The St George Illawarra Dragons are reportedly weighing up releasing five players at the end of the 2024 NRL season.
Three of those players have already been mentioned as potential candidates to leave the Red V, who are in the midst of the early stages of a full scale rebuild under new coach Shane Flanagan.
Jack Bird would appear the most likely to depart the Red V, with the utility – who has been out of sorts in recent weeks – backflipping on taking up his player option at the Red V for 2025.
He has now been linked with the Wests Tigers, who are looking to add more experience to their own side as Benji Marshall aims to steer them away from the bottom in 2025.
The other four players who are believed to potentially be on the way out are Blake Lawrie, Mikaele Ravalawa, Connor Muhleisen and Dan Russell according to a News Corp report.
Ravalawa was first linked with an exit from the Dragons a number of weeks ago, with his form seeing him out of first grade in recent times.
His defence is a major concern for coach Shane Flanagan, who prioritises that side of the game. The Fijian has failed to adapt, and while he is contracted with the club moving forward, he has been linked to a move to the English Super League.
Lawrie being told he is free to move on if he finds a suitable club also comes as no surprise. He is one of the few players at the Red V who have not made strides forward this season.
Despite being in the Origin conversation just over 12 months ago, his form this season has seen him barely able to hang onto a first-grade spot at the joint-venture.
Elsewhere, both Muhleisen, who is a talented Dragons’ junior but has failed to break through at either hooker or in the halves, and Russell, who signed with the club ahead of 2023 after a long stint in the QLD Cup, are both viewed as ‘unlikely’ to be retained.
St George Illawarra have few roster spots remaining for 2025 and have already signed Damien Cook and Valentine Holmes, while Flanagan has made it clear one of the remaining spots will go to a prop if possible.
The Dragons have been linked with chases for Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Daniel Saifiti and Corey Horsburgh in recent times,
while they also previously were in the market for Addin Fonua-Blake, who has signed with the Cronulla Sharks for 2025, and Stefano Utoikamanu, who will go to the Melbourne Storm.
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