Season 2026

[possm]

To be fair possm, Carr got a promotion as a head coach over in SL, hardly letting him go. No club stands in an assistants way when that opportunity arises

And Young?

 

[Huggies]

If Bookies are right and we finish bottom 3
Both Shane and son will be gone by end of 2026

 

[Slippery Morris]

If the halves are not firing by round 6 I really hope KFlanno gets the flick and not Atko. If they are firing then SFlanno has proved us and the media especially Braif wrong which is what I am hoping. With the effort KFlanno puts in I would love nothing more than to have this guy play well in the halves and prove us wrong and I am hoping with Atko he does. Only thing I want to see is if he doesn't then SFlanno bite the bullet and move him to the bench.

2027 Saints will have KFlanno and Liddle sharing the No.9 with Cook gone. Reed hopefully will be ready to be the full time No.7.

 

[possm]

If Bookies are right and we finish bottom 3
Both Shane and son will be gone by end of 2026

That would be OK if Dean Young was not hanging around as asssistant coach.

If the halves are not firing by round 6 I really hope KFlanno gets the flick and not Atko. If they are firing then SFlanno has proved us and the media especially Braif wrong which is what I am hoping. With the effort KFlanno puts in I would love nothing more than to have this guy play well in the halves and prove us wrong and I am hoping with Atko he does. Only thing I want to see is if he doesn't then SFlanno bite the bullet and move him to the bench.

2027 Saints will have KFlanno and Liddle sharing the No.9 with Cook gone. Reed hopefully will be ready to be the full time No.7.

 

[twinkletoes]

I hope we
Don’t have to endure a whole season criticising FLanaghan for protecting son Kyle and not pushing him side ways if warranted…as I’ve said previously we are in exactly the same predicament as at the beginning of 2025

 

[wittyfan]

My prediction for 2026 is that Atkinson will be banished to NSW Cup after a few early season losses with the coach's son steering the club towards the bottom of the ladder for the remainder of the season..

Also it was good to see Ilias dropping some truth bombs on Josh Mansour's podcast.

 

[since77]

My prediction for 2026 is that Atkinson will be banished to NSW Cup after a few early season losses with the coach's son steering the club towards the bottom of the ladder for the remainder of the season..

Also it was good to see Ilias dropping some truth bombs on Josh Mansour's podcast.

Yawn and not very witty might I say. That's super wonderful information you got from Josh Mansour's "Even A Dribbling Idiot Like Me Can Start a Podcast".........
A smarter prediction would be that Illias will quickly claim the dubious record of playing reserve grade for 3 separate clubs in a row, and you can't get much sadder than playing reserve grade for the Titans....
And Atkinson will be fine, he's getting paid more than Kyle so he'll be undroppable.
Now how about you push off and lurk somewhere where your lack of intelligence will be more highly valued.....

 

[wittyfan]

Yawn and not very witty might I say. That's super wonderful information you got from Josh Mansour's "Even A Dribbling Idiot Like Me Can Start a Podcast".........
A smarter prediction would be that Illias will quickly claim the dubious record of playing reserve grade for 3 separate clubs in a row, and you can't get much sadder than playing reserve grade for the Titans....
And Atkinson will be fine, he's getting paid more than Kyle so he'll be undroppable.
Now how about you push off and lurk somewhere where your lack of intelligence will be more highly valued.....

See you after 7 rounds when the undroppable Atkinson gets dropped.

And Mansour’s podcast is getting some well deserved coverage.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/n...ws-story/0f406cd9a1d586a06f4cef6c50857b97?amp

 

[denis preston]

My prediction for 2026 is that Atkinson will be banished to NSW Cup after a few early season losses with the coach's son steering the club towards the bottom of the ladder for the remainder of the season..

Also it was good to see Ilias dropping some truth bombs on Josh Mansour's podcast.

Not very witty.

 

[Slippery Morris]

What is it with halves that slam the Saints. Illias joins Hunt now in saying how $hite the club is. Hunt has the talent to back it up and went to a team that had top line players around him. As for Illias what is his excuse if he fails at the Titans which there is a good chance he will? Will he blame the coach then as well. Why didn't Souths want him?

Illias was involved in the 2 games early in the season where Saints should have won (Souths and Parra). Those losses in the end I feel cost Saints big time. He had the chance and clearly showed he does not cut the mustard in FG when the games are on the line. Flanno gave him a crack and he failed. If Saints win those 2 games Illias plays more footy. Evan Braif bagged Illias after thse losses on NRL360. The guy that made Illias miss out on NRL is LKT. He lost his spot to LKT in the end not Flanno. He can say he did not get a fair crack and same with Glover but a young kid called LKT got a fair crack so it is sour grapes. LKT was simply preferred to Illias and Glover. At the time LKT was the stand out in reserved and Flanno elevated him. LKT got more games under his belt and hopefully will be much better for it for 2026. I am no massive fan of KFlanno but as sad as it is he was the best half in our books such is the poor standard of halves we had in 2025. This says more about recruitment and roster management than anything else when you see guys like Ashton Ward and Sullivan play well at Souths. Not 1 but 2 halves let go to a team that had Illias. They preferred Saints juniors than Illias as we all saw why.

