Despite sitting winless with a 0-5 record to begin the 2026 season, veteran Daily Telegraph journalist Dean Ritchie has urged the St George Illawarra Dragons to remain patient and stick with head coach Shane Flanagan.

This comes as the pressure has intensified on Flanagan and his coaching future with mounting scrutiny following the club’s worst start to a season since the merger between the Illawarra Steelers and the St George Dragons.

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Although he admitted that Flanagan looks like a “beaten man” and “broken”, Ritchie believes that the answers don’t lie with another coaching overhaul, which would follow in the steps of Manly Sea Eagles’ termination of Anthony Seibold, a fortnight ago.

“Shane Flanagan in that press conference, I don’t think I’ve seen a bloke look more broken than Shane Flanagan. He had no answers,” Ritchie said on NRL 360.

“He looked like he was about to burst into tears to be honest with you but I’ve spoken to Flanno and he says he’s not a beaten man.”

Shane Flanagan is in trouble.Source: FOX SPORTS

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Instead, he took aim at everyone other than the man who led the Cronulla Sharks to the premiership in 2016 including the administration and, in particular, the players.

“I don’t think he’s ready to be sacked just yet. I think we have to look at this rationally and take blame across the board – the players, the administration, the coaching staff, everybody,” he added.

“Now, you look at those players. They have been incredibly poor.

“Gutho looks gassed. Val Hplmes has done nothing. Jadyn Su’A has done nothing. Damien Cook has been average at best, so the senior players need to take a key responsibility.”

This caught the attention of co-host Braith Anasta, who weighed in and suggested that it was Flanagan who recruited much of the current roster, arguing that he must also take responsibility for the squad’s makeup and the position they have found themselves in.

Braith Anasta injected into the debate, “So who signed them?”

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“Shane Flanagan signed them,” Ritchie hit back.

Anasta continued, “So the leaders have got to stand up, but who signed those leaders?”

Meanwhile, Code Sports’ Brent Read agreed with Anasta, stating that it is the coach’s responsibility to get the best out of the players and although the blame should be shared it is hard to get rid of an entire playing group than one individual.

“It’s also the coaches responsibility to get the best out of the players and its easy to point the fingers at the players but we all know how this works,” Read added.

“You can’t clean out a locker room but you can clean out a coaches box.”