Brutal Dragons reality Flanno sacking can\u2019t mask<\/a><\/p>\nDragons CEO confirms Flanno departure | 01:45<\/p>\n
WHO ARE FRONTRUNNERS TO REPLACE SHANE FLANAGAN?<\/p>\n
Young has to be the favourite right now after being named head coach for at least the rest of the season, opening the door for him to stay on long-term.<\/p>\n
Young and Ben Hornby currently lead the list of contenders, alongside a less likely list comprising the likes of Brad Arthur, Michael Ennis, Matt Ballin and Jason Demetriou. <\/p>\n
While Lancaster wouldn\u2019t be drawn on whether the replacement coach required a history at the Dragons as a prerequisite for the top job, he said the long-term interests of the Dragons would be at the centre of every decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever takes control of this club understand there still be significant pressure and expectation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about making the right decisions for the right reasons and working on the club\u2019s success.\u201d <\/p>\n
Young has been an assistant at the Dragons for several years and was a member of the Dragons playing group during their premiership in 2010. The Dapto Canaries junior played all 207 of his NRL games at the Dragons, and is the son of Craig Young, a Dragons legend. <\/p>\n
He has coached in the Dragons youth system since 2013, and has a laundry list of fans including NSW coach Laurie Daley, whom Young assisted during last year\u2019s Origin Series. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a first-grade coach every day of the week,\u201d Daley told Sky Sport\u2019s Big Sports Breakfast. <\/p>\n
However, some critics suggest Young is too close to the current failed systems at the Dragons \u2013 and that the side requires a fresh injection to turn things around. <\/p>\n
Enter Hornby. <\/p>\n
Hornby currently serves as a Rabbitohs assistant under Wayne Bennett and holds a special place at St George Illawarra, having captained the side to their drought-breaking premiership in 2010. <\/p>\n
Hornby is an Illawarra junior and played all 273 NRL at the Red V. Among other roles, Hornby held the title of interim coach at South Sydney in 2024. <\/p>\n
Hornby didn\u2019t suffer fools in his playing days, quickly learning from Bennett and senior leaders on how to best dismantle tricky media questions and how to handle pressure. <\/p>\n
Of the other contenders, someone like Arthur has a history of taking a rebuilding club all the way to the grand final after his success at Parramatta and could be a perfect option for this specific job.<\/p>\n
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR KYLE FLANAGAN?<\/p>\n
Like his father, Dragons halfback Kyle Flanagan has weathered his share of criticism in 2026 as the Dragons attack fails to fire. <\/p>\n
The Dragons formally backed the 27-year-old at Monday\u2019s press conference, citing his contract until the end of 2027. <\/p>\n
\u201cKyle\u2019s a contracted player until the end of 2027 and we will provide every means possible to support Kyle,\u201d said Watsford. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been overly great in terms of how they\u2019ve been treated [by the media], but we will continue to wrap our arms around them as a club as we move forward.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Dragons re-signed Flanagan in August 2025 for a further two-years, and have paired him alongside off-season acquisition Daniel Atkinson in the halves through the first seven games of 2026. <\/p>\n
The pair have visibly struggled to steer the Dragons in attack, with the side boasting the worst attack in the competition \u2013 averaging just 14 points in their seven games. <\/p>\n
While Kyle\u2019s time at the club is assured, his time in the Dragons\u2019 No. 7 jersey is not. <\/p>\n
There is mounting pressure to replace Flanagan at half and move the incumbent into a utility role while the Dragons try and reverse their form. <\/p>\n
Kyle Flanagan.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
WHAT HAPPENS WITH DRAGONS\u2019 RECRUITMENT?<\/p>\n
St George Illawarra had imposed a freeze on recruitment earlier this month while the club evaluated its coaching situation. <\/p>\n
At the time, it was thought the move would give recruitment boss Daniel Anderson additional flexibility to reshape the roster. Critics argued it reflected deep internal instability. <\/p>\n
In any case, Anderson has barely got his feet since being appointed to the Head of Recruitment and Pathways in July. It is thought that Flanagan and Haran\u2019s exits will give him more influence and autonomy in steering the club\u2019s future direction. <\/p>\n
The Dragons have failed to lure big names to the club in recent years, instead relying on a roster of more experienced signings including Clint Gutherson, Valentine Holmes and Damien Cook. While each has brought leadership and steadiness to the club, they lack the speed and athleticism that once led them to Origin and Test call-ups. <\/p>\n
Conversely, the Dragons have been criticised for not properly developing younger players for the NRL stage. The South Coast region has long been a nursery for rugby league talent, however the Dragons\u2019 system has struggled with converting prospects to genuine NRL stars \u2013 often losing out to rival clubs. <\/p>\n
Part of Flanagan\u2019s tenure was ensuring the club had an eye to the future, and his oversight here is thought to be another contributor to the axing. Flanagan has footed the blame for several promising names exiting the Dragons, including Ben Hunt, Bud Sullivan, Lachlan Ilias and Jonah Glover. <\/p>\n
The consensus among several players is that they weren\u2019t developing under Flanagan\u2019s coaching. <\/p>\n
The most pressing issue now for the Dragons recruitment team is retaining what talent is left. <\/p>\n
