Why the Dragons will overlook the most obvious replacement for Shane Flanagan
Dean Young will need a significant change of heart from elements of the St George Illawarra board if he is any hope of being the next full-time coach of the Dragons – assuming Shane Flanagan can’t produce a miracle and hang on to his job.
Young is an assistant coach at the Dragons, but is behind the likes of South Sydney assistant and former Dragons captain Ben Hornby and former Eels and current Leeds coach Brad Arthur to be the next man in charge at Wollongong. The best Young can hope for is the job on an interim basis – which would be the easy and logical choice – if Flanagan can’t turn things around fast.
The Dragons board meets on Tuesday, and the coaching job will no doubt be high on the agenda.
The strange thing is Young – who played 209 games for the Dragons, including a premiership win in 2010 – is highly regarded elsewhere, but just not at the Dragons.
Interestingly, a big part a reason he is on the outer is because of his surname. The club has spent years dealing with criticism of Shane and his halfback son Kyle Flanagan. They don’t want the same talk about Dean and his famous father Craig Young.
Craig played 234 games for the Red V, won premierships in 1977 and 1979, and was captain of the club at just 22 years of age. He is also on the St George District Rugby League board.
Dean Young has been interim coach at the Dragons before, when he replaced Paul McGregor in 2020.
If Dean fails to secure the coaching job at the Dragons, he may be forced to look at a number of issues aside from his surname.
People at the club reference an interview he did for a position some years back as an influential moment. The Dragons still discuss the Zoom-style interview where they say Young turned up wearing a training singlet. That has stuck in the memory of some. But I have been told that he was actually wearing a club polo shirt, which is reasonable.
Young’s role in the exit of Francis Molo from the Dragons in 2025 is also an issue. Molo claimed at an end-of-season review he was encouraged to drink alcohol when he was trying to stay away from it. He exited the club as a result in March the following year.
Young has never discussed his role in Molo’s exit. I have been told he praised Molo as a leader but suggested a greater role off the field at events and club functions to help the younger players. Young knows what has been said and has told people he disputes the way Molo used him as an excuse to leave the club.
Young has the backing of the likes of Wayne Bennett to become a head coach one day. Young has taken significant steps to broaden his coaching education, such as spending time with the Cowboys as an assistant to get a different perspective on rugby league.
Perhaps the biggest issue for Young is that he has been a part of Dragons’ failures for too many years in his role as an assistant. These are all points worth considering as the Dragons weigh up their options for now, next year and beyond.
Why PVL wanted Kalan Murdoch for J-Mac doco
Without even a passing interest in racing, this columnist was drawn in to watch the documentary on star jockey James McDonald.
His story was beautifully shot and told in a documentary that was interesting because of the subject but also the way it came into being. It was commissioned by Racing NSW, which means it was the baby of chairman Peter V’landys. And even more fascinating, the director was Kalan Murdoch, the son of Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch. Lachlan, of course, is the son of media tycoon Rupert.
Kalan has never been on our radar. Lachlan has obviously had plenty of coverage in this column, more so in the years post-Super league.
V’landys and Lachlan – who is chairman of News Corp, which is the majority owner of the Broncos – have a great working relationship, and Lachlan was at the first Las Vegas game where Brisbane featured alongside Sarah’s favourite side, the Sea Eagles.
When asked why Kalan was selected for the project, V’landys said they met by chance and the racing boss was very impressed with him.
“The intention of the project was to show someone outside racing, and particularly the younger generation, the human side of racing,” V’landys said. “Kalan fitted both requirements and he absolutely nailed it.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from people who previously had no interest in racing.”
It was an excellent production, and you can be sure V’landys will use him on any future projects. So far, the doco has passed without much mention, but that may change in the future.
Chooks will never return to the coop
The Roosters have privately given up on bringing back two of the biggest fish that have escaped their usually strong net.
When Joey Manu and Joseph Suaalii left the club, there were numerous reports they would one day return. The problem is, the Roosters have been outspent and can’t hope to get close to the riches of rugby.
Suaalii is on $1.6 million a year, and the outside deals he has with high-end brands such as Range Rover and Louis Vuitton leave the kid who grew up in Sydney’s west on easy street in Double Bay.
Rugby Australia is also said to be helping fly Suaalii’s parents to games.
It is an unbeatable deal, and the only thing that league can offer him is a well-paid challenge.
The money Manu is making in rugby dwarfs Suaalii’s deal. He is said to be on about €1.3 million ($2.15 million) a season with Racing 92 in France. It is huge money, and it is little wonder the Roosters have moved in a different direction.
Only family would bring Manu back.
Even getting Mark Nawaqanitawase back to Bondi Junction would be a huge challenge. He leaves at the end of the NRL season to take up a two-year deal worth about $3 million with Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan.
