In fact, he should have been in this position from the start even before the club extended Shane Flanagan.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776909012_441_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
And for anyone trying to question his character, I honestly don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n
I know Dean well from my early days at the Dragons. Craig Young was head of football at the time and Dean was one of the senior players. One thing I\u2019ll always remember about Dean was his ability to connect a club from top to bottom.<\/p>\n
He was never someone who sat above the group. He sat within it.<\/p>\n
I remember one pre-season when I was just 17 years old and Dean went out of his way to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing. That meant a lot. He had a real knack for making people feel comfortable and included.<\/p>\n
That is why I can only imagine how valuable he\u2019ll be for this current Dragons team, particularly one that needs to lean heavily on its younger and emerging talent if it\u2019s going to climb out of the hole it finds itself in.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to have someone like Dean there for those young kids coming through. He won\u2019t just support them, he understands what it means to be a Dragon. He understands the history of the club, the standards, the pride and the weight of that jersey.<\/p>\n
And that can\u2019t be overstated, especially when you consider the divide that still seems to exist within the club.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear there is still tension between the Illawarra and St George factions. I don\u2019t know every detail of what is happening at board level, but it\u2019s easy to see the impact from the outside.<\/p>\n
Just look at the number of times the club has frozen contracts. First with Paul McGregor, then with Shane Flanagan. That points to a lack of trust and a lack of empowerment for the people in charge.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s telling that the only person to have real success at the club in the joint venture era is Wayne Bennett.<\/p>\n
Wayne oversaw every part of the football program and ran the show. It took someone of his stature to come in, clear the room and take total control for the Dragons to have success.<\/p>\n
That says a lot.<\/p>\n
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n Matty & Cronk analyse Dragons downfall | 04:06<\/p>\n If anything, the Dragons could learn something from what Benji Marshall is building at the Wests Tigers, another joint venture club. Benji, as a club legend and former great, understands both sides of that merger. Dean Young is in a similar position at the Dragons.<\/p>\n The last thing you want to do is bring in someone from outside who doesn\u2019t understand the factions, the history, the politics and, for lack of a better term, the skeletons in the closet.<\/p>\n Dean could have easily shifted his focus to landing another role in the NRL. He came very close to getting the top job at Newcastle.<\/p>\n But instead, he stayed at the Dragons, warts and all because he wants to see change. More importantly, he knows what that change needs to look like.<\/p>\n He\u2019s perfect for them.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not just a club great in his own right, he\u2019s the son of a Dragons legend. And now he\u2019s working alongside another club legend in Ben Creagh as chief operating officer. There wouldn\u2019t be too many people who bleed more red and white than those two.<\/p>\n Sure, some people might argue that Dean isn\u2019t the right choice because he was part of Flanagan\u2019s coaching staff. But that argument doesn\u2019t hold much weight for me.<\/p>\n The head coach sets the strategy. The head coach sets the framework, the style of play and the direction of the team. Assistant coaches are there to carry out that vision. They cut the footage, deliver the messaging and do the hard yards behind the scenes.<\/p>\n Dean would have put his own spin on things, of course, but ultimately he was working within Shane\u2019s system.<\/p>\n Now he is the one calling the shots.<\/p>\n That matters.<\/p>\n MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n BURNING Qs: Dominoes to fall after Flanno axing; ugly recruitment truth laid bare<\/a><\/p>\n TEAMS: Flanagan dumped as Dragons boss swings axe; another Bronco hurt<\/a><\/p>\n St George Illawarra Dragons interim coach Dean Young. Photo: Glenn CampbellSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n And we\u2019ve already seen signs of that. He\u2019s put his fingerprints on the team by dropping Kyle Flanagan and blooding young half Kade Reed. He\u2019s also started shaping his own coaching staff after the departure of Mick Ennis, which is another positive sign that he\u2019s been given genuine authority.<\/p>\n This is Dean\u2019s one chance to impress at the Dragons, so it\u2019s only fair that he has the people around him that he wants.<\/p>\n He\u2019s one of the smartest rugby league minds I\u2019ve been around, and one of the best leaders too.<\/p>\n He is definitely the right man for the job.<\/p>\n That said, don\u2019t expect instant success like we\u2019ve seen with Kieran Foran at Manly. The Dragons simply don\u2019t have that sort of roster.<\/p>\n