St George Illawarra Dragons odds

At first glance, seventh place and a 15-9 record looks like a job pretty well done for the St George Illawarra Dragons.

But the 2018 NRL season could have been so much better for Paul McGregor’s men, who led the comp before falling away sharply at the back end of the year.

Big-money recruit Ben Hunt came in for plenty of criticism when things went south, so the spotlight will be on him when the Dragons suit up for 2019.

Can the Red V put together a complete campaign this time around? Let’s see where they stand in the latest NRL betting markets.

About the St George Illawarra Dragons

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Updated Dragons futures odds

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Best St George Illawarra bets for NRL 2018

There are dozens of NRL futures markets for the Dragons, but where are they likely to return some real value?

Click on the tabs below to get more analysis on these markets:

• Dragons 2018 premiership betting
  St George Illawarra bolted out of the gates last season after starting as one of the favourites for the wooden spoon. The second half of the year was less impressive, however, and they wound up missing finals with a shock loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs in the last round. They are not destined for the cellar in 2018, but nor are they likely to push for top honours.
  
• Top 8 betting
  The Dragons have only themselves to blame for missing out on the finals last season. The most frustrating thing was the difference between the first half of the year and the second, when their rock-solid defence turned to rubble. The question is: will just a little more consistency put the Red V in finals contention, or did a fast start in 2017 mask an otherwise poor campaign? They are a decent chance for finals, but far from a banker.
  
• Dally M Medal betting
  Where would this team be without Gareth Widdop? The Englishman was named at five-eighth in the 2017 Dally M Team of the Year and picked up 24 votes to finish behind only Cameron Smith and Michael Morgan in the Player of the Year count. If you’re backing a Dragon, go for Widdop over new boy Ben Hunt.
  
• Top tryscorer betting
  Can Jason Nightingale or Nene Macdonald score 20-odd tries and outgun the likes of Suliasi Vunivalu, Josh Addo-Carr and Alex Johnston? No. If you want to put money on the 2018 NRL top tryscorer, look elsewhere.
  

2018 St George Illawarra draw

Dragons players to watch in 2018

Ben Hunt
Born: 27/3/1990
Games: 189
Tries: 45
Position: Halfback

A few eyebrows were raised when the Dragons spent millions to secure Hunt on a five-year deal. That investment looked to have gone sour when the Broncos dropped their first-string halfback to the reserves midway through 2017, but he bounced back to play a key role in Queensland’s Origin win and Brisbane’s run to the prelims. The Hunt-Widdop halves pairing looks very promising on paper.

James Graham
Born: 10/11/1985
Games: 360
Tries: 62
Position: Prop

As a product of Merseyside in the UK, Graham knows all about bitter football rivalries. That’s why it was somewhat surprising that the former Canterbury Bulldogs captain announced last year that he was leaving Belmore and moving to Kogarah. Past allegiances aside, the England prop will add fight and experience to St George Illawarra’s front row.

Nene Macdonald
Born: 11/5/1994
Games: 68
Tries: 23
Position: Winger

The Red V will need much more from the wings this season if they are to make any sort of impact on the finals. Macdonald was nowhere near dangerous enough in his first year at the Dragons, finishing with only six tries from 23 games. It might be a case of shape up or ship out for the PNG international in 2018.

St George Illawarra records and stats

• Player records
  Most games: 273 – Ben Hornby and Ben Creagh
  Most career points: 977 – Jamie Soward
  Most points in a season: 234 – Jamie Soward (2009)
  Most career tries: 124 – Matt Cooper
  Most tries in a season: 27 – Nathan Blacklock (2001)
  Most points in a match: 22 – Gareth Widdop, Jamie Soward, Amos Roberts
  
• Team records
  Most consecutive wins: Nine (2011)
  Most consecutive losses: Six (2013)
  Biggest winning margin: 54-0 (vs. Warriors, 2000)
  Biggest losing margin: 10-70 (vs. Storm, 2000)
  
• Dragons NRL history
  Founded in 1998 and playing their first season the following year, the St George Illawarra Dragons are a joint venture between two clubs with very different legacies.

  St George were a powerhouse of the NSWRL. They won 15 premierships between 1924 and 1998, including a record 11 in a row during the ’50s and ’60s. By the time the National Rugby League was formed, only South Sydney had won more first-grade flags than the Dragons.

  The Illawarra Steelers were rugby league’s whipping boys. They won the wooden spoon three times in 17 years of top-flight footy and reached the playoffs only twice, never once playing in a grand final or winning a premiership.

  As the ’90s wore on and the NRL sprang into the existence, it became apparent the Steelers could not survive on their own. Seeing an opportunity to expand both their fanbase and their junior ranks, the Dragons stumped up the bulk of the cash for a new team that encompassed both the swish Sydney suburbs of St George and the working-class coastal region of Illawarra.
  

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