Dragons looking to bring star home
Rod Wishart is Dragons club legend. The former wing played for the Illawarra Steelers and St George Illawarra Dragons for his entire 11-year NRL career. However, his son, Tyran Wishart, has spent his entire career in Melbourne with the Storm. The Dragons would like to change that.
According to reports from multiple outlets in Sydney and Melbourne, the St George Illawarra Dragons have identified the younger Wishart as their top choice to replace Ben Hunt, should the 34-year-old leave the club.
Wishart joined Melbourne in 2022. He has scored 14 goals and 14 tries in 55 appearances for the Storm in his three seasons with the club.
Contract complicates things
The reports linking St George Illawarra Dragons to Tyran Wishart say the club are willing to work very hard to bring the star back home. However, his current deal with Melbourne makes this complicated.
Wishart’s Storm contract runs through the end of the 2026 NRL season. Melbourne also have the option to extend the deal for another year. This means that Dragons cannot start formal talks with Wishart until after 1 November.
Most outlets say this is a problem for the Dragons’ chances of signing Wishart. Others say it is actually not that big of an issue. The Dragons reportedly view Wishart as a long-term target. Their hopes are to sign him after the 2025 season, provided that they can convince Melbourne to grant Wishart early release from his contract.
Player also wants move
One of the reasons St George Illawarra Dragons are willing to go all-in on signing Wishart is because the player actually wants a move as well. Reportedly, Wishart is desperate to be playing more regularly.
The 24-year-old sees himself as a starting halfback. At Melbourne, he is behind Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster in the halfback pecking order. Neither of those players look likely to leave anytime soon, so Wishart will have to move to get the playing time that he wants.
St George Illawarra Dragons are an ideal landing spot for Wishart due to his family connections and boyhood fandom. To be blunt, Wishart will not have much competition at Dragons either.
The club were lucky to finish 11th, many betting sites had them as Wooden Spoon contenders. The same is true this year. Most NRL betting sites have them in the bottom four of teams most likely to win the 2025 NRL premiership. PlayUp gives the Dragons $34 odds of winning the NRL, which is second worst in the league.
