paywall - any copy / paste ?
Sorry... only cherry picked my favourite quote. The rest is the usual fluff really
The good strides taken last season and the recruitment of some quality players have Jack De Belin confident St George Illawarra Dragons can break into the top eight in 2025.
Speaking ahead of the Dragons' NRL season opener against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Kogarah on Saturday night, De Belin said he believed coach Shane Flanagan had recruited wisely and brought in players that will help the Red V break into the finals this season.
The
Dragons looked odds on to make the finals in 2024, but suspensions and injuries saw the club drop some winnable games late in the season and just miss out on finishing in the top eight.
De Belin was quietly optimistic that recruits Clint Gutherson, Val Holmes, Damien Cook, and Lachlan Ilias would be the tonic needed to propel a top-eight finish for St George Illawarra.
The veteran of 229 appearances for the Red V added that the new additions had already made a world of difference, and the atmosphere around the place was fantastic.
"It's just such a good vibe around the place at the moment. It's a new-look side, but I think the additions they have made to the side have been unreal," De Belin said.
"The experience they brought in with Gutho and Cook has been unreal, while the likes of Val and Lachie have seamlessly fit in.
"I feel like last year we had really strong patches throughout the year and probably should have definitely played finals but faded away at the end of the year. That wasn't very pleasant because we put ourselves in a position to make the finals, which we haven't been in for a long time.
"Finals is the goal this year. I have no doubt that we'll be playing finals footy this year."
The 33-year-old lock added coach
Flanagan had allayed fears the club would struggle to score many points by bringing in Gutherson, Cook, Holmes and Ilias to replace last season's skipper and chief playmaker Ben Hunt and the club's top point scorer Zac Lomax.
"It was a thought that came across everyone's mind: how do we make up all the points Hunt and Lomax contributed to the team?
"I feel like the side will probably be slightly more balanced. The points will probably be distributed throughout the team a bit more.
"Going off trial form now, I feel like we're going to have some real strike players out there."
The
Dragons fielded strong sides during the trials and enjoyed wins over the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
De Belin said this was to get all the new players used to how St George Illawarra plays ahead of their season opener against the Bulldogs.
A huge crowd turned up to Netstrata Jubilee Oval the last time the Dragons played the Bulldogs, with the visitors winning the controversial fixture where Kyle Flanagan was suspended for four weeks after being found to have bitten Stephen Crichton on the nose.
De Belin is expecting another big turnout on Saturday.
"I feel like there is a nice little rivalry brewing. The Bulldogs are a team on the rise and I'd like to think we're a team on the rise as well. They've got a team full of hard workers, and I think we've got a team full of hard workers as well," he said.
"It's exciting. We both have strong supporter bases.
"Kogarah will be packed out on Saturday, so that's super exciting. Hopefully, we put on a good game for them and come away with the win."
www.illawarramercury.com.au
