Football’s worst-kept secret is confirmed! Dragons announce controversial mentor Shane Flanagan as struggling club’s new coach
- Shane Flanagan will coach the Dragons
- Came after Jason Ryles rejected the role
- Ends five-year exile of ex-Sharks coach
Shane Flanagan will be named the next head coach of St George Illawarra, ending the winner’s five-year exile as premier hot seat of an NRL club.
At the end of the Dragons board meeting on Tuesday, it was unanimously decided that the former Cronulla boss would become Anthony Griffin’s permanent successor from 2024.
The Dragons confirmed to AAP that Flanagan had been offered the job.
The parties will now start working out his contract length, salary and other details.
Top-rated assistant coach Jason Ryles was initially the favorite to become the Dragons’ next full-time boss after a six-game losing streak cost Griffin his job last month.
Shane Flanagan, pictured while assistant coach of the Dragons in 2020, will return to the club as head coach
Flanagan guided the Sharks to their drought-breaking premiership in 2016, before the supplements saga saw him banned from head coaching roles
When Dragons great Jason Ryles, pictured as Roosters assistant coach earlier this season, turned the role, it was up to Flanagan to take
When Ryles fended off the Dragons to join Melbourne as an assistant, Flanagan took the wheel ahead of former Dragons players and current NRL assistants Dean Young and Ben Hornby.
Flanagan was the only candidate on that shortlist with head coaching experience, having finished his 185-game tenure with the Sharks with a winning streak of 55% and the premiership in 2016.
Flanagan is currently an assistant coach at Manly.
Last week, the Sea Eagles did not confirm whether the 57-year-old would be released mid-season to start working for the Dragons.
With a 2-2 record since taking over from Griffin, caretaker manager Ryan Carr is set to see the season come to an end, but St George Illawarra have been keen for their new manager to start working on the roster as soon as possible.
The Dragons have had a tough few years and are last on the ladder this year. Can Flanagan turn the struggling club around?
The Dragons have struggled to attract top talent in recent seasons.
They are seeded last on the ladder through 15 rounds and face the very real possibility of missing a fifth straight year of finals.
Since their merger in 1999, the Dragons had never gone more than three years without a football final.
The Saints hope that Flanagan’s winning experience and his previous stint on the staff as an assistant can help convince current players to stay despite the recent lack of success.
Even before being guaranteed the job, Flanagan had made contact with captain Ben Hunt to encourage the halfback not to follow close confidant Griffin out the door.
Flanagan approached skipper Ben Hunt (pictured) even before he was confirmed as new manager to implore him to stay with the Dragons
The Dragons job will be Flanagan’s first head coaching role in the NRL since he was dropped by the league in late 2018 after it emerged he had stayed in touch with Cronulla during a suspension. a year incurred for his role in the club’s supplement scandal.
As part of his punishment, Flanagan has only been allowed to apply for head coaching positions without seeking an NRL exemption since November 2021.
He returned to training as an assistant with the Dragons in 2020.
He left when Griffin became head coach in 2021 and this season joined the Sea Eagles under new head coach Anthony Seibold.
Seibold previously said he backed his assistant to land the Dragons job, despite Flanagan having two years to fulfill his contract at Brookvale Oval.
