St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has given his team a much-needed shake-up leading into Saturday’s Wollongong showdown with Parramatta.

The Dragons’ playoff hopes are slipping away after they have lost five of their past seven matches to sit in 11th spot on the NRL ladder.

After a week off for their third and final bye of the season, Flanagan has overhauled his line-up for the WIN Stadium stoush with the Eels.

Maroons centre Valentine Holmes is back in the starting side after a strong performance in last week’s State of Origin upset win over NSW in Perth with rookie Nick Tsougranis making way.

Wingers Christian Tuipulotu and Corey Allan are also back in the backline after overcoming hamstring injuries.

Tyrell Sloan has not been selected amid reports he will be granted a mid-season release to join another club despite having 18 months left on his contract.

The Dragons’ other winger from their 30-18 last-start loss to traditional rivals Cronulla was Nathan Lawson, who has been dropped to the reserves.

Former Queensland second-rower Jaydn Su’A will make his comeback from a month out with an ankle problem, sending Luciano Leilua to the interchange.

Gerringong forward Hamish Stewart has retained his place on the bench as he looks to continue his impressive first season at NRL level.

The match will hold extra significance for St George Illawarra co-captain Clint Gutherson who will be taking on his former team for the second time since Parramatta controversially told him to look elsewhere in the off-season.

The Eels triumphed 23-22 when they first met this season in Round 5 with former Dragons star Zac Lomax booting the winning field goal.

Parramatta have moved off the bottom of the ladder by beating Gold Coast 36-20 on Sunday but if the Dragons want to have any chance of sneaking into the finals, they need to get revenge on the Eels for their nail-biting loss earlier in the season.