Shane Flanagan has received a lot of support and sympathy from his allies in the media in recent days as the under-fire St George Illawarra coach fights to save his job.
But the person I feel most sorry for in the aftermath of the Dragons’ demoralising 32-0 capitulation to the Cowboys is young halfback Daniel Atkinson, who now looks to be heading the same way as Lachlan Ilias did last year.
With speculation Atkinson is about to become the latest Dragons playmaker to be thrown under the team bus, The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis reported on NRL 360 on Monday night that Kyle Flanagan is now expected to shift back to the No 7 jumper for this Friday’s crunch game against Manly, with Atkinson facing the chop.
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The question Dragons fans are entitled to know the answer to is why didn’t Kyle start the season at halfback in the first place — with Atkinson playing the position he was best suited to all along, five-eighth?
It has certainly raised eyebrows if this was specifically designed by coach Flanagan to take the pressure off his son all along.
Whether that perception is right or wrong, I guess we’ll never know.
But there is no question that the perception is out there, not just among the fans.
I’ve asked multiple people whose opinions on rugby league I respect what position they believe Atkinson would be best suited to.
To a person all agree it is as a running five-eighth, not as a traditional halfback which Flanagan has had him playing.
There is also no disputing Atkinson’s reputation has become collateral damage in the process, just as it did for Ilias last year.
There’s no argument Atkinson has struggled since his move from the Sharks.
Against the Cowboys, he gave up multiple seven tackle sets with short kicks that went dead in goal.
Dragons pause Flanagan deal talks | 00:59
The Dragons’ lack of direction in good attacking positions has also been a problem all season, and that always reflects poorly on the playmakers, but especially the player wearing the No 7 jumper.
Last year after his early demotion Ilias was banished to NSW Cup, while young Jonah Glover was basically sent packing because he couldn’t shift Kyle from the No 7 spot.
Glover even stated after taking the Dragons to the NSW Cup grand final alongside Ilias that a blocked path to the NRL was the reason he left to join Souths.
Moving forward, we are entitled to question why any young half would risk his career going to the Dragons if they continue to be treated this way?
I’m not saying Atkinson deserves to stay as the No 7.
I’m saying he never should have been recruited to play halfback in the first place.
For mine, that goes to the heart of the real issue that has been holding back the Dragons under Shane Flanagan as coach.
WHY GUTHO SWITCH COULD DIVIDE DRAGONS DRESSING ROOM
To make matters worse at the Dragons, Dean Ritchie also reported on NRL 360 on Monday night that when Clint Gutherson returns from injury the Dragons skipper is likely to be lining up in the centres, or potentially even on the wing.
Where “Bulldog’ got this mail is anyone’s guess, but I have my suspicions.
Regardless, if the mail turns out to be correct, surely it will have the Dragons’ dressing room seething that such sensitive information involving the team captain is leaked to the media weeks out from when Gutherson is even scheduled to return from injury.
From the outside looking in, it appears as though it has got to the point at the Dragons where it is now every man fighting for his own survival.
You’d also imagine the fact the club has now put all talks with off contract players on hold until a decision is made on coach Flanagan’s future will only create further unrest within the playing group.
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ANSWER TO BENJI’S HALVES HEADACHE
How good to see Wests Tigers up near the top of the NRL ladder.
And with Jarome Luai hoping to return from injury in Sunday’s top four showdown with the rejuvenated Newcastle Knights, Benji Marshall will face a tough decision with what to do with the rejuvenated Jock Madden.
On Madden’s form in the back-to-back wins over the Warriors and Eels, it will be close to impossible to drop him.
By the same measure, Adam Doueihi has also been in tremendous form wearing the No.7 on his back, and Luai just has to be in the team at five-eighth.
Perhaps the answer for Benji would be to play Madden at halfback and move Doueihi into the centres.
Regardless of how it plays out, it’s a great problem for the Tigers to have.
Who could have imagined at the start of the season the Tigers would be siting second on the ladder and the Knights third going into this round six showdown?
Madden ices it in golden point | 00:38
It’s just great seeing these two traditional battlers turn the 2026 NRL season upside down.
While the Tigers took down the Eels 22-20 in an absolute thriller in, the Knights were equally inspirational in their dominant 32-12 win over last year’s minor premiers, the Raiders.
