Dragons coach Shane Flanagan has had his coaching, character and crowning glory – Cronulla’s 2016 premiership win – torn down by a man who played a crucial role in that historic title, James Maloney.
Word has filtered through from Brisbane of Maloney’s brutal take-down of Flanagan, highlighting the tension between the two.
Maloney was speaking at a fundraising lunch for the Sydney-based Pass It On Clothing charity at the Port Office Hotel in Brisbane on the Friday of Magic Round. He was there alongside former NRL players Michael Buettner, Jeremy Latimore and Dallas Johnson.
Maloney was asked on stage about the best coaches he had played under, and he offered Craig Bellamy (Storm), Trent Robinson (Roosters) and Ivan Cleary (Panthers), while saying Flanagan had taught him “f— all”.
“I didn’t learn a thing off him,” Maloney said.
Maloney also told the interviewer to, “ask Flanno how he felt being my assistant in 2016”, leaving the room of 140 footy fans in stitches.
Shane Flanagan led the Sharks to their first NRL title in 2016.Credit: Getty Images
We asked Maloney about his relationship with Flanagan, and he said he had nothing to do with him.
“Book me for a function and I’ll tell you even more,” he said.
Flanagan did not respond when contacted for comment.
There was no indication Maloney and Flanagan had a troubled relationship during their 2016 premiership run, but Flanagan would often joke about what a pest Maloney was.
Sharks fans celebrate with James Maloney after the 2016 grand final.Credit: Getty Images
Flanagan does not need Maloney’s input right now as the Dragons struggle to play up to their potential.
Previously, two other members of Cronulla’s premiership team, Paul Gallen and Chad Townsend, had a public falling-out – but they have since made up.
Best western option?
The NRL looks to have made a big mistake by appointing Seven West Media director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie as the chief executive of the Perth Bears.
Not because he is a novice CEO. Not because of his lack of league knowledge. And not because he decided that horoscopes and comedy skits belonged on Channel Seven news bulletins. But because he is not as well-loved in Western Australia as many believe.
North Sydney Bears supporters were jubilant when their comeback to the NRL, via Perth, was confirmed. But the appointment of their CEO has been less warmly received.Credit: Steve Siewert
De Ceglie was editor of the Kerry Stokes-owned The West Australian from 2019-2024, but his Bears appointment was barely acknowledged by the anti-league, pro-AFL newspaper. That points to the lack of fondness Stokes has for him and the game. If De Ceglie was recruited, at least in part, due to his perceived close relationship with Stokes, it’s an early concern for the NRL.
The WA government is not thrilled by his appointment either, while league bosses throughout the game were shocked.
Captain’s Dogged determination
Stephen Crichton showed how selfless he is by taking his place in the Bulldogs side on Friday night. The Canterbury skipper was carrying an injury – thought to be a groin or quad – but placed the team ahead of his own Origin ambitions.
Stephen Crichton played through an injury for the Bulldogs on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
Crichton is viewed as a future Blues captain. His inability to kick goals on Friday was the biggest clue to the concern he has, and it will be interesting to see how the next 48 hours play out. Crichton’s cool head and leadership was crucial in the Bulldogs’ vital 24-20 win over the Roosters.
Trell a one-man ban
Latrell Mitchell has been silent and deadly this year, leaving the mainstream media in his wake. His sublime form in the big moments and match-winning efforts have all taken place under a self-imposed media ban, which has pleased his club and team, but has left the media wanting more.
Mitchell has maintained his silence this year, and did the same for a portion of last season, and his football is definitely starting to show the benefits. The tricky thing is that he’s about to be thrust into the State of Origin arena, where the expectation is that all players speak to the media.
Latrell Mitchell seals the win over the Broncos last weekend – and probably a return to the NSW Origin line-up.Credit: Getty Images
Mitchell is an engaging interview subject when he wants to be, and while his presence in the Blues team will draw more viewers on Origin night, his thoughts may attract even greater attention to the game.
It’s the delicate situation that the experienced Blues media team are dealing with. Whenever the media ask to speak to Latrell, the response from the Rabbitohs is the same. Souths’ theory is that he will continue to play well and speak to the media next year.