I was a huge fan of Illias especially being from a greek background but these outbursts are really poor form and wreak of a generation of kids that feel entitled.

 

[Slippery Morris]

To add to that Souths game Saints lost with Illias. Souths had a guy name Humphries kick a field goal on 1 leg to win the game. How embarrassing would that have been for Illias and how justified were Souths in getting Humphries. If the halves were switched around, Saints would have probably won with Humprhries at 7 playing his 3 or 4th NRL game and Souths lose.

 

[getsmarty]

Gallery: November Preseason

Check out some of the best shots from the opening month of preseason.

www.dragons.com.au

 

[Dragsters]

Atko: "Mick, I'm doing all the long kicking and touch finders."

Atko: "Flano, let's face it, I'm doing all the long kicking and touch finders.

 

[Harry Bath]

I hope we
Don’t have to endure a whole season criticising FLanaghan for protecting son Kyle and not pushing him side ways if warranted…as I’ve said previously we are in exactly the same predicament as at the beginning of 2025

I had high hopes for Flanagan when he first started he spoke well and seemed to have improved the fitness of the team however things went sideways after 2024 firstly he let Hunt go without replacing him with a quality half he then somehow let the players fitness levels slip back to 2023 levels i.e. Lawrie and Luciano both seemed to podge out!

 

[Slippery Morris]

This years draw is very kind to the Saints so there should really be no excuse to finish lower than 10th. They play Storm in Rd 2 and Panthers in Round 11 and Broncos Round 13 (around Origin time). Game 1 is May 27 and Saints play Broncos May 31. Apart from that Rooster may be the only other big threat but Saints usually step up against the Chooks (until last 2 Anzac games). All the other 19 games Saints should be in with a chance and should win so I expect 44 points minimum....Yeah right wishful thinking. I would be stoked if they can get to 32 points which is only 13 wins and 3 byes.

Saints gave Penrith, Bronco's and Storm a better run than the Dogs, Warriors, Manly and Sharks and they had a heap of injuries. Surely they can go that one better and beat these top 8 fillers. I would love Saints to make the 8 with these young boys in 2026 just to get 1 game experience and have them primed for 2027.

Interested to see the impact of playing in Vegas has on Saints with the travel. It did not seem to bother Raiders, Warriors, Sharks or Panthers much as they all made the top 8. It may be a good omen.

 

[Flinstone]

This years draw is very kind to the Saints so there should really be no excuse to finish lower than 10th. They play Storm in Rd 2 and Panthers in Round 11 and Broncos Round 13 (around Origin time). Game 1 is May 27 and Saints play Broncos May 31. Apart from that Rooster may be the only other big threat but Saints usually step up against the Chooks (until last 2 Anzac games). All the other 19 games Saints should be in with a chance and should win so I expect 44 points minimum....Yeah right wishful thinking. I would be stoked if they can get to 32 points which is only 13 wins and 3 byes.

Saints gave Penrith, Bronco's and Storm a better run than the Dogs, Warriors, Manly and Sharks and they had a heap of injuries. Surely they can go that one better and beat these top 8 fillers. I would love Saints to make the 8 with these young boys in 2026 just to get 1 game experience and have them primed for 2027.

Interested to see the impact of playing in Vegas has on Saints with the travel. It did not seem to bother Raiders, Warriors, Sharks or Panthers much as they all made the top 8. It may be a good omen.

It is a favorable draw, play some top sides only once-
Raiders, Storm, Broncos, Panthers, Roosters, Dolphins,
and some lower teams play twice -
Eels, Knights, Titans, Tigers

 

[possm]

I had high hopes for Flanagan when he first started he spoke well and seemed to have improved the fitness of the team however things went sideways after 2024 firstly he let Hunt go without replacing him with a quality half he then somehow let the players fitness levels slip back to 2023 levels i.e. Lawrie and Luciano both seemed to podge out!

Flanno didn't replace Hunt because he wanted his son to play in the halves.

Blame and replace the fitness staff, they are a disgrace.

 

[possm]

It is a favorable draw, play some top sides only once-
Raiders, Storm, Broncos, Panthers, Roosters, Dolphins,
and some lower teams play twice -
Eels, Knights, Titans, Tigers

We still need that big, experienced prop to lead our young forward pack. Without him, we can write off 2026.

It would also be great to get a topline halfback on a one-year deal. With R360 and Perth recruiting for 2027, we should explore the possibility of providing a 1-year gap deal recruitment contract or loan deal.

 

[Mojo]

Blame him, blame her, blame this, blame that ….. I knew a young bloke who was stoked to get a job as a nutritionist / dietician at the Broncos. Couldn’t wait to get out of there after one year as he couldn’t believe how arrogant and contemptuous the players were. These guys are highly paid professional athletes with everything they need provided to them. If they are unfit they have only themselves to blame.

 

[getsmarty]

'I want everything that comes with it': Atkinson keen on responsibility and success

Daniel Atkinson sits down to chat preseason, the Dragons move and a new role.

www.dragons.com.au