To think they are doing it without the injured Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown is just astonishing.
Justin Holbrook is obviously doing a fantastic job.
WHY MUST BURTON CONTINUE TO PLAY SECOND FIDDLE TO KEEP GALVIN HAPPY?
What are the Bulldogs’ possibly hoping to achieve by the continued disrespect being shown to Matt Burton?
In the wake of Burton again being shifted to the centres in the loss to Souths to cover for the injury to Stephen Crichton, coach Cameron Ciraldo explained his reasoning for bringing Sean O’Sullivan into the game ahead of Bronson Xerri, which could have kept Burton at five-eighth.
“Obviously Bronson was there covering wing and centre, but when you lose your best communicator (Crichton), I needed to get another communicator out there and Sean is one of the best at that,” Ciraldo said post match.
But that explanation has since been shot down by Phil Gould who has revealed Ciraldo was only in fact trying not to disrespect the club doctor with initial hopes Crichton could return to play.
Ciraldo addresses confusing Xerri call | 03:51
Now we’re told Xerri will be back in the starting side for this Thursday’s huge clash against the Panthers.
Regardless of whether you believe Gus or Ciraldo’s version of the truth, it sure doesn’t give Burton or Lachlan Galvin much credit for their own on-field communicating skills, or dummy half Bailey Hayward for that matter.
Burton also has a bigger reason to be upset with all this continued speculation that he could end up being forced out of the club.
I have no doubt if you asked every NRL coach who they would pick out of Galvin and Burton to play five-eighth right now, Burton would be the runaway winner.
There is no doubt Galvin has a stack of potential, but at this stage Burton is clearly the better player.
So why does he always have to play second fiddle to keep Gavlin happy?
You wouldn’t blame him for wanting to explore his options at the end of the season, although you get the feeling that could be what the club is hoping for.
JAKE TRBOJEVIC PROVES THERE IS STILL LIFE IN HIS OLD LEGS
It’s only one game.
But the transformation of Manly under Kieran Foran was extraordinary in their 52-18 demolition of the Dolphins.
It would have been gut-wrenching for Anthony Seibold if he was sitting back watching that.
Haumole Olakau’atu was enormous with 23 runs for a whopping 243m, while even Jake Trbojevic looked reborn in the first half with seven runs for 58m.
I reckon it’s a fair debate if Manly fans would consider Jake still washed up given his output in this game?
Before the game most would have agreed Jake was going to be lucky to play out this season, let alone the term of his contract with the option in his favour next year.
But after what we witnessed in Redcliffe, I can’t wait to see what Jake and the Sea Eagles deliver against the Dragons this round.
Tom Trboejvic was also outstanding before he left the field late after a head knock.
And arguably the best of the three Trbojevics was younger brother Ben who has really came of age as an edge backrower this year.
We’d heard how the Sea Eagles players were constantly at odds with Seibold over the game plan he had them playing, with the players wanting to play more direct.
On the back of this performance, I’d go as far as to say the Sea Eagles’s season is not dead yet.
If they can continue what they did against the Dolphins against the Dragons it will also make it difficult to ignore Foran as a serious contender for the head coaching position on a fulltime basis.
IS LATRELL ANOTHER OF THE NRL’S PROTECTED SPECIES?
Latrell Mitchell showed again in Souths’ win over the Bulldogs why he is the player capable of making the Rabbitohs a serious threat in 2026.
That try he scored when he scooped up a Cody Walker grubber at full pace and then somehow touched down after a Connor Tracey knock on was a remarkable show of athleticism, speed and acrobatic skill all in one.
The speed to score off another kick in the first half when he beat other Bulldogs players in a sprint to the ball was also super impressive.
But between the brilliance he still had a couple of moments we’ve just become accustomed to seeing from Latrell.
There was the silly tap on that led to a Bulldogs try in the first half.
And Latrell was lucky he didn’t end up in strife for another brain fade late in the game when he dived dangerously at the back of Tracey’s leg when chasing after a kick on goal.
How he wasn’t penalised for that is a mystery.
We had a crack at Stephen Crichton in this column last week labelling him a protected species for how the Bulldogs skipper sometimes appears to get preferential treatment from the refs.
