FIFO Dragons explain reason behind late Vegas arrival

1 week ago 3

Las Vegas: St George Illawarra co-captain Clint Gutherson has defended the Dragons’ decision to turn up to Las Vegas two days later than round-one rivals Canterbury, saying they didn’t want the trip to “start feeling like a holiday”.

Shane Flanagan’s team have been in the United States since Saturday local time (Sunday Australian time) but were the last of the four NRL teams involved in this weekend’s double-header at Allegiant Stadium this weekend.

Clint Gutherson has backed the Dragons’ approach to their US trip.

Newcastle and North Queensland, who will play in the other NRL game here, have been in town a day longer than the Dragons while the Bulldogs arrived 48 hours before them and have clocked up almost a week in the casino and showbiz capital.

Away from home and with distractions aplenty, that can be a long time in Las Vegas – and Gutherson says the Dragons are more than comfortable with the shorter lead-in time to their clash with the Dogs.

“That’s the best prep for us,” he said. “We know what team we’ve got. The best prep for us was getting here on the Saturday and getting into our week from then. We didn’t want to be here too many extra days to make it start feeling like a holiday. We’re ready to go.”

Asked whether he thought Canterbury had been in Las Vegas too long, he replied: “I wouldn’t have a clue. Their performance staff thought it was right for them and ours thought it was right for us.”

Shane Flanagan and son Kyle on the training field in Las Vegas.

Gutherson also threw his weight behind five-eighth Kyle Flanagan, who will link up with halfback recruit Daniel Atkinson in a new-look halves pairing.

He said criticism of Flanagan, who joined the Dragons from the Bulldogs in 2024, was unwarranted.

“It’s always unfair. It’s the way it is,” he said. “Kyle’s great, he’s got a great head on him. He just focuses on him and us as a team. Atko’s going to help him and he’s going to help Atko - they’re our halves, we’re going to back them until they’re not.

“We saw what Kyle did for us last year. He was great for us last year. He was one of the most consistent in our team all year, and he played every minute of every game. If you’re doing that in the NRL you’ve obviously got something.”

Much is also being thrust on the shoulders of Atkinson, who was signed from Cronulla on a three-year contract.

The 25-year-old was stuck behind Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall at the Sharks and is straight into the hot seat at St George Illawarra.

“He wants a chance to prove himself as a [number] seven and since the day he turned up he’s been loud, he’s been talking,” Gutherson said.

“He’s learned off a couple of great players in ‘Tricky’ [Trindall] and Nicho at the Sharks, so he’s got a lot of experience there, and as I said, he’s coming here for an opportunity to lead a team.

“He’s been given the seven and the keys to our team and now it’s up to him to make sure he does everything right.”

After a 15th-placed finish last season, the joint venture club are naturally underdogs against the Bulldogs, who are fifth favourites to win the competition.

Gutherson said Canterbury deserved to have the attention on them but admitted the Dragons also have a lot riding on the early stages of the season despite not being considered finals contenders by many.

“We’ve got heaps to lose,” he said. “We know the team we want to be and we’ve got standards in our team that we want to live up to.

“If you’re not doing that, there’s, there’s pressure. If you’re not doing that, you’re not going to be in the [squad of] 17 or 19 this year, and it starts Saturday. We’re here to win.”