Last week, Origin enforcer Jaydn Su\u2019A turned down an option to extend with the Dragons for next season, instead inking a three-year deal with Parramatta. <\/p>\n
The one silver lining in the Dragons\u2019 recruitment is the acquisition of South Sydney powerhouse Keaon Koloamatangi for next year, on a five-year $5.5 million deal. Amid the increasing uncertainty at the Dragons, Koloamatangi assured fans over the weekend that he wouldn\u2019t renege on the deal. <\/p>\n
Eleven members of the Dragons\u2019 top 30 squad are coming off contract in November \u2013 meaning the St George Illawarra squad of the future is likely to look vastly different to today. <\/p>\n
THE VALENTINE HOLMES DILEMMA <\/p>\n
The Dragons\u2019 million-dollar man, Valentine Holmes, was deemed a million-dollar liability against the Rabbitohs last weekend, with poor defensive reads and a general lack of visible effort during play. <\/p>\n
Holmes is arguably emblematic of an undercurrent of cultural issues at St George Illawarra \u2013 a shadow of the player who one firmly held the limelight in Origin and Test arenas. In recent weeks his game has languished under the current Dragons\u2019 structure. <\/p>\n
Most recently, Holmes\u2019 efforts against the Rabbitohs were heavily criticised by Fox League \u2013 leading to three of Latrell Mitchell\u2019s four tries. <\/p>\n
\u201cVal Holmes standing on the wing, absolutely no idea what he\u2019s doing,\u201d Fox League commentator Luke Keary said of Holmes\u2019 performance on Saturday. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlex Johnston\u2019s the winger. Val Holmes just standing on the wing, lets Alex Johnston just walk past. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a leader. If I\u2019m Shane Flanagan, I\u2019m absolutely filthy at halftime. One of your senior players, Queensland State of Origin player and Australian player, just standing on the wing. <\/p>\n
Mal Meninga added: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to look up and we aware. There\u2019s just no awareness of where the game\u2019s at.\u201d <\/p>\n
Young is expected to put a rocket under the 30-year-old centre, who is off-contract at the end of 2027. <\/p>\n
Valentine Holmes has struggled this season.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR SHANE FLANAGAN?<\/p>\n
The next move for Shane Flanagan is tricky to forecast. <\/p>\n
He has proven experience as an NRL coach, having won a premiership with the Sharks in 2016 and showing occasional promise as the Dragons\u2019 leader in recent years. <\/p>\n
However, it will be difficult for Flanagan to argue some of the recruiting and selection blunders that have happened on his watch at the Dragons. <\/p>\n
No doubt the 60-year-old will take some time to re-evaluate in the wake of the Dragons\u2019 announcement. <\/p>\n
Flanagan has plenty of experience in both coaching and the media to call upon. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St George Illawarra has pulled the trigger on coach Shane Flanagan, announcing the former premiership winner has \u201cmutually…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[4558,54497,8082,300596,64,63,689,60177,299768,299766,299750,21686,19098,20536,53254,19061,300589,4420,29045,4437,299765,54493,216008,300591,763,5330,6086,300588,300582,84598,300590,29043,300595,267720,6406,56527,11639,50875,248584,32917,284506,761,762,158,677,300586,778,219558,52764,668,29643,701,25365,300594,180204,300593,300597,17989,4583,24571,300585,47874,85,31582,4563,158815,300584,1080,11737,300587,300581,300598,47480,81210,4412,300592,300583,1651,141444],"class_list":{"0":"post-619941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-alex-johnston","9":"tag-andrew-lancaster","10":"tag-anthony-seibold","11":"tag-attack-fails","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","15":"tag-australian-player","16":"tag-ben-haran","17":"tag-ben-haron","18":"tag-ben-hornby","19":"tag-ben-hunt","20":"tag-burning-questions","21":"tag-coaching-job","22":"tag-coaching-situation","23":"tag-coaching-staff","24":"tag-converting-prospects","25":"tag-damien-cook","26":"tag-daniel-anderson","27":"tag-daniel-atkinson","28":"tag-dragons-ceo","29":"tag-dylan-egan","30":"tag-exclamation-point","31":"tag-first-grade-coach","32":"tag-fox-league","33":"tag-head-coach","34":"tag-interim-coach","35":"tag-interim-coaching-job","36":"tag-interim-replacement","37":"tag-jason-demetriou","38":"tag-joint-venture-outfit","39":"tag-jonah-glover","40":"tag-languishing-player-recruitment","41":"tag-laundry-list","42":"tag-laurie-daley","43":"tag-luke-keary","44":"tag-mal-meninga","45":"tag-matt-ballin","46":"tag-media-coverage","47":"tag-michael-ennis","48":"tag-mutual-agreement","49":"tag-national-rugby-league","50":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","51":"tag-nrl","52":"tag-oceania","53":"tag-off-season-acquisition","54":"tag-origin-series","55":"tag-paul-mcgregor","56":"tag-premiership-winner","57":"tag-press-conference","58":"tag-pressing-issue","59":"tag-queensland","60":"tag-recruitment-team","61":"tag-replacement-coach","62":"tag-rugby-league-talent","63":"tag-selection-blunders","64":"tag-senior-leaders","65":"tag-senior-players","66":"tag-shane-flanagan","67":"tag-silver-lining","68":"tag-snap-press-conference","69":"tag-special-place","70":"tag-sports","71":"tag-st-george","72":"tag-st-george-illawarra-dragons","73":"tag-steve-price","74":"tag-struggling-halves-combination","75":"tag-sydney-roosters","76":"tag-team-tips","77":"tag-top-coaching-job","78":"tag-tricky-club-factions","79":"tag-tricky-media-questions","80":"tag-two-horse-race","81":"tag-utility-role","82":"tag-valentine-holmes","83":"tag-valentine-holmes-dilemma","84":"tag-visible-effort","85":"tag-wayne-bennett","86":"tag-youth-system"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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