St George Illawarra Dragons coach Dean Young has implored supporters to stick with the embattled club, which slumped to its 15th straight loss on Saturday night.
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Young pointed to his team's poor completion rate after the Warriors beat the Dragons 30-12 at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium.
Third-choice Warriors halfback Te Maire Martin scored two tries and played a hand in two others in his team's 30-12 win over St George Illawarra Dragons at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium on Saturday, May 23. Picture by AAP
He said his team lost the physical battle, and the poor completion rate made it 'mission impossible' to secure a first win of the season for the winless Dragons.
Yardage errors and poor execution in attack also cost St George Illawarra, which has now lost 11 straight games to start season 2026.
The Dragons have lost their last 15 games, with their last NRL win coming on August 9, 2025.
"We started the game pretty good. We went six from six and started well from that point. I think we're at 61 per cent after that," Young said.
"And I was just saying to the lads downstairs that that's gonna make it really, really hard against the sides that are down the bottom of the competition, but it's nearly Mission Impossible against the side that's coming second.
"So we need to address that, and then I thought we lost the physical battle.
"I thought the Warriors were really good at that. Their back five ran really hard, and we lost the collisions, and then we tried to slow the ruck down off the back of that and then cooked ourselves with six-agains."
On a cold, wet and gloomy night, St George Illawarra were first to score through winger Setu Tu.
The try came after a glut of early possession for the Red V, thanks to a penalty for a high shot. which put Te Maire Martin on report, and then another six tackles after the Warriors played at the Dragons' kick.
St George Illawarra shifted the ball nicely to Hamish Stewart, who busted through a hole and then threw a gridiron-type pass for Tu, who did the rest.
Valentine Holmes added the two to give the Dragons a 6-0 lead after just seven minutes.
But the Warriors then clicked into gear, scoring three unanswered tries, through Alofiana Khan-Pereira, Te Maire Martin and Dallin Watene-Zeleniak to head into half-time with a 14-6 advantage.
It was the same story to start the second half. The Dragons controlled the early moments and had some good ball in their attacking zone, but came away empty-handed time and again.
The Warriors, on the other hand, scored on their first attacking raid of the half, with Martin crashing over for his second try after shrugging off a Clint Gutherson tackle and Blake Lawrie's attempt.
Chanel Harris-Tavita kicked the conversion to see the Warriors lead 20-6 in the 48th minute.
It almost got worse for the Dragons six minutes later, but the bunker ruled that Watene-Zeleniak grounded the ball just short of the try line.
The Warriors didn't have to wait long to pick up their fifth try and second of the game to Khan-Pereira, who was on the end of a nice pass from Martin to dive over in the left-hand corner.
But two minutes later, Christian Tuipulotu crossed for a try in the 64th minute after being put through by Holmes, who duly converted the kick to reduce the Warriors' lead to 24-12 with just over 13 minutes left in the game.
But chasing the game, Luciano Leilua threw a pass deep in his own half, which was gleefully intercepted by Watene-Zeleniak, who cruised in for his second try of the game.
Harris-Tavita added the two to make 30-12 for the Warriors.
To add to the Dragons' woes, Hayden Buchanan was forced off the field midway through the first half with a shoulder injury, while Gutherson, who came into the game carrying a knee injury, suffered a knock to his other knee.
In positive news on the injury front, Young said Jaydn Su'A's calf injury, which happened on Friday during the Dragons' captain's run, kept him out of the Warriors' game, wasn't as bad as originally feared.
Dragons players react after the Warriors cross for a try during their round 12 win at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium. Picture by AAP.
"It's only minor. It's only a small strain and potentially could be right by next week or the week after," he said.
Dragons co-captain Damien Cook, who also injured his ankle late in the game, was confident he'd be right for St George Illawarra's next game.
Cook agreed with his coach that the Dragons needed to be more patient in attack.
"I definitely think our attack on their try line can be a bit better, but that's coming on the back of putting ourselves under scoreboard pressure and looking to chase points," he said.
