Las Vegas is an unlikely place to discover the future of Australian rugby league, but it was here, over poached eggs and avocado at a pre-season breakfast table, that Hamish Stewart learned exactly what his teammates think of him. The 21-year-old lock, still just one NRL season into his career, has been earmarked by St George Illawarra's co-captains as the man most likely to one day lead the club.
"I think he'd be a great future captain of the Dragons," said co-captain Damien Cook, unprompted, when asked about the club's leadership pipeline. His fellow co-captain, Clint Gutherson, was equally direct. "Hamish bleeds red and white, his dad has been here for 25 years, he's been around this club since he was six years old, and they are the type of players you want leading clubs," Gutherson said. "It's definitely in the future for him."
Stewart, to his credit, received the praise with a measure of grounded humility that itself speaks to his leadership credentials. "It flatters me to hear that," he said. "Obviously, I'd love to do it, I've still got a lot to learn, and if it comes, it comes. I'm happy to keep learning off Gutho and Cooky. But captaining the club one day would be cool."
The young forward from Gerringong played 19 NRL games last season after entering the year hoping simply to make one appearance. Among those outings was an 80-minute effort out of position on an edge against Cronulla, a performance that signalled to the coaching staff he possessed the engine and the temperament to handle sustained top-grade football. Head coach Shane Flanagan, speaking to reporters as first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, described Stewart as a rare type. "He's one of those kids who could probably play 80 minutes in the middle, which is rare," Flanagan said. "I like his temperament, he's calm, he knows his footy, and he just loves his footy."
Flanagan was careful not to accelerate the timeline on the captaincy conversation. "That is a fair way down the track," he said, "but he's growing in that space." The caution is understandable; placing the weight of expectation on a player who has barely completed his rookie year can stifle the very development it is meant to celebrate. What is notable, though, is that it is the players themselves, not the coaching staff, who are driving the conversation.
Newly appointed assistant coach Mick Ennis has drawn comparisons between Stewart and his Gerringong teammate Dylan Egan, and the partnership that Josh Jackson and Dale Finucane once formed at Canterbury. Both Jackson and Finucane went on to become NRL captains. Others in the game have compared Stewart's build and movement to a younger Isaah Yeo, the Panthers skipper who has set the benchmark for the modern lock forward. Those are weighty comparisons, and Stewart would be wise to treat them as inspiration rather than expectation.
Stewart is part of what appears to be a genuine generational renewal at the St George Illawarra Dragons, a group that includes Egan, the Couchman brothers Toby and Ryan, and Jacob Halangahu. Egan, currently in Las Vegas for media duties and rehabilitation from a ruptured ACL, is expected to return to the field in May. The club extended Stewart's contract through to the end of 2029 after reported interest from the Sydney Roosters late last season, a move that signals just how highly the Dragons' administration values their emerging forward.
Away from the field, Stewart's story carries an interesting family dimension. His oldest sister, Grace, represented Australia in hockey at three consecutive Olympic Games, competing in Rio, Tokyo, and Paris. "I went to none of them," Stewart admitted with a grin. "I had to play footy. I didn't want to miss any game time for Gerringong or Illawarra." It is the kind of anecdote that reveals something genuine about a young man who, for all the leadership talk swirling around him, still sees himself primarily as a footballer trying to earn his place.
The NRL's 2026 season opens this weekend with St George Illawarra facing Canterbury at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a fixture few outside the club's most loyal supporters expect them to win. The Dragons are in a rebuilding phase, and sensible analysts would resist the temptation to project too far ahead on the strength of one promising season from a teenager from the Illawarra coast. Cook himself acknowledged the need for patience. "You never want to put any pressure of putting that tag on him too early," he said, "but if you're asking me for my honest opinion, I think he'd be a great future captain of the Dragons."
For now, Stewart is content to learn, to chip in at training and in team meetings, and to occasionally take a hundred American dollars off his best mate on the golf course. The captaincy, if it comes, will come in its own time. The early signs, at least, are promising.