Latrell is another player who seems to get away with more than other players normally would.
But he also needs to put the team first and just get this rubbish out of his game because otherwise it will end up costing the Rabbitohs a big game at some point.
HIGH TACKLE FARCE
Rugby league is a contact sport.
And while we all understand why dangerous high tackles need to be stamped out for player welfare, it is an absolute farce that some of the penalties being awarded for so-called high shots are now deciding games.
What we saw late in the Tigers’ win over the Eels on Easter Monday was a fair dinkum joke.
My phone lit up the moment the Eels were awarded a penalty for Samuela Fainu’s ‘love tap’ on Mitchell Moses that allowed Moses to slot a conversion to put the Eels 20-18 up with three minutes to play.
But moments later it was Eels fans in uproar when Fainu was on the receiving of an even more laughable decision that allowed Jock Madden to set up the grandstand finish.
I feel for the refs because they are between a rock and a hard place on this because this has become the reality in the modern game where player welfare is paramount.
But seriously, these tackles aren’t dangerous, and they don’t deserve to be penalised.
While it was all great theatre on Monday, imagine seeing a grand final, or a State of Origin, decided on one of these calls.
Panel argue over controversial calls | 04:49
LATEST COACHING TACTIC THAT NEEDS TO BE STAMPED OUT
The NRL also needs to get on top of this new tactic where some teams are intentionally giving up penalties to avoid a scrum.
You can understand why they do it to avoid having six players taken out of their defensive line, especially when the opposition is attacking their tryline.
But it’s just not in the spirit of the game and I’d love to see a player sin binned for this because it is the definition of a professional foul.
The Bulldogs did it in the game against the Rabbitohs late in the first half after a dropped ball from Stephen Crichton close to their own tryline.
While the Rabbitohs landed a penalty goal, teams might be less reluctant to do it if they risk losing a player for 10 minutes.
RAIDERS HAVE ONLY THEMSELVES TO BLAME
You need a packet of Panadol handy watching the Raiders in 2026.
They have gone from being the NRL’s most exciting team to the most frustrating on the back of some shocking discipline.
And it is getting worse by the week.
When are the Raiders going to learn you can’t give the opposition as many leg ups as they are and expect to win NRL games?
Unless Ricky Stuart can turn things around fast the Raiders could be in for a long year.
They currently sit 16th on the ladder with only the Dragons below them heading into Saturday’s game against the Rabbitohs in Perth.
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Ricky’s blunt reaction to Raiders defeat | 04:25
TITANS ROBBED BY A SHOCKER OF A CALL
Josh Hannay had every right to be filthy at the forward pass call that denied the Titans a vital try in the 26-12 loss to the Broncos.
While the reigning champs looked to get away with a comfortable win, it could have been a very different scoreline had a legitimate Lachie Ilias pass to AJ Brimson not been called forward.
It would have made it 12-all at the time.
Instead the Broncos scored up the other end soon after and from there never looked back.
It’s fair to say the call was a shocker.
“I wish that moment was different” | 06:37
THE ONLY THREAT TO THE MIGHTY PANTHERS
Can anyone beat the Panthers this year?
Perhaps the Maroons may have the best chance when State of Origin rolls around.
But I certainly can’t see any of the other NRL teams challenging them on what we’ve seen so far.
It is just extraordinary that they have now piled on 190 points while only conceding 40 in five games.
And to account for the Melbourne Storm 50-10 is just astonishing.
Especially when you factor in that the Storm completed at 94 per cent for the game.
The way they’re travelling the only thing that could possibly bring the Panthers undone will be Origin, or injury.
‘Who can actually beat Penrith?’ | 01:23
They could have as many as 10 players in contention for the NSW squad this year with seven legitimate starting contenders.
If the Blues were naming their team tomorrow Dylan Edwards would have to be fullback, Brian To’o on one wing and Tom Jenkins deserves to be the other.
Casey McLean would start in the centres, Nathan Cleary at halfback, Isaah Yeo at lock and Liam Martin in the backrow.
You could also make a case for Lindsay Smith as part of the front row rotation, Scott Sorensen the backrow, and Mitch Kenny in the debate to be the dummy half.