Shane Flanagan will not chase after the Dragons coaching job following Anthony Griffin’s sacking, revealing he is yet to be contacted by the club in the aftermath of Tuesday’s move.
Flanagan’s name had been heavily linked with the Dragons role in the months leading up to Griffin’s ousting after he spent time at the club in 2020 as an assistant under Paul McGregor, but Roosters assistant Jason Ryles appears to be the frontrunner to take over as Griffin’s full-time successor.
When asked about the Dragons opening, Flanagan was adamant that the club had not reached out to him.
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“We’ve joked about it for 10 weeks now, but I’ve had no communication with St George Illawarra, nothing at all,” he told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports Radio.
“I promise you, 10 years ago or five years ago, a younger, more aggressive Shane Flanagan, who’s learned a lot of lessons along the way, would’ve been making phone calls, ringing the CEO, ringing the chairman, that’s not my go anymore.
“They know where to get in contact with me. Obviously they’ve got a different direction and they’re going that way, good luck to them.”
There have been rumours suggesting former Dragons CEO-turned board member Peter Doust is standing in the way of Flanagan and the Dragons coaching job, something the 2016 premiership winner admitted he’d heard.
“If there is (bad blood between he and Doust) I have no idea,” he said.
“I’ve probably met Peter Doust once in my life and said hello and goodbye, that’s about it.
“I’ve heard those rumours … but I’m bigger, wiser and smarter these days.
“I’m comfortable where I’m at and if someone wants me to coach their NRL side I’ll do it, but at this stage it’s definitely not St George Illawarra.”
Griffin sacked after being spotted leaving training
Flanagan was critical of the Dragons for waiting until midway through this season to send Griffin packing, saying the 56-year-old had been “a dead man walking”.
He stressed the importance of sacked coaches receiving support, revealing that he’d personally reached out to Griffin while recounting his own experience when his tenure with the Sharks came to an end in 2018.
“I just couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he recalled.
“A lot of coaches since then, I’ve contacted numerous even when I was coaching, that have been terminated … just to make sure they are OK because they put so much into this job.
“They know when they go into it that it is a results-driven job, and unfortunately it’s the sort of job that you should rent and not buy. We just want to make sure they’re OK.
“There’s not a coaches’ association to fall back on, which I think has definitely got to happen.
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“At this stage, let’s make sure Hook’s OK. He’s been terminated, he’s tried his best at the Dragons and it just hasn’t worked.”
Flanagan was also critical of the club’s decision to let players front the media on the same day of the coach’s sacking.
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“No way would I have let any player do press conference if there’s drama, it is too much pressure on them,” he said.
“Whether the decision was coming at lunchtime, tonight or tomorrow, the number one question was (going to be), ‘Hey, Hook’s going to get the sack, what are your thoughts?’.
“Why should the players be put through that? You know who should standing up there? The CEO, the football manager, the chairman.”
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