In from the cold: Flanagan returns to NRL with Dragons top job

Premiership-winning coach Shane Flanagan has beaten Ben Hornby and Dean Young to the St George Illawarra top job, with just the ink on the paper standing between the former Sharks boss and a three-year deal with the Dragons.

Flanagan, who guided the Sharks to a title in 2016, will end a four-year exile from any head coaching gig in the NRL with the appointment. He was de-registered by the league in 2018 for failing to stick to the conditions in his original 2014 suspension.

That 2014 suspension was in relation to a supplements scandal in 2011.

Since his high-profile 2018 ousting, Flanagan has worked with the Dragons between 2020 and 2021 and the Manly Sea Eagles this year. He is expected to see out the season as an assistant coach under Anthony Seibold before moving into a permanent role with St George Illawarra heading into the club’s 2024 campaign.

The decision from within the Red V came to a point at a Tuesday meeting where the board picked between Flanagan, Hornby, and Young. In the end, The Daily Telegraph reports, it was a unanimous decision.

Officials at the joint venture will be eager to get things formalised with the 57-year-old coach, especially considering Jason Ryles—the organisation’s original target—left them standing at the altar just some weeks ago. He has since struck a deal to join the Melbourne Storm staff.

Flanagan is expected to sign a three-year deal until 2026.

While much of the talk around Flanagan vs. Hornby vs. Young was “old boys” against experience, the incoming Dragons boss actually came through the St George system too. He played SG Ball, Jersey Flegg, and President’s Cup for the Sydney side and made his first-grade debut in red and white in 1987. He played three top-grade games for the Dragons before moving on to Wests (42 games) and then Parramatta (33 games).

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He coached Cronulla for 185 matches in two stints, 2010 to 2013 and 2015 to 2018. He won the NRL premiership with the Sharks in 2016 and boasted a 55 percent win rate.

The 57-year-old has already said he plans to keep Ben Hunt playing halfback into the future.

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