Dragons’ woes continue with Su’A hit with three-match ban

St George Illawarra’s woes have continued with Jaydn Su’A facing three matches on the sidelines for his dangerous tackle on South Sydney captain Cameron Murray.

Su’A was hit with a grade-three shoulder charge offence by the match review committee on Sunday morning after he became the first player sent off in the 2026 season.

The Dragons have now lost all seven games this season, with pressure further mounting on coach Shane Flanagan. It remains to be seen if Flanagan will still be in charge by the time Parramatta-bound Su’A returns.

The coach’s immediate future will be discussed at a club board meeting on Tuesday night. There was speculation the axe was about to fall on Sunday, with Flanagan, chairman Andrew Lancaster and CEO Tim Watsford holding a phone hook-up. Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly later confirmed the trio regularly spoke the day after most games.

The easy option for the Dragons would be to wait a week before making a move on their coach heading into the bye round. A delay would also allow the focus to remain on the Anzac Day clash against the Sydney Roosters – one of the biggest events on the rugby league calendar.

But the same sources confirmed the club could not ignore the run of losses, and had to think about Flanagan’s well-being. Flanagan has looked emotionally drained in recent weeks because of the pressure mounting on him to deliver results, while the endless speculation has also started to impact his inner circle, including his son, Dragons playmaker Kyle Flanagan.

He said after the Souths’ defeat: “I get to work every day and all I can do is do my best to prepare the players the best I can, and if it doesn’t work and they decide to make another decision, well, I’ve just got to live with it.”

In other Dragons’ news coming out of Saturday night, hooker Jacob Liddle injured his hamstring before kick-off, while Damien Cook required stitches to a deep cut in his hand.

Ryan Couchman is available again this week following a four-match ban for a hip-drop tackle on J’maine Hopgood, while boom young back-rower Dylan Egan is expected to return from a ruptured ACL via reserve grade.

As for Su’A, he will return against the Warriors in round 12 with a guilty plea, while if he elects to fight the charge at the judiciary and loses, the Samoan international will be back for Manly the following week.

Souths players were upset with the way former Rabbitoh Su’A shot out of the line, with injured back-rower David Fifita caught on TV cameras standing above the tunnel at Accor Stadium and yelling at the Parramatta-bound Dragon.

Cook said after the game: “That’s what happens when you are in a position like this where we haven’t won games, pressure builds up, and sometimes we go out of our systems and do the wrong thing.”