There is also increasing talk that Roosters record breaker Daniel Tupou has decided to make this his last year in the NRL. The Roosters winger is the club’s top try-scorer with 187 and he can become their most capped player if he stays injury free. Tupou has played 294 games and is fifth on the all-time list for the Roosters, where Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is on top with 310. If Tupou can avoid injury and suspension this season, he’d get there.
Tupou is rumoured to be looking at a season in Japanese rugby.
Peters’ family to meet Chiefs’ chiefs
Papua New Guinea-bound coach Willie Peters won’t be leaving Hull KR anytime soon.
He’s got a title to chase before his move to the NRL and isn’t expected to set foot in the country until the World Cup at the end of the year.
His wife Kera and son Jaxon will instead be making the long trip from the north of England to Papua New Guinea in the coming days – getting a first-hand look at the city that will become their permanent home next year.
PNG Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson and general manager Michael Chammas will host the visit, showing the Peters family around Port Moresby for a few days ahead of the club’s 2028 NRL entry.
For a nation that wants a strong connection to its team, seeing the coach’s family touch down more than a year before a ball is kicked won’t go unnoticed.
There’s no doubt some locals would have preferred PNG legend Adrian Lam or Kumuls coach Jason Demetriou in the role. But Peters is winning them over. Gestures like this one from his family will only help.
They will be in Port Moresby for four days before rushing home to watch Hull KR’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington on May 11.
Super night for Prince Harry and Meghan
Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh was the driving force behind getting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to the Waratahs’ clash with Moana Pasifika on Friday night.
Waugh played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final against England – which Jonny Wilkinson won with a drop goal in extra time for the visitors – that Harry attended. Harry was out and about with the England and Wallabies teams after the game, so Waugh understands Harry loves his rugby.
Waugh sent a note to Harry’s camp inviting them to a rugby game while they were in town. They said he’d be open to it but that he and Meghan would only be in Sydney for one night.
As luck would have it, it was the same night as the Waratahs v Moana game at Allianz, won by 29-14 by the home side.
There was a short video call with Harry’s people in the US and few emails back and forth, and they confirmed their attendance. There was a quick security walk through on Friday at Allianz with the Venues NSW people and aside from that it was low maintenance.
Brand new approach for Cleary
Brand Nathan Cleary is going from strength to strength. And keen observers of this photo will notice that he has now got what appears to be his own brand symbol, NC7.
It looks fantastic and is a smart play given his growing marketability. He is now the face of Olympia Massage Chairs, adding to his deals with Adidas, Kia, Nine Entertainment and League Stars.
“I’m both super proud and delighted to be partnering with Olympia, who are the market leaders in Australia in massage chairs and portable devices,” Cleary said.
“As my career has evolved, I’ve learned the importance of rest and recovery and my Olympia devices help me get the best out of my body each and every day.”
Army kept waiting for Guymer
A local army regiment turned up on Friday for a photo shoot with Parramatta Eels ahead of Anzac Round and to celebrate their special jersey. Some of them took a day off work for the shoot and brought along weapons and vehicles.
We were told they were kept waiting for more than an hour and that only one Eels player, Charlie Guymer, turned up. Parramatta say they originally informed the army they would have a player there between 2pm and 4pm. He turned up just after 3pm after the Eels had told the army on the day they would arrive at 3pm.
The army were also given 150 tickets to Parramatta’s clash with the Warriors.
Tallis’ beef with Broncos boils over
Our item from a few weeks ago detailing a crisis meeting between the Broncos and Fox Sports boss Steve Crawley has had significant fallout.
The meeting between Brisbane’s media man Grant Williams and Crawley discussed the input of Fox Sports and Triple M expert Gorden Tallis when it came to the Broncos. Tallis has been relentless in his criticism of the club and, more particularly, coach Michael Maguire.
That matter was addressed by Williams, as we told you a few weeks ago.
It was reported last week that Williams and Tallis were involved in a heated exchange after the Broncos beat the Titans. The blow-up was in response to the story becoming public in this column.
Williams and Tallis saw each other after the Broncos-Titans game and Williams offered a handshake. Tallis tore shreds off Williams.
The Titans’ part-owner used language that was extreme even in a football environment. His behaviour was included in a report by the NRL ground manager.
The Broncos made it clear they felt that coverage of the incident on Triple M was one-sided and inaccurate. Triple M host Ben Dobbin witnessed the exchange, but he did not bring up the vitriol that was directed at Williams, even though he saw it first-hand, when he presented the story and asked a question of Tallis on air.
Dobbin has told people he witnessed the incident, but did not hear the entire exchange. That is why he did not go hard on Tallis.
There are claims the incident was caught on CCTV.
It seems the NRL is happy to be allowing owners to abuse officials from other clubs in front of witnesses. That’s a bigger problem than any issue that may exist between Tallis and Williams.