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Tries were hard to come by in 2016 for St George Illawarra, with the Dragons scoring just 58 tries. Their anaemic attack curtailed any hopes this team had of making the top eight, after five successive defeats between rounds 17 and 22 to finish 11th.
The off-season
The biggest question going into the Dragons’ off-season was who would be their playmaker in 2017?
After releasing Benji Marshall, youngster Drew Hutchison succumbing to an ACL injury and a brief flirtation with signing bad boy Todd Carney, it appears as though the Dragons will settle on Josh McCrone or youngster Shaun Nona at number seven in 2017.
The injection of Ben Hunt into this team for 2018 would be a source of great elation for Dragons fans going forward, but it provides no solace for the season ahead.
Yet, the likes of centre Nene MacDonald and hooker Cameron McInnes will freshen up the Dragons attack, which looked lifeless for large parts of 2016, even when they did manage to win games.
What to look for in 2017
Coach Paul McGregor knows better than most that for the Dragons to be competitive in the modern NRL game, they cannot be averaging a mere 2.4 tries per game.
I predict the high ball to Nene MacDonald in the winger role to be a gold mine for the Dragons as opposition defenders have always struggled with his strength and athleticism in the air.
Second-rower Tyson Frizell is one of the competition’s elite players in his position, and he will once again prove a difficult force to combat for opposition defences.
2017 prediction
2017 shapes as a transition year for the St George Illawarra Dragons.
The losses of Ben Creagh, Marshall and Mitch Rein usher out an older brigade full of premiership and international experience which will not be replaced overnight. And Ben Hunt will is still a season away.
Even if this club fires on all cylinders, I can’t see them getting out of the bottom four. Paul McGregor may be lucky to see the year out if the losses pile up early in the season and the scoreboard fails to tick over.
2017 prediction: 15th
NRL 2016 record: 10-14 (24 points – 11th)
Ins: Nene MacDonald (Gold Coast), Cameron McInnes (South Sydney), Paul Vaughan (Canberra)
Outs: Mike Cooper (Warrington), Ben Creagh (retirement), Benji Marshal (Brisbane), Mitch Rein (Penrith), Dunamis Lui (Raiders), Adam Quinlan (Hull KR)
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