As Shane Flanagan fights for his future as head coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons, two candidates have emerged as possible replacements if he is terminated by the club.
Winless after the opening six matches of the 2026 season, Flanagan’s tenure is nearing an abrupt end despite inking an extension with the club last year.
Already losing to the Bulldogs, Storm, Eels, Titans, Cowboys and Sea Eagles, another loss in the next two weeks before their bye in Round 9 could signal his sacking from his duties.
With his future clouded, Code Sports’ Brent Read stated that assistant Dean Young has emerged as the clear frontrunner to replace him.
However, internal discussions suggest that many believe he doesn’t have the capabilities to lead them to success, given his time on the club’s coaching staff during multiple poor seasons.
“They’ve got to decide. Dean’s been there a long time (and) the club’s struggled for a long time,” Read said on NRL 360.
“I think there’s a view within the organisation that he’s been there while the team’s struggling.
“Even though he’s the logical guy and everyone assumes he’s going to get the job, there are other guys out there.”
Due to this, South Sydney Rabbitohs assistant and former club captain Ben Hornby has emerged as another option.
“Ben Hornby’s the assistant at South Sydney (and) has been under Wayne for a long time. I’m sure they’ll give him some consideration,” Read added.
“Dean will have his nose in front, but the club’s got to decide if they’re going to make wholesale changes, which we expect, then also include the assistants.”
NRL 360 co-host Gorden Tallis added that the Dragons should instead undergo a “whole overhaul” if the end up firing Flanagan from his coaching duties in the coming weeks.
“The Dragons need to make more changes and dare I say, Gus [Phil Gould] went into the Bulldogs. They need to have a whole overhaul on their whole organisation and I keep hearing it’s a merger.
“They need to fix that problem. They’re not even together on the same page.”
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