Anthony Seibold is out the door as Manly coach and almost immediately, the attention has turned to Shane Flanagan and the winless Dragons.
The pressure has started to mount on the St George Illawarra coach just four rounds into the season, with the joint venture stranded on the bottom of the ladder.
Flanagan took over the job at the start of 2024 with results on the field failing to improve and if anything, they are starting to get worse.
In his first season at the helm, the Dragons bottled a prime opportunity to play finals and then parted ways with their two best players, Zac Lomax and Ben Hunt.
Last year, it was a case of what could have been as the Red V lost countless close games – including three by just one point – before finishing with four-straight defeats.
The ghosts of 2025 have remained a constant presence early in Flanagan’s third year.
A golden-point loss to Canterbury. A second-half lead collapsing against Melbourne. A horrible attacking display against Parramatta.
The latest loss to fellow cellar dwellers Gold Coast has shone a light on how poorly the side is going, continuing to trend backwards under Flanagan’s guidance.
While the coach is signed until the end of 2028, that will matter little if things don’t turn around soon according to league great and Illawarra product Josh Morris – even if Flanagan has “runs on the board” from his time at Cronulla.
“It’s eight losses in a row now if you count the four to end the season,” he said on 2GB’s Continuous Call Team Offload podcast this week.
“Dragons fans are just as passionate as Manly fans, they want to see success and if they don’t get it, the drums will get louder and louder each week.
“One thing I will say about Flanno is he has quite a young squad there and he’s probably the right type of person to instil the toughness and grittiness.
“He does have runs on the board of bringing clubs out of the doldrums into premiership-winning teams and we’ve got to remember that as well.”
St George Illawarra have been one of the NRL’s biggest under-performers for the past decade, making the finals just once in that period, back in 2018 under Paul McGregor.
Over the past year, the club have attempted to rebuild off the field as well as on it, hiring Tim Watsford as chief executive and Daniel Anderson as head of recruitment, before landing the enormous marquee signing of Keaon Koloamatangi for 2027 and beyond.
But according to veteran News Corp journalist Andrew Webster, discussions about Flanagan’s place as coach will start if the Dragons don’t return to winning ways.
“They have extended him out to bring stability, particularly around recruitment – but that’s only gonna go so far if you’re not winning games,” Webster said on the Offload podcast.
“If they’re not going well by Anzac Day and they don’t perform in that match, that’s always a drama at the club. If they don’t get at least one win out of those three matches heading into the Roosters match, then Dragons management are gonna have to have some pretty tough conversations with Shane Flanagan.
“Having spoken to people at the club – that’s definitely at play.”
Flanagan’s men have a chance to rectify some of the early-season performances over the next fortnight, with fixtures against the Cowboys and Sea Eagles.
The pressure is on, however, for the coach to make changes to the Dragons lineup, with one name on the tip of everybody’s tongue – Kade Reed.
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