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‘Desperate for success’ Broncos return | 02:18
Shane Flanagan has taken another subtle swipe at departed playmaker Ben Hunt when explaining why the Dragons are a better footy team since Clint Gutherson’s arrival.
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I contacted the St George Illawarra coach this week ahead of Gutho’s first hit-out in his new club colours in Sunday’s trial against the Roosters to talk about how Gutherson’s energy and experience had impacted the team heading into the 2025 season.
“Have you got 20 minutes,” Flanagan quipped, before delivering one of the biggest raps you’d ever hear from an NRL coach.
It wasn’t until nearing the end of our conversation when talk turned to Hunt’s impact on the team’s attack that Flanagan also gave an honest assessment about why Hunt’s loss can be overcome.
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GUTHO’S HUGE IMPACT, WOODEN SPOON INSULT ‘EGG ON THE FACE’
Of course, Gutherson isn’t the Dragons’ only new addition with Damien Cook and Lachlan Ilias arriving from Souths, Valentine Holmes from North Queensland and Emre Guler from Canberra.
It’s fair to say all five have come with a point to prove.
But Gutherson is the man who has understandably attracted most of the attention over the summer given the controversy surrounding his Parramatta exit.
On the back of an injury-plagued season last year, plenty think the now 30-year-old is too slow to play fullback in the modern game.
But Flanagan explained how knee surgery and rib cartilage damage at the back-end of last season would have slowed anyone down.
And since arriving at the Dragons, it’s just been “all-in”.
“When we signed him, he agreed to terms on the Friday and by Sunday he was looking at Airbnb’s down in Wollongong so he could get down straight away.
“Since then he has moved his family down and he loves it.
“And from a football perspective he just gives everything to his teammates.
“Encouragement, support, quality talk. He is the ultimate teammate, and the ultimate competitor.
Clint Gutherson leads the Dragons on a road run. Picture: DragonsSource: Supplied“For example, when he came back in January, we have a group we call it, ‘No, not up to standards’, so they do a bit extra at the end of the day.
“In January (despite Gutherson being among the fittest in the club) he put himself in that group. (Not because he had to be there but because he wanted to do it).
“And that rubs off, where we had five or six others go, ‘Well, if he’s doing it, this is good enough for me’.
“That’s the influence he has on others, sometimes without even saying anything.”
Then last week witnesses at the scrimmage session with Manly told of how Gutherson’s experience and barking orders had such a huge bearing on the Dragons’ defence.
Flanagan explained that while Gutherson may be getting on in years, he certainly makes up for any lost pace with the way he controls the team.
“I always use an example that when I was at the Sharks, say if I didn’t go to a video meeting, I could still be guaranteed that it went the right way because we had positive people to talk. Gal, Wade, Luke Lewis, Mick Ennis … now if I don’t go to a video session, or if I stood outside, I know it would get done properly because he’s in there and he’s teaching others how to do it as well.”
On the field Gutherson’s talk in defence has also made a massive difference.
“If you look at us last year we came 16th on tries scored off last play kicks (when defending). That ain’t going to happen this year with Gutho and his line organisation and scramble D. It has just gone to another level.”
Asked if it ‘pisses him off’ how so many have already declared the Dragons wooden spoon favourites, Flanagan responded: “Egg on the face, mate.
“They all said we were going to be on the bottom last year and we were one win off a final. And we are a better football team without a doubt than we were last year.”
HUNT HAD ‘A FEW BAD HABITS’
Despite what many think, I personally reckon the Dragons will be better off for letting Hunt go for multiple reasons.
Hunt was with the Dragons for seven seasons and in that time they made the finals once (back in 2018), despite Hunt chewing up more than $1 million of the salary cap every year.
On top of that, there was the constant soap opera surrounding Hunt’s uncertain future since even before Anthony Griffin’s departure.
And while Hunt’s try assists statistics suggest the Dragons could struggle to score points without him, Flanagan has a different theory.
“This is not a criticism of Ben but I think our offensive systems created those opportunities for Ben to ice,” Flanagan said.
“We will have those offensive systems this year where it is going to be Lachy (Ilias), Kyle (Flanagan) and Gutho to ice.
“And Ben was a good player but he was getting older and he had a few bad habits as well.”
Make of that what you will after the tit-for-tat episodes of recent months, but I genuinely don’t think Flanagan was intentionally being vindictive, just telling it how it was.
Ben Hunt at Broncos pre-season training after leaving the Dragons.Source: News Corp AustraliaSLOAN PUTS ON A STONE
Now to the young man Gutho has replaced at fullback.
One of the knocks on Tyrell Sloan is that he doesn’t have the physicality defensively to make up for what he offers with the ball in hand.
But Flanagan also revealed how Sloan had put on eight kilos over the off season, which has him ready to claim a spot on the wing this season following Gutho’s arrival.
Flanagan said Sloan had bumped up his weight from 86kg last year to 94kg now.
