Shane Flanagan fires back at ‘ridiculous' Dragons nepotism claim as son Kyle's form called into question
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has defended his son and Dragons playmaker Kyle Flanagan amid claims he would have been dropped if not for nepotism.
The Red V have lost their last two games and looked completely lost in both attack and defence.
They were run off the park by a rampant Dolphins 56-6 before going on to throw away a halftime lead against the Sharks, in their 30-18 loss on the weekend.
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
After similar struggles earlier in the season, Flanagan decided to drop halfback recruit Lachlan Ilias instead of his son, promoting young gun Lykhan King-Togia in his place.
On the weekend, King-Togia was one of their best, but the combination with Flanagan has been underwhelming, winning just two of their six games together.
And it saw veteran journalist Phil Rothfield mention the elephant in the room, that Flanagan appears to remain off the chopping block for one main reason.
'It can be really difficult when the coach, no one can ever question Shane Flanagan's coaching credentials, but his son Kyle is not one of the leading halves in the competition,' Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast on Monday.
'They have been belted by the Dolphins, then had a second-half capitulation against the Sharks on Thursday night.
'Lachlan Ilias, who was dropped at halfback, is going well in NSW Cup. They have won six straight games since he has been there.
'The fans have gone ballistic on social media. Shane Flanagan will pick the best side to win every week, but there is a debate out there about whether Kyle Flanagan should be in the side.
'He's never going to be the flashiest halfback, he's solid, he's steady … halfbacks aren't paid to tackle, but he's the best defensive halfback in the competition.'
In response Flanagan came out firing in defence of his son, declaring claims his position is anything but safe 'ridiculous'.
'To say Kyle is under pressure is ridiculous,' Flanagan said to Code Sports.
'I think people are looking in the wrong direction.
'He's been among our best players all year. It's not me, ask the other players and coaches. I'm probably harder on Kyle than any other player.'
Flanagan has the fewest missed tackles of any No. 7 this season at an average of just 1.3 and also has 18 try involvements.
However, the claims of 'nepotism' won't be going away any time soon as the reality is irrespective of what the stat sheet shows, the Red V are clearly lacking direction and Flanagan is hardly an offensive spark.
'You've got to look at what other alternatives are there. You can bring Lachlan Ilias in, do you drop Kyle to the bench?' Rothfield said.
'The season is slipping away quick and because it's such a congested competition table, they aren't done yet. A lot of teams who have struggled are still an outside chance.
'But at the end of the day St George should be in the market for a really big playmaker.
'Nepotism is such a tough claim, a father naturally loves his son and we went through this with Brad Arthur and Jake up at Parramatta.
'I'm glad Ricky Stuart has brought his boy into the side, Jed Stuart. The senior players in the Canberra side before they went to Las Vegas had to approach Ricky because it can work in reverse.
'Because these guys are dads, they can often make it harder for their son because they don't want to be seen as doing any favours.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
AFL TV Wrap: St Kilda confirms Max King setback, Laura Kane's key role in Jamarra comeback
Ross Lyon is rarely expansive on his injured players, but on Monday took the time to offer fresh insight into Max King's frustrating knee battle as St Kilda grapples with what to do next. And AFL executives have rarely received praise for their efforts on the football shows this season, but Laura Kane has been credited with smoothing Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's return to the Western Bulldogs. If you're not one of those rarely designed units that can plough through a full Monday night of football current affairs shows, you can catch up on the play-by-play here. AFL 360 St Kilda coach Ross Lyon joined his decorated Geelong counterpart Chris Scott at the 360 desk, and was asked about Max King's fresh knee setback which has dented the forward's hopes of returning this season. The Herald Sun first reported on Sunday that King had pulled up sore while running at Moorabbin as he attempted to return from a second round of arthroscopic surgery on his knee in April. Lyon said while King remained determined to return to