Updated ,first published
Dean Young will take over St George Illawarra as interim head coach for the remainder of the season after the Dragons parted ways with Shane Flanagan on Monday.
Only eight months after the club gave him a two-year contract extension, the last-placed Dragons confirmed Flanagan would not coach another game for the Red V.
Flanagan looked like a broken man after the Dragons slumped to their seventh straight loss this season against South Sydney on Saturday.
And rather than go another week watching Flanagan forced to deal with scrutiny about his future, the club made the call for him.
Young, one of Flanagan’s assistants, was appointed late Monday in a caretaker role, and is expected to be one of the contenders for the permanent job. Also in contention is Young’s good friend and current South Sydney assistant Ben Hornby.
Fellow assistant Mick Ennis is another option, while a left-field candidate to be interim coach was Mark “Piggy″ Riddell, who was sounded out about the role late last week.
Young, a 2010 premiership-winning player, stepped in as the Dragons’ interim head coach for six games in 2020. He has been coaching for 14 years and is also an assistant coach of the NSW Blues.
“It’s a privilege to lead this club,” Young said. “This current group of players mean a lot to me. I want to support them through this transition.
“Our focus right now is staying connected as a team and being the best version of ourselves on Anzac Day.”
The Dragons came under fire for not having an interim coach in place immediately after the Flanagan news was made public.
Young and Ennis told the players they were not required at a planned training session on Tuesday, and to clear their heads and be ready for a big training day on Wednesday.
Club legend Young, 42, whose father Craig is also St George royalty, is expected to front the media on Tuesday. The club’s board will meet at 9.30am and is expected to ratify Young’s appointment.
It was reported on the weekend Young needed to win over some sections of the board if he were to be given serious consideration for the job full-time.
One of the hot topics Young will need to address is whether to hand a debut to young playmaker Kade Reed, with immortal Andrew Johns on the weekend urging the club to give him a start at the expense of under-performing halves Kyle Flanagan or Daniel Atkinson.
Addressing Dragons supporters, St George Illawarra chairman Andrew Lancaster said: “Our results on the field and our performance is not to your expectation, it is not to our expectation, and we’re clearly taking steps to address this.
“Changes have been made, and we’ll continue to evaluate changes that we need to make. We got to this position as a club, and we’ll get out of this position as a club. We are all accountable for where we are – players, coaching staff, management and the board.”
Flanagan, 60, paid the price for a miserable run of form in which the joint venture lost its first seven games of this season, and 11 in a row going back to round 23 of 2025.
Flanagan’s exit was sealed by a 30-12 defeat to South Sydney on Saturday night.
Club officials said Flanagan and football manager Ben Haran left by mutual agreement.
Flanagan had been diplomatic about his future at the Dragons when asked multiple times recently.
In a press release issued by the club on Monday, he said: “I care deeply about this club and the playing group, and after discussions with the club, we agreed this was the right time for a change.
“I’d like to thank the players, staff, members and fans for their support, and I wish the club well for the future.”
The Dragons face the Roosters in Sydney’s annual Anzac Day NRL clash at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
“We will undertake a thorough process regarding the future of the football department, including the appointment of a permanent NRL coach. We will do that carefully, efficiently, and with the long-term interests of the Dragons at the centre of every decision,” Dragons CEO Tim Watsford said.
“Our focus now is on providing stability for the playing group and staff, supporting everyone through this transition, and ensuring the team is as prepared as possible for the weeks ahead, most notably this week’s Anzac Round clash against the Roosters.”
Flanagan was in charge of Cronulla when they won their only premiership a decade ago, and took over the Dragons, a club he once played for, at the start of the 2024 season.
He becomes the second NRL coach shown the door this season, following Manly’s decision to axe Anthony Seibold after three defeats to start their campaign.
The Dragons last won a premiership in 2010 under the coaching of Wayne Bennett and have been through a number of coaches since then.
Steve Price, Paul McGregor, Dean Young, Anthony Griffin, and Ryan Carr all served as either full-time or interim coaches since Bennett’s departure at the end of 2011, before Flanagan’s arrival.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
