideration when the match review committee hands down its charges on Monday morning.

Holmes was also placed on report for a shoulder charge in the second half.

The Eels now have two wins in the bank, but a similar effort against Penrith next weekend could see them on the end of a cricket score.

Their first four-pointer was ruled a penalty try after Su’A grabbed at an unmarked Jonah Pezet when he loomed in support to catch a pass from Kitione Kautoga.

They did lose Hopgood, while Jordan Samrami did not return in the second half after he suffered a knee injury.

Had the Eels lost, there would have been a big focus on the decision to bin Guymer for tackling Liddle. Skipper Mitchell Moses argued he wanted to challenge a stripping penalty, only for Liddle to restart play before he could plead his case.

A standout in the blue and gold again was Isaiah Iongi, who always looked safe under the high ball, especially when the pressure mounted the longer the game went. The only one he spilled should have resulted in a try for Kyle Flanagan, only for Flanagan to be pinged for a knock-on.