Hornby pitted against Young in fight to revive Dragons
George Clarke |
South Sydney players have lavished praise on Ben Hornby, backing the former St George Illawarra premiership winner to return to the Dragons and revive the struggling NRL club’s fortunes.
Hornby, who was halfback in the Dragons’ last premiership-winning team in 2010, appears one of the leading contenders to replace Shane Flanagan after his axing as head coach on Monday following a winless start to 2026.
Currently at the Rabbitohs working as a No.2 under Wayne Bennett, Hornby appears set to go head to head with former teammate Dean Young for the Dragons role.
Young has been named interim coach following Flanagan’s departure and will lead the bottom-placed Dragons into Saturday’s Anzac Day clash with the Sydney Roosters.
But beyond this season, Souths players insist Hornby is primed to make the step up to a senior coaching position.
“He had a little stint as (an 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 enjoyed a 6-11 record – which included a five-game winning streak – in the 2024 season when Souths sacked Jason Demetriou after six rounds.
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.”
Meanwhile, NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley is looking for a new assistant following Young’s move into the interim head mentor role at the Dragons.
“I spoke to him last night and he can’t do the role this year,” Daley said on Sky Sports Radio on Tuesday.
“Being a fulltime interim head coach won’t allow him that opportunity but he’s excited.
“Watching them last weekend you think ‘jeez its going to be hard to turn it around’… but one thing I know about Dean is he’s a hard worker, very knowledgeable and has great relationships with people.”
AAP