St George Illawarra’s season continues to go from bad to worse with Jaydn Su’A suspended, a State of Origin star under the microscope and a void of leadership at the club.

The Dragons suffered a 30-12 loss against the Rabbitohs on Saturday as Latrell Mitchell scored four tries to leave the Red V winless from seven games to start the season.

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Su’A was sent off in the second half for an ugly high shot on South Sydney’s Cameron Murray, and on Sunday the NRL Judiciary handed the Dragons forward a three-game suspension.

The send-off was the first in the NRL since Justin Olam was given his marching orders back in 2024.

Fox League’s Jake Duke described Su’A’s tackle as “reckless”, while Dragons assistant coach Michael Ennis said: “He got that one wrong.”

“When you’re 0-6 and you’re a senior player, sometimes you take it upon yourself to try and change the course of the game,” Ennis said.

“He didn’t get that one right. We’ll support him and get him through the next couple of weeks. He’ll be a big loss for us.”

Su’A is in the final year of his contract at the Dragons and this week it was confirmed he will be joining the Parramatta Eels from next season on a three-year deal.

Origin star exposed as $1m Dragons problem

The Dragons are in a world of pain and the Red V’s struggles have not been helped by Valentine Holmes’ dip in form.

The 30-year-old centre was exposed by the South Sydney’s left edge as Mitchell and Alex Johnston scored tries with ease, taking advantage of Holmes’ inability to make key defensive tackles. Holmes’ poor defensive efforts led to three of Mitchell’s four tries.

Holmes has played 22 State of Origin games for Queensland but he looks a shadow of the player he once was and based on current form, it would be a surprise if he is picked by Billy Slater for this year’s series.

After Mitchell scored his first try off a scrum, Steve Roach said: “Don’t really know what Val Holmes was doing there. Just stood there and looked at Latrell.”

Code Sports described Holmes, who is contracted at the Dragons until the end of next season, as the club’s “$1 million dollar problem”.

The vision of Johnston waltzing past Holmes down the left wing to score an easy try was particularly damning.

Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane said Holmes was “in no-man’s land” in defence on that play.

“Val Holmes standing on the wing, absolutely no idea what he’s doing,” Luke Keary said on Fox League.

“Alex Johnston’s the winger. Val Holmes just standing on the wing, lets Alex Johnston just walk past.

“He’s a leader. If I’m Shane Flanagan, I’m absolutely filthy at halftime. One of your senior players, Queensland State of Origin player and Australian player, just standing on the wing.

Mal Meninga added: “You’ve got to look up and we aware. There’s just no awareness of where the game’s at.”

Leadership void at the Dragons

With Clint Gutherson out injured and co-captain Damien Cook initially named on the bench, there was confusion over who exactly would captain the Dragons against the Roosters.

Coach Shane Flanagan explained Luciano Leilua and Kyle Flanagan would share the on-field leadership duties, with halfback Flanagan to make the captain’s challenges.

Ultimately, Cook started the game as captain when Jacob Liddle was ruled out with injury, but the coach’s pre-match comments pointed to a void of leadership in the team.

Fox League’s Yvonne Sampson said: “Shane Flanagan told us before today’s game, ‘I usually have experienced players that I can rely on’.

“He just feels like he doesn’t have that, especially with his forward pack at the moment.

“We asked the question about the captaincy, he was a little bit avoidant. The plan was to start Damien Cook off the bench, then Jacob Liddle picked up a hamstring injury before kick-off, and that elevated Cooky into the starting side.

“There is obviously a void of leadership and trust there that he can really rely on someone,” Fox League’s Yvonne Sampson said.

Luke Keary added: “As soon as that team list came in, you go, ‘OK, who’s going to be captain here?’ You look down the page and you go, ‘Well, there’s not really a name that stands out.”

“He’s tossed up Kyle as the captain’s challenge. There’s a lot going on there.”

Mal Meninga said: “We criticised Val and I think it’s warranted. Why wasn’t he captain if Damien wasn’t starting?

The Dragons play the Sydney Roosters next weekend in the traditional ANZAC Day clash, and an eighth straight loss would put Flanagan’s position as coach under even more intense scrutiny.

“As a staff member and a good friend of Shane’s, it’s a tough period for us as a club. Players down on confidence, really important week this week,” Michael Ennis said on Fox League.

Originally published as Dragons star cops ban, Origin player exposed as $1m liability