Young named Dragons interim coach after Flanagan departure

Premiership winner Dean Young will take over the Dragons as interim coach for the remainder of the season following the departure of Shane Flanagan. 

After announcing Flanagan's exit on Monday morning, the club has now named Young the interim coach as they commence the process of hiring a full-time coach. 

The NSW and Australian representative must quickly reset the team ahead of Saturday's Anzac Day showdown with the Roosters at Allianz Stadium. 

"The St George Illawarra Dragons can confirm Dean Young has been appointed head coach of the club's NRL side for at least the remainder of the 2026 season," the club posted in a statement on social media. 

"Young will lead the team with immediate effect while the club undertakes its process to appoint a permanent head coach."

It will be Young's second stint in the role, having stepped in for Paul McGregor after his mid-season exit in 2020. The Dragons legend won two of six games in charge on that occasion. 

Young narrowly missed out on becoming McGregor's full-time replacement, with the club opting to appoint Anthony Griffin instead. The premiership winner then joined the Cowboys before returning to Wollongong as part of Flanagan's coaching staff. 

The 42-year-old shapes as a contender for the head coaching job for 2027 and beyond, with Ben Hornby and Brad Arthur among the others to have had their names floated. 

"It’s a privilege to lead this club," Young said.

"This current group of players mean a lot to me. I want to support them through this transition.

"Our focus right now is staying connected as a team and being the best version of ourselves on Anzac Day."

The Dragons slumped to their seventh-straight loss to start the year on Saturday night when they fell to South Sydney 30-12.

Having lost their last four games of the 2025 campaign, the club has now dropped 11 on the trot and officials decided now was the time to change coaches. 

After taking charge at the start of 2024, Flanagan finished with a 19-36 record as Dragons coach.

General Manager of football Ben Haran will also depart the club. 

“I care deeply about this club and the playing group, and after discussions with the club, we agreed this was the right time for a change," said Flanagan.

“I’d like to thank the players, staff, members and fans for their support and I wish the club well for the future.”

Talking at a press conference on Monday morning, CEO Tim Watsford conceded the results to start this year have not been up to standard.

"This is clearly a significant moment for the club," Watsford said. "We understand the frustration and disappointment our members and our fans feel and we know that results have not met expectations of this proud club.

"This club knows the standards that are expected of it and we know we are not meeting them."

Having coached the Sharks to a drought-breaking premiership in 2016, St George Illawarra officials were confident Flanagan would lead the club out of a challenging period when he took over from Anthony Griffin. 

The mentor's tenure started with plenty of optimism and there were positive early signs for the club.

St George Illawarra finished 11th in 2024, just two points outside the top eight to lay the foundation for what was hoped to be a run to the finals last season. 

The arrival of Clint Gutherson, Damien Cook and Valentine Holmes shaped as the senior players required to get the team over the hump but injuries and a string of losses in close games ultimately crippled the Dragons' chances in 2025.

After a promising start to the campaign Flanagan was handed a two-year contract extension, however the side fell away late to lose their last four games and slump to 15th on the ladder.

The arrival of new recruit Daniel Atkinson couldn't trigger a turnaround to start the season and the Dragons currently sit last on the ladder as the only winless team in the competition. 

"This is a great sport, it's great when it's going well, but it's really tough when it's not and the impact not just of the results and the performance is enough pressure put on people in that regard but the immediate impacts of social media haven't been great," said Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster.

"You don't build a club or business by looking back, you look forward and see what you can do. 

"We have been speaking to Shane and the football staff along the way. This is not something you just do because you choose to on a Monday morning."