Shane Flanagan has been criticised for hurting the confidence of his halves as the Dragons were accused of “shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic” amid their growing playmaker crisis.

The Dragons lost 32-0 to the Cowboys at home to mark their worst ever start to a season and there is no end in sight for their losing streak, which now stands at 10 and counting.

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Flanagan let Lachlan Ilias and Jonah Glover leave last season and star recruit Daniel Atkinson has struggled since taking over at No.7, with reports he will switch with Kyle Flanagan in Round 6.

Braith Anasta is the manager of Ilias and believes Shane Flanagan deserves criticism for all his halves options going backwards under his tenure.

“The halves is an interesting one and I’ll disclose because of Lachlan Ilias’ situation last year, I try and stay out of this as much as I can, but now it’s too late,” Anasta said on NRL 360.

“If you look at Jonah Glover, Lachlan Ilias, (Lyhkan) King-Togia, Daniel Atkinson, there’s four halves he’s had under his coaching. They’ve all gone backwards.

“All of them have had big wraps on them. All of them have had the potential to be first-grade halves. And now we’re at a stage, there’s only one survivor. And who’s that? Kyle Flanagan.

“Now, what happened to the rest of them over the coaching of Shane Flanagan? They’ve all been battered, bruised, confidence, gone. They have to rebuild their games.

“Look at King-Togia on the weekend compared to what he was last year at some point, when he was playing that footy that he was? Like we can dance around it all we like.”

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Daniel Atkinson, Kyle Flanagan and Lyhkan King-Togia are down on confidence.Source: FOX SPORTS

Anasta warned that confidence is key to a playmaker’s performance and believes Atkinson has been badly played out of position.

“I feel sorry for the halves of that club,” Anasta said.

“Atkinson is not a No.7. Their confidence comes through performance.

“It’s through delivering on the field. For a half it’s about running the football, I think. And unfortunately, for Atkinson being a No.7, he’s been too worried because he’s had to of running a whole football team, not focusing on what he does well.

“What he does well is run the football, support, push-up, he’s dangerous, big body. That’s his natural game. It’s what he’s played forever and that’s where we’ve seen him be successful.”

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King-Togia looked like a potential future star last year, but has barely fired a shot in 2026 in limited opportunities.

“Everyone can see he’s gone backwards,” The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read said of King-Togia.

“A lot of people thought he was talented. Flanno obviously thought he was talented.”

Anasta interjected: “Do you lose that in a few months? No, you lose your confidence and he’s lost his confidence badly.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie believes Atkinson has been thrown to the wolves in the No.7 hot seat behind a struggling pack.

“He’s been poor, but he’s been playing out of position, he’s in a new system and he’s a young kid,” Ritchie said.

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However, Anasta pointed out that Flanagan deserves some of the blame for buying him to play a key position that he doesn’t have much experience in at NRL level.

“Who bought him?” Anasta said.

“Who played him out of position? Who bought him as a halfback when he is a running five-eighth and the whole of the NRL knew that?

“It’s not like we’re just saying, let’s pick on Shane. This is through results. It’s through him selecting players, through buying senior players that your saying aren’t standing up, from buying a five-eighth that your saying is a halfback. The list goes on. So there’s poor decisions being made here.”

Atkinson is set to move to No.6, with Kyle Flanagan returning at halfback in Round 6, which Read feels will better suit the balance of the side.

“I actually like the fact he’s considering moving Daniel Atkinson to No.6,” Read said.

“I think that’s the smartest move he’s made in quite some time. Obviously, it depends whether Kyle’s available and Kyle will come straight back in at No.7.

“But I’ve got to say, in terms of Atkinson, he’s under a lot of pressure it seems at the moment and I think it’s really unfair on him because he is not a No.7.

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“He’s never been a No.7. He’s been a No.6. A lot of people think he’s a No.1.

“He’s not a No.7. So, people are having a go at him for not being able to lead the team around the park. Why do they expect him to be able to do it?

“Why can’t Kyle do it? I don’t understand why Kyle hasn’t played that role earlier in the year. He’s played No.7 before. Daniel Atkinson hasn’t played No.7. They shoved him in No.7, and said he was short-term.”

Ritchie agreed moving Atkinson to No.6 will be much better for his game and the team’s attack.

“I think it’s a good move in terms of, I think Atkinson is a No.6,” Ritchie said.

“They can free him up a bit more. He’s a running player. And I think that’s the position and the role he would have liked to have played when they brought him to the club.

“Why he was playing No.7 is up to Shane. I don’t know the exact reasons. But I think swapping them gives them a little bit more potency.”

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However, Read warned that moving the same players around to different positions may not have the effect Flanagan and the Dragons are hoping for.

“I feel like it is shuffling deckchair’s not on the Titanic, that’s what it feels like,” Read said.

“King-Togia wasn’t great. Sloan plays fullback this week. They haven’t wanted to play Sloan fullback for how long now? I mean, he hasn’t even been in the team Tyrell Sloan, so it just feels like they’re moving the pieces around. Jacob Liddle will start this week.

“It feels like this ship’s sinking and you can move the chairs around, but you ain’t plugging the holes.”

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Another option would be to bring in rookie Kade Reed at halfback, but Read and Anasta feel that would be brutal on the young playmaker amid the club’s losing streak.

“It sound like they are not going to play Kade Reed, which I am glad because it is a bit like Joey Walsh, I don’t think you can shove a kid like that into a side that is labouring like they are,” Read said.

Anasta added: “It’s not the right time. I love that kid and I reckon he is going to be a superstar, but throwing him in there now. Just no, give him some time.”