Experienced Nine presenter James Bracey has even taken to on-air pleas to Latrell to try to get him to speak during coverage of games on Channel Nine. In the past, Mitchell has been comfortable speaking on game days, but after his amazing cut-out pass against the Roosters in round five, and then his stunning field goal against the Broncos last weekend, the media have been left to guess at his thoughts as he trotted off the field a silent winner on each occasion.
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds and coach Michael Maguire speak to the media after another loss.Credit: NRL Photos
Critics go overboard with Madge
The most surprising thing about the attack on Brisbane by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was that they didn’t blame Michael Maguire for the treatment of Buck the Bronco. He’s been blamed for everything else this week.
PETA want Brisbane to stop letting Buck the horse run around the ground on game nights.
The attacks on Maguire have been easy to launch because the Broncos have yet to hit their stride. The purported issues at the Broncos are apparently because Maguire is too hard on his team. That’s the very reason Brisbane hired him and fired Kevin Walters.
Then there was the kerfuffle over the team going on a boat cruise in Sydney before their loss to the Rabbitohs last weekend. It has been suggested the defeat was down to the Broncos players being out of their routine. At no point has it been mentioned that Maguire took the idea to the leadership group, and they endorsed it.
To think that he would have just sprung it on them without asking the players is as silly as some of the criticism. While the Broncos are losing, though, Maguire is an easy target – particularly for those with an axe to grind.
Cameron Smith would be a great Kangaroos coach.Credit: AP
Cam’s true Roo
If Mal Meninga lands the Perth Bears coaching job, the obvious choice to take over as Kangaroos coach would be former skipper Cameron Smith.
An Immortal in waiting, Smith is highly credentialled and an obvious coach of the future. He played under Meninga in the green and gold, so he could continue the culture Meninga developed in his years as the head coach.
Smith has dipped his toe into coaching with Queensland recently, as an assistant to Billy Slater, and it was significant that when he decided to leave that job last year, the Maroons lost.
Smith is a busy man with family and work, but coaching the Kangaroos may just fit in with his life.
Brad Fittler was the first name that sprung to mind as a national coach, but after his Origin stint with NSW, and the way he was targeted by sections of the media, you could understand if he wanted to stick to his job as a Nine commentator.
Dib in frame for PNG chair
Former Bulldogs chair Ray Dib is in line to be the inaugural chair of the new Papua New Guinea NRL team – if it actually enters the competition.
There have been doubts about the progress of the team, which many see as a cash grab and little else. Dib has a good working relationship with PNG chief executive Andrew Hill, and would be a good choice.
May a ‘changed man’ after rehab stint
Former Panthers star Taylan May says his stint in a mental health facility has changed him and his approach to life.
Taylan May says he is a changed man.Credit: Getty Images
The 23-year-old was sacked by the Panthers a year ago after a number of off-field incidents. May was also facing domestic violence charges and was subject to the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy. Those charges were dropped in March, and May is now eyeing a return to the NRL.
I spoke to May recently, and he opened up on how deeply his sacking by the Panthers affected him.
“I got suicidal,” he said. “I had no support. And that’s what made me realise that footy friends are, like your school friends, you don’t really have them, like you thought you had them. I found out who my real boys are.
“Now that I’m starting to come back to footy, people are texting me now, but they weren’t before.”
May said he needed to escape, and spent time in a mental health facility.
“I spoke to my parents, and I thought I needed something, an escape or retreat,” he said. “Honestly, I was mentally drained from everything, and I just needed to get away.
“I got to meet a lot of people, like a lot of different people, but they’re very switched on. But yeah, it was very good. It was probably the best thing that could happen for me, and it opened my eyes up to a lot of things. I feel like I came out of it totally different; my mindset changed, my beliefs have changed. Just, yeah, I’m a whole different person now, and you sort of see that in my demeanour.”
He said the facility was far from a holiday, though.
“I started off in … a bit of a low section,” he said. “And then they moved me up to the high dependency unit. And, man, the stuff I saw there. Like, there’s people that are claiming they were satanists … like they were the devil. There’s people claiming that they were God.”
He said the experience definitely changed him.
“I just didn’t like the person that Taylan was,” he said. “Obviously I wasn’t an angel, but Taylan needed to change, and it’s just me changing. As it turns out, it was the best thing to happen. I’m grateful for it. It was also the hardest, one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. I think it’s changed who I am as a person, and it’s opened my eyes up to a lot of different things. And it’s probably the best thing that’s happened to me.”
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