After their seventh straight loss to start the season, St George Illawarra have finally swung the axe with head coach Shane Flanagan departing the club at the start of the week.

And new coach Dean Young has wasted no time leaving his imprint on the Dragons after being handed the job on an interim basis; assistant coach Michael Ennis also exiting stage right.

So, can Young turn his side's fate around just like Keiran Foran has at Manly?

Plus as we get closer to State of Origin, injury woes are mounting for the Blues: star forward Payne Haas set to miss game one.

This week, league reporter, Christian Nicolussi joins national sports editor Neil Breen alongside Zac Bailey from Nine News with all the latest in the NRL.

Read Christian Nicolussi's latest column here and follow all our NRL coverage here.