"We had a lot of work to do in D and didn't get too many opportunities down there, so probably tried to force it too much.
"That's probably something for us to work on next week. But probably going for the last two weeks, there's a lot of good things, we just need to put them all together, when we get up to Brisbane."
This view was shared by Young, who said, despite the losses, he had seen signs of progression from his team in recent weeks.
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"The boys kept on fighting all the way to the end, and that's what I expect," he said.
"I know that we're in a tough spot, and we appreciate all the fans turning up tonight. Where we are sitting on the ladder, and to have so many of those fans turn up, pay their hard-earned, sit in the pouring rain, we appreciate it.
"We've got a fan day tomorrow, and all the boys are gonna be thanking everyone who turns up tomorrow.
"So, stay with us, we're building."
Early Dragons lead fades as Warriors run riot at Jubilee Stadium
The wet, cold and gloomy weather matched the mood of St George Illawarra Dragons supporters at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium on Saturday night after the club slumped to another loss.
The Dragons were first to score and competed well early in the game, but the Warriors ran riot to cruise to a 30-12 win.
St George Illawarra Dragons winger Setu Tu dives over for a try against the Warriors at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Picture by AAP.
The Dragons have now lost eleven straight games to start the 2026 NRL season, with their last win coming 287 days ago.
The latest loss has the Red V the bookies' raging favourite to pick up the joint-venture club's first wooden spoon in its 26-year history.
It all started so well for Dean Young's side.
After a glut of early possession, thanks to a penalty for a high shot. which put Te Maire Martin on report, and then another six tackles, the Dragons crashed out wide after Hamish Stewart busted through a hole and then threw a gridiron-type pass for Setu Tu to pick up and dive out wide for a try.
Valentine Holmes converted from out wide on the Dragons' right side to see the home side jump to a 6-0 lead after seven minutes.
But the Warriors took little time to hit back, capitalising on a St George Illawarra dropped ball, with Alofiana Khan-Pereira beating several flimsy defenders to run 25 metres unopposed and score next to the post.
Chanel Harris-Tavita added the two to level scores at 6-6 in the 13th minute.
The Warriors' try came just a minute after Roger Tuivas-Sheck limped off with what appeared to be a recurrence of the leg injury he carried into the game.
Three minutes later, the visitors were in again, after Martin dummied close to the line and dived over untouched.
To add to the Dragons' woes, centre Hayden Buchanan, himself a late inclusion, was forced off with a shoulder injury.
Tyrell Sloan came onto the field in his place, but slotted in at fullback, with Clint Gutherson shifting into the centres.
St George Illawarra had the better of the next 10 minutes but came up with some wrong last-play options on several occasions in good attacking positions.
And the Warriors made them pay. Making the most of two set restarts, the Warriors quickly shifted the ball to their right wing for Dallin Watene-Zeleniak to cross out wide and extend the Warriors' lead to 14-6 in the 33rd minute.
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It was the same story to start the second half. The Dragons controlled the early moments and had some good ball in their attacking zone, but came away empty-handed time and again.
The Warriors, on the other hand, scored on their first attacking raid of the half, with Martin crashing over for his second try after shrugging off a Gutherson tackle and Blake Lawrie's attempt.
Harris-Tavita kicked the conversion to see the Warriors lead 20-6 in the 48th minute.
It almost got worse for the Dragons six minutes later, but the bunker ruled that Watene-Zeleniak grounded the ball just short of the try line.
The Warriors didn't have to wait long to pick up their fifth try and second of the game to Khan-Pereira, who was on the end of a nice pass from Martin to dive over in the left-hand corner.
But two minutes later, Christian Tuipulotu crossed for a try in the 64th minute after being put through by Holmes, who duly converted the kick to reduce the Warriors' lead to 24-12 with just over 13 minutes left in the game.
But chasing the game, Luciano Leilua threw a pass deep in his own half, which was gleefully intercepted by Watene-Zeleniak, who cruised in for his second try of the game.
Harris-Tavita added the two to make 30-12 to the Warriors, with only seven minutes to play.
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