Matt Pritchard reviews the 2023 Season of the St George-Illawarra Dragons where they finished 16th on the ladder.
Club Stats
Wins: 5
Losses: 19
Most Tries: 21, Mikaele Ravalawa
Most Points: 142, Zac Lomax
Dragons Medal Player of the Year: Blake Lawrie
Griffin Gone, Hunt’s Future Clouds Dragons Campaign
It was a difficult 2023 campaign for the St George-Illawarra Dragons, where they slumped from tenth in 2022 to second-last in 2023: recording only five wins from 24 matches.
Anthony Griffin’s tenure at the club ended on May 16 with his last game in charge resulting in a 42-22 loss to the Cowboys – a night to forget for Ben Hunt’s 300th game. Griffin’s 37% win-loss record at the Red V by far his worst record for any club he’s coached in the NRL.
The search for Griffin’s replacement saw Jason Ryles knock back the Dragons role, before they settled in June on former Sharks head coach Shane Flanagan to end his six-year absence from the NRL and take the helm in 2024.
Griffin’s departure only further speculated the future of Hunt at the club despite being contracted until the end of 2025. There were reports that he was seeking an immediate release to join the Brisbane Broncos. Flanagan is unlikely to grant the Australian international an early release from his contract.
Interim coach Ryan Carr immediately had an impact, with his recharged Dragons winning in Round 12 against the Roosters, with Mat Feagai’s last-minute try getting them over the line 24-22.
Their other notable scalp was against South Sydney in Round 15, where they led 36-14 with seven minutes to play before holding on to win 36-30. From that point forward the Dragons would only manage one more victory – which came in Round 21 against the Wests Tigers.
It was an impressive 2023 for Mikaele Ravalawa, who moved into sixth spot on the St George-Illawarra Dragons’ all-time try scorer list with 64 in just 86 games. This year he notched up a career-best 21 tries: including four against Parramatta (Round 23) and three against Canberra (Round 19).
It was a year of no football for Cody Ramsey, unable to get onto the paddock in 2023 with ulcerative colitis issues ruling him out for the season. In April, the NRL allowed the Dragons dispensation for Ramsey’s health problems.
2023 saw Jayden Sullivan and Zane Musgrove leave the club at the end of the season, while Hame Sele, Sione Finau, and Kyle Flanagan signed on to join the Red V in 2024.
Key Player Stats
Most Try Assists: 19, Ben Hunt
Most Line-breaks: 24, Mikaele Ravalawa
Most Run Metres: 3,127, Mikaele Ravalawa
Most Post Contact Metres: 1,015, Moses Suli
Most Tackles: 692, Jacob Liddle
Most Errors: 33, Zac Lomax
