Debutant Kade Reed has dismissed concerns about his ability to handle the physical rigours of the NRL as St George Illawarra co-captain Clint Gutherson tipped the halfback to make an instant impact for the bottom-placed Dragons.
Reed is the big winner of the shake-up overseen by interim coach Dean Young, who has named the 20-year-old to start for his NRL debut in the halves on Saturday against the Sydney Roosters.
The playmaker takes the role of Kyle Flanagan, who was dumped to the bench on Tuesday a day after the sacking of his father Shane Flanagan.
In the final weeks of his Red V tenure, Flanagan snr was facing growing calls to blood Reed but always issued caution over the flyweight pivot’s ability to defend against bigger bodies.
But Reed, who will be in the sights of Roosters forwards Angus Crichton and Victor Radley, was quick to quash those fears, citing regular match-ups with Dragons back-rowers Luciano Leilua and Jaydn Su’a in training as proof that he was ready.
“I think tackling Looch and Su’a every day for the last two years has definitely helped,” Reed said.
“In a way it doesn’t get a lot harder than those two and doing that every day, I think that’s definitely been a big thing.”
Gutherson, who remains sidelined with injury, claimed Reed was more than capable of handling a potential baptism of fire on Saturday.
The Anzac weekend game at Allianz Stadium between the Roosters and Dragons is widely viewed as one of the most intense fixtures of the year.
“What a memory it's going to be for him and if he goes out there and plays well, it's going to just skyrocket him,” Gutherson said.
“We just need to be able to support him and get around him and make sure he's ready to go.”
Gutherson stressed the Dragons, who have lost their last 11 games across the 2025 season and this year, needed to use Flanagan’s sacking as a turning point to revive their campaign.
The Dragons co-captain expressed sympathy with Kyle Flanagan following his demotion to the bench.
“I’ve spoken to Kyle the last couple of days to make sure he's all right as a person," Gutherson said.
“There’s a lot bigger things (in life) than rugby league but it's about making sure we look after each other.
“He's still an important part of our squad and he's going all right.
“The best way for Kyle is to get back into footy and I think he's still on the bench so he might be able to play.
“We’ve just got to stay around him and make sure he's still part of this squad and he knows that.”
