St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles Preview
The Dragons are winless in 2026 and Manly can extend that run by winning and covering a 8.5 points line. After piling on 52 points against the Dolphins last time, the Sea Eagles should have too much firepower.
- The Dragons are 0-4 this season.
- Manly have won 2 of the last 3 games as the away team against the Dragons.
- The Dragons are averaging 13.6 points per game this season.
- Tom Trbojevic has scored 5 tries in 4 matches this season.
Head to Head
The head to head stats are pretty even between the Dragons and Sea Eagles with the Saints holding a 6-5 lead since 2019. The two teams faced each other twice last season, splitting the pot with a win each on enemy soil.
St George Illawarra Dragons Remain Winless
The Dragons are officially the worst team in the competition as the only winless team after the first 5 rounds of footy losing to the Titans in Round 3 and backing it up with a scoreless effort in their 32-0 loss to the Cowboys last weekend.
Shane Flannagan is now under enormous pressure and his job will likely be on the line over the next few weeks. Don’t expect to see Flanno in the Shire too much longer if the Saints stay winless.
Last season the Dragons were able to lean on their defence during patches of the season, but are now giving up 29 points per game in 2026. Considering they are averaging just 14 points themselves, this doesn’t bode well for the probability of a victory.
There is simply no creativity in attack, making the least amount of line breaks of any team in the comp (2.8/G) and it goes even more stale when they are close to the line. .
Manly Sea Eagles Respond To Foran
What a response after the sacking of Anthony Seibold and what a way to get up for new coach Kieren Foran. Manly were up 52-0 before switching off and letting the Dolphins put up 3 tries in the last 10 minutes handing Foz his first win as interim head coach 52-18 at Kayo Sports Stadium.
Manly shaped completely different from one week to next. The most obvious example was the production of Haumole Olakau'atu who had 23 runs compared to the 8 he had the week prior against the Roosters.
Jake Trbojevic was also revived making 31 tackles and 8 runs. The effort was something different and the Sea Eagles fed off it.
The challenge now is the consistency to back up last week’s performance again. Manly have the talent there and can obviously put up the points if the effort stays.
I don’t think we can expect another performance of that against the Dolphins but there is enough there for the Sea Eagles to contend for the top 8.