Dragons vs Roosters Prediction: Winless and coachless, but St George can keep it close

| Friday 24th April 2026, 9:37

Friday 24th April 2026, 9:37

The Sydney Roosters’ assault on the NRL Premiership’s top four is expected to receive a boost on Saturday when they face the winless St George-Illawarra Dragons at the Allianz Stadium (16:00 local, 07:00 BST, Watch NRL).

Shane Flanagan has paid for St George’s tough start, with the club confirming his exit this week, so Dean Young is in interim charge for the first time. My Dragons vs Roosters predictions, the latest team news and Betfred’s match odds follow below.

Dragons vs Roosters Betting Tips

Handicap 3-way: Dragons +18 @ 1/1
Total Points Alt 2: Under 46.5 @ 6/4

*odds correct at time of publishing

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Dragons vs Roosters Odds

One look at the league table tells you all you need to know about the probabilities here.

The Roosters are massive 2/11 favourites for the win, implying an 84.6% chance, with the Dragons a distant 4/1. It’s 22/1 for the game to reach golden-point extra-time.

Team News

New coach Young brings in 20-year-old Kade Reed for a first-grade debut at scrum-half, with Kyle Flanagan dropping to the interchange bench after his father’s dismissal.

Mat Feagai switches to the wing to allow for the return of Moses Suli, who's overcome a facial injury.

Jaydn Su’A was handed a three-game ban this week for his head-high shoulder on Cameron Murray last week which earned him the first NRL send-off since 2024.

He’s replaced by Ryan Couchman, who's back from a suspension of his own.

Rugby League Odds

The Roosters don’t make too many changes, with Egan Butcher likely to miss the cut when the 20-man squad is narrowed to 19 before kick-off.

Tommy Talau is included having initially been given the number 22 slot, while Billy Smith is still out with a knee problem.

Handicap 3-way: Dragons +18 @ 1/1

It’s tempting to go extremely big on the Roosters given the differing fortunes of these sides. But the Dragons have been in games for the most part, even if they haven’t won any.

The sacking of Flanagan can send them one of two ways. They could continue to struggle, or they might find the change of regime has a galvanising effect. Manly fans might call it the ‘Kieran Foran impact’.

In only two games this season can you say the Dragons have been well beaten, with most of their defeats coming by margins of 10 or less. Even the 30-12 loss to the Rabbitohs last Saturday was influenced by Su’A’s sending-off.

So I think we’ll see a resilient Dragons this weekend, and even if they are beaten we may witness a closer contest than the league ladder would suggest.

St George with a three-score handicap in their favour is a EVS bet - and that’s punter-friendly for my mind.

Dragons vs Roosters - Handicap 3-Way

Dragons +18

1/1

Bet Here

Odds correct at time of publishing.

Total Points Alt 2: Under 46.5 @ 6/4

One thing the Dragons haven’t had so far this year is cohesion in attack. That’s one of the key reasons they are winless, because their defence has often kept them in matches.

So while the Roosters can rack up points, I reckon St George will be able to limit most of the damage.

My reservations about them being able to get into a slugfest mean that I’m expecting a lower-scoring clash, with all of the last four Dragons games having fallen within the Under 46.5 category.

Dragons vs Roosters - Total Points Alternative 2

Under 46.5

6/4

Bet Here

Odds correct at time of publishing.

You can read all our latest Rugby League Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights Rugby League content hub.