It has been another year to forget for the St. George Illawarra Dragons with 2023 proving to be the breaking point for a number of changes within the club including the sacking of head coach Anthony Griffin and the appointment of 2016 premiership-winning coach, Shane Flanagan for the 2024 season.
Whilst most stars are locked down for next season, the Dragons need to recruit smartly if they are going to be competitive. Here are three players off-contract in 2024 that the Dragons should be targeting.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
With recent news confirming that Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will activate his free agent clause due to the Gold Coast Titans sacking head coach Justin Holbrook, it would d be silly if the Dragons didn't throw their name in the hat to try and land the 23-year-old Queensland star.
There's no hiding the fact that the Dragons are lacking that x-factor in their forward pack and the addition of Fa'asuamaleaui would fit perfectly with the likes of Blake Lawrie and Jack de Belin who base their games on work-rate.
With the Red V facing a lengthy rebuild, they should be offering a lengthy deal to speed up that process and assist in attracting other names to the club.
Matt Frawley
With Matt Frawley, we have to assume that current halfback and club captain, Ben Hunt won't be at the club in 2024.
The Dragons have two promising young halves in Talatau Amone and Jayden Sullivan who have both shown glimpses of their potential so far in their short careers.
Shane Flanagan needs to pick one of Amone and Sullivan and pair them with a half that can take control of the game plan and the majority of the kicking.
Whilst always being a back-up option throughout his time in the NRL with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders, Frawley has always done a decent job when called upon in the top grade.
Now 28-years-old, Matt Frawley could be the perfect man available to guide the Dragons around the park in 2024 and help the young brigade through their rebuild.
Adam Pompey
Unless there's a significant attitude change from Tyrell Sloan, he's just not an NRL-qualityย fullback.
Zac Lomax is the star in that Dragons backline and should be given an opportunity at fullback in 2024 to get him more of the football.
New Zealand Warriors centre, Adam Pompey could be forced out of the club with the arrival of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in 2024 after arguably his most consistent season so far.
The 24-year-old has featured in every game for the warriors in 2023 and has been averaging 102 metres per game and has a tackle efficiency of 87 per cent.
There are a few decent centre options on the market including Brian Kelly, Brad Parker and Morgan Harper but Adam Pompey could be your best 'bang for buck' signing of these options.
Who do you think the Dragons should trying to sign for 2024?
