St George Illawarra Dragons: a NRL club finding its digital voice
Last year, I wrote about Wests Tigers and what deliberate digital investment can do for a club’s identity and momentum, not just more content but clarity of intent, visual coherence and alignment.
✨This year, my early nomination for most improved digital presence is the St George Illawarra Dragons
Scroll their feed from 2025 into this season and the shift is clear. The previous output wasn’t poor; it was functional, standard match graphics, predictable captions and safe framing of players. It did the job, but lacked a cohesive creative direction. Now a discernible POV runs through everything. The visuals feel sharper, but the more significant change is structural. Short-form video has shifted from reactive documentation to narrative construction. Moments are extended across multiple posts and follow-ups, signalling planning rather than reaction. Turnaround is quicker, edits are more considered, and the output suggests confidence rather than caution.
The Dragons are leaning into personality; for years, they’ve had players who had more to show, yet the brand often felt slightly overshadowed. At times, players seemed more visible through Helen Stamatakos’ TikTok (i’m a big fan) than through the club’s own channels. This preseason, that tension has been reframed as an asset. Players are positioned as characters with journeys rather than interchangeable names on a team sheet, and even lighter content, such as pre-game fit checks, humanises them beyond 80 mins.
The Setu Tu story captures that recalibration. Rather than a routine debut announcement, the club foregrounded context and vulnerability, prompting fans to respond in the language of aiga, faith and pride.
That narrative was immediately tested in Round 1 in Vegas, which opened the season in front of 45,719 fans and ended in defeat for the Dragons. Crucially, the storytelling didn’t retreat at full time; a follow-up video extended the Setu arc, reinforcing that this was deliberate narrative construction rather than a one-off emotional spike tied to a win.
In previous seasons, that stage combined with defeat could have quickly shifted tone. Instead, supporters spoke about culture improving, pride returning to the jersey, sticking through highs and lows, and how the “new look” social media was “off the charts”. The dominant tone wasn’t frustration but belief in direction. The broader Vegas campaign helps explain why. Integrating NRL Roastie into the trip widened the narrative beyond owned channels and signalled cultural confidence rather than control, reinforcing that this was a more mature digital approach.
When supporters talk about culture, pride and momentum after a loss, it signals that identity has been strengthened beyond a single result. If the Dragons sustain this approach, the conversation around the club won’t just centre on the ladder; it will centre on direction and belief, reinforcing that digital is integral to brand perception, supporter attachment and commercial strength