Kangaroos coach tells Dragons to 'take some bloody accountability' as $3m of talent left in limbo

The Dragons have reportedly put all contract negotiations on hold and players have been told to "take some bloody accountability" as the heat on the struggling team intensifies.

St George Illawarra slumped to a ninth straight loss with a 32-0 thumping at the hands of the Cowboys on Saturday.

The Red V's 0-5 start to the season is their worst since St George and Illawarra merged in 1998.

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The criticism has understandably come for coach Shane Flanagan, given he's largely assembled the squad that is currently playing the worst football in the entire NRL.

His insistence on picking his son Kyle in the team, even despite pedestrian performances, has been a point of frustration for fans over the past year, too.

But even with Kyle sidelined due to injury in round five, Flanagan's Dragons failed to fire a shot against North Queensland, leaving the Kogarah Oval fans livid with their own team.

Now, News Corp reports the list management department has been instructed to pause all negotiations with current players.

That includes co-captain Damien Cook as well as Blake Lawrie, Christian Tuipulotu, Emre Guler, Hame Sele, Luciano Leilua, Nathan Lawson, and Tyrell Sloan.

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All up there's about $3 million of talent unsigned for next year.

Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters delivered an impassioned defence of Flanagan when speaking on Fox League over the weekend.

"Take some ownership of your performances, take some bloody ownership and don't throw that stupid pass," Walters said of the Dragons players.

"Get up and play the ball properly. Get on-side, kick (and) chase. All those hard things in the games, the effort areas.

"They need to pick that up as well and show your coach that you bloody care. That's what they need to do."

On Nine's Sunday Footy Show, league icon Andrew Johns also defended Flanagan and pointed out the Dragons' roster is simply no good.

Broncos great Sam Thaiday disagrees, saying the squad is talented enough to win games.

"They really need to concentrate on the simple, basic things at the moment and getting back to playing some simple footy and winning games," Thaiday told Nine's Today.

"They've got a good list there, a good roster. Players just need to knuckle down and listen to their coach.

"I know there's a lot of pressure on Shane Flanagan but I think he just needs to simplify things.

"He's got a great a great team that plays eyes-up footy, they play a bit of off-the-cuff style of footy. If he just lets them play, lets them have some fun out there, I reckon we will see them win some games.

"Well done to the Dragons for hitting the pause button on player negotiations for the time being and just concentrate on winning games."

One NRL coach has already been sacked this season, with Manly axing Anthony Seibold after just three games - all losses.

Like Seibold, Flanagan signed a contract extension just last year.

The Dragons face the Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs, and Roosters in the coming weeks before a round nine bye.