After five years in the finals wilderness the Dragons begin a new era under premiership-winning coach Shane Flanagan.
With a number of question marks over who will play where, and half their roster off contract at the end of the season, there is plenty to ponder for Dragons fans ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Where does Zac Lomax play?
Coach Flanagan doesn't appear content with the situation at fullback right now and has already suggested to pan66.com that Zac Lomax could be set to job-share with incumbent No.1 Tyrell Sloan at the back. It also remains a real possibility that Lomax is given the job on a full-time basis, despite the 24-year-old being one of the Dragons' best performers in the centres through 2023, scoring seven tries and averaging 141 run metres. The concept of Lomax as a fullback has been flirted with in the past, but under a new coach this could be the time for it to become a reality. There's also a chance he could play five-eighth, although the signing of Flanagan's son Kyle has now made that a more distant possibility. If Lomax remains at centre then the big question becomes whether or not he can take his game to the next level and become an elite player in the position.
Lomax goes large
Can they win some away games?
Zero victories in 12 attempts. That was the Dragons' away record last season and if you go back even further you find that they have won on the road just once since Round 12 of the 2022 campaign. While their form at home wasn't much better last season, finding a way to pick up results away from their familiar surroundings is a must if this team are to climb away from the bottom end of the ladder. The proof is in the pudding in terms of the importance of away records, with the ladder from each of the past two seasons showing no team has made the finals without winning at least five away games.
What will the halves combination be?
While it appears Ben Hunt will be on the roster in 2024 after seeking a release at the back end of last season, who plays next to him in the halves? Kyle Flanagan has emerged as the leading candidate after joining his dad at the club, although he spent most of last season playing as a hooker at the Bulldogs. As mentioned earlier, Zac Lomax is another potential option at No.6, as is former Titan and Warrior Paul Turner, who made a lone appearance in 2023 but would appear to be further down the pecking order. It shapes as a big call for a team that averaged only 3.5 tries per game last season.
The creators: Ben Hunt
What will come of Flanno's return to coaching?
Shane Flanagan is the first premiership-winning coach the Dragons have had since Wayne Bennett took the reins between 2009-2011, but it's also been five years since he last held a head coaching role in the NRL. The game has evolved drastically since then and while Flanagan has been involved for most of that period as an assistant coach or consultant at the Dragons and Sea Eagles, being in the top job is a whole different story. The former Sharks mentor boasts a 55 percent winning rate across 185 games as a NRL head coach, and if he can bring that type of record to the Dragons it'll mark a dramatic improvement for a team that has managed to win half of their games in a season just once in the past five years.
Who remains beyond 2024?
Fifteen members of the Dragons' top 30 squad are set to head into the new season without a deal beyond 2024, with forwards Jack Bird and Dan Russell the only players among that group that have built-in mutual options for 2025. At this stage several 2023 first-choice players including fullback Tyrell Sloan, back-rower Jaydn Su'A and star forward Jack de Belin are all without long-term deals. Whether the club opts to retain most of their off-contract talent, or instead have a mass clean out after this season, will likely depend largely on how successful the opening couple of months of the new campaign are, while coach Flanagan's ability to attract a marquee signing will have a big impact too.