Shane Flanagan has cleared the most significant hurdle in his bid to be Dragons coach after the joint-venture’s board voted unanimously to offer the premiership-winning mentor a deal for next season and beyond.
The St George Illawarra board met on Tuesday to discuss the vacant coaching position, with Flanagan now deemed the club’s preferred candidate after meeting with officials recently.
Terms of a deal are still to be negotiated but Flanagan has made no secret of his desire to return to the NRL coaching ranks in charge of the Red V.
Some sections of the board had reservations about pursuing Flanagan, but those have now been allayed following a meeting at the St George Leagues club. After missing out on Jason Ryles, the decision was made to opt for someone with head coaching experience.
After an initial meeting with Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster and director Ben Hornby, Flanagan reached out to Ben Hunt. Flanagan assured the club captain that he would be used as halfback under his watch, allaying any fears of a permanent switch to hooker.
Flanagan spoke about that conversation during an interview on 2GB last night.
Shane Flanagan is the top target for the Dragons.Credit: Getty Images
Red V powerbrokers are expected to try to negotiate a deal of at least three years with Flanagan. Pending any major setback, he is expected to be installed as the long-term replacement for Anthony Griffin.
Only last week, former Cronulla chairman Damian Keogh, who was at the helm when Flanagan piloted the Sharks to their maiden premiership victory in 2016, said he hoped Flanagan got the Dragons job.
“Personally, I’m a bit surprised that nobody has picked him up as a head coach just given his track record at the Sharks, despite a couple of hiccups there for him,” Keogh said.
“His ability to put together a team to go all the way to win a premiership, there don’t appear to be that many coaches with that direct experience. It’s surprised me that no one has picked him up before.
“He’s the first to admit in the early days of Cronulla that there were a lot of issues around governance … that’s something he would learn from.
“I think his reliability and professionalism, all those areas, are key. From the outside, for whoever goes into that St George Illawarra job, it’s not necessarily going to be a straightforward thing.”
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