'On contract next year': Shane Flanagan quizzed on future of exiled Dragons star Lachlan Ilias

Shane Flanagan has given a rather blunt response when asked about the future of Dragons halfback Lachlas Ilias at the club.

After being brought to Wollongong as the first-choice No.7 this season, Ilias was axed early in the campaign and was never brought back into the first grade line-up.

The 25-year-old instead toiled away in NSW Cup, orchestrating a lengthy winning streak and steering St George Illawarra into the finals of the reserve grade competition - even when the NRL side struggled for wins and fell out of top-eight contention.

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It has led to plenty of question marks, with player manager Braith Anasta publicly calling out the fact Flanagan hadn't brought Ilias back into the team and instead selecting his son Kyle at halfback and young gun Lhykan King-Togia in the five-eighth position.

Anasta has intimated in recent weeks that he had been in discussions with the club over where Ilias stood moving forward, especially with Daniel Atkinson arriving next year.

But despite the former Rabbitohs pivot seemingly slipping down the pecking order, Flanagan was adamant nothing had changed when asked at his post-match press conference following a 40-20 loss against the Panthers.

"He's on contract next year," the coach said.

"They've got a [Cup] game in 20 minutes and hopefully he plays well.

"We made a decision earlier in the year and Lhykhan [King-Togia] has had his moments as well ... but he's here next year." 

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Since being dropped back to reserve grade, Ilias has laid on 14 try assists in 17 games.

This season, Flanagan managed to register just seven try assists in 24 games, while King-Togia finished with nine try assists in 18 appearances.

While the future of Ilias is up in the air, Flanagan did admit that there would be some other players moving on from the Dragons at season's end.

Jack de Belin will join the Eels, fellow veteran forward David Klemmer remains unsigned and Ben Murdoch-Masila looks set to finish his rugby league career.

Michael Molo, Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Corey Allan are also expected to leave, while Tyrell Sloan and Blake Lawrie have been told they are free to depart despite having a year to run on their deals with the joint venture.

"There will definitely be a few move on," Flanagan said.

St George Illawarra ended their season with eight wins and 16 losses, finishing in the bottom-four and missing out on the finals for a seventh-straight year.

Their final defeat came at the hands of reigning premiers Penrith on Saturday afternoon.