Why the Dragons will overlook the most obvious replacement for Shane Flanagan

April 19, 2026 — 5:53am

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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........

© Brisbane Times