Kyle Flanagan dumped by Dragons for Anzac Day clash
George Clarke |
Dean Young has made the first major move of his audition to become St George Illawarra coach, benching halfback Kyle Flanagan just a day after his father’s exit from the Dragons.
Young was named as caretaker coach at the Dragons on Monday following the news that Shane Flanagan, who had overseen an 0-7 start as Red V head coach, had parted ways with the club.
Flanagan Sr, football boss Ben Haran and assistant coach Michael Ennis have departed the Dragons in the past 48 hours, with Young wasting no time putting his mark on the side for Saturday’s Anzac Day clash with the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
“Kyle’s position this week will be to cover the halves if something happens to them, or to cover the hooker position if something happens to Damien Cook,” Young said on Tuesday.
“I’ve got a really good relationship with him. I spoke to him about the reasons why, which will stay between us.”
Highly-rated halfback Kade Reed will start in the No.7 jersey for his NRL debut, while Ryan Couchman will replace the suspended Jaydn Su’A in the backrow.
Valentine Holmes has been spared the axe despite struggling to contain Latrell Mitchell in last week’s loss to South Sydney.
But the decision to consign Kyle Flanagan to the No.18 jersey will be the biggest talking point.
After stints at Cronulla, the Roosters and Canterbury, the 27-year-old was brought to the Dragons to be a utility under his father.
The exits of Junior Amone and Ben Hunt thrust Flanagan Jr back into the NRL firing line, where has struggled to live up to expectations.
The decision to drop him from the team will be interpreted as a sign Young is unafraid to make the tough decisions as he bids to become the Dragons’ long-term head coach.
“No one knows the club like me. I was a ball boy when I was five and I’ve been here for 10 years as a player,” Young said.
“I’ve been here multiple times as an assistant coach. I’ve got strong views on where the club’s at.”
Young has previously been an assistant at the North Queensland Cowboys and with the NSW Blues and has given up his role with Laurie Daley’s State of Origin side to go all-in with the Dragons.
“Watching them last weekend you think, ‘Jeez it’s going to be hard to turn it around’,” Daley told Sky Sports Radio on Tuesday.
“But one thing I know about Dean is he’s a hard worker, very knowledgeable and has great relationships with people,”
The closest challenger to Young’s hopes of landing the job on a fulltime basis appears to be fellow 2010 premiership-winning teammate Ben Hornby.
The ex-Dragons halfback has been an assistant at South Sydney for the past six years and has earned rave reviews for his work under Wayne Bennett and his calmness as a caretaker when Jason Demetriou was sacked in 2024.
“He had a little stint as (interim) head coach here a couple years ago and I couldn’t fault him,” said Rabbitohs skipper Cameron Murray.
“It was like he’s been doing it for 20 years. He’s a pretty incredible guy and any club would be lucky to have him as a head coach.
“It’s probably what he’s learned best from Wayne, the simple fundamentals of what create good footy teams and just being consistent with that.”
Hornby had a 6-11 record – which included a five-game winning streak – in the 2024 season.
Back-rower Tallis Duncan said Hornby’s strength was his communication and the ability to explain his gameplan simply.
“He was obviously such a smart footballer when he played, but I feel like sometimes that wouldn’t translate to explaining it down to probably dumb forwards,” Duncan said.
“But he’s got that ability so he can break down the game in a way to make everyone understand it.”
AAP