The St George Illawarra Dragons may have already landed star forward Keaon Koloamatangi, but coach Shane Flanagan has made it clear the club’s recruitment work is far from complete.
Flanagan revealed the Dragons are still actively looking to strengthen several areas of their roster ahead of the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
In an interview with Zero Tackle, Flanagan acknowledged that while the Dragons know exactly which positions they want to improve, the current player market is proving difficult to navigate with few elite options remaining.
Rather than rushing signings, Flanagan stressed the Dragons will remain patient and selective in their approach while also keeping an eye on longer-term recruitment opportunities.
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However, he also made it clear that additions will be required, with the club’s 2026 roster still containing gaps both in key positions and overall squad numbers.
“It is hard at the moment, there's no elite-type players on the open market, so we'll have to look at what players are available for 2027 and 2028,” Flanagan explained.
“We've only got 25 or 26 players signed out of our top 30, so we're still looking to strengthen that up,” he admitted.
The coach confirmed the club is targeting a middle forward, a half and an outside back as priority positions moving forward, which are likely to be the next key signings announced by the Red V.
While recruitment has been a challenge for the Dragons in recent seasons, Flanagan said signing players itself isn’t the issue, despite a well documented recent history of struggles in that department.
Flanagan added that the club is hopeful its emerging young talent can continue to develop and potentially reduce the need to look externally, with several key youngsters standing out in 2025.
“We'll just have to keep chipping away and hopefully our young ones overachieve so we don't have to go looking outside our own backyard,” Flanagan said.
The arrival of Koloamatangi has already ticked off one major recruitment box for the Dragons, now it is time to continue the momentum.
Koloamatangi looms as a signing coup capable of impacting the club’s fortunes as soon as he arrives, but the Dragons appear set to remain aggressive in the market to continue to build what they hope will be a premiership contending roster.
St George Illawarra missed the finals in 2025 and finished a disappointing 15th on the ladder after beginning the season as one of the wooden spoon favourites.
While 2026 may still prove challenging with Koloamatangi not arriving until 2027, with more smart signings and emerging stars on the rise, the Dragons are quietly building a squad that could shock the competition in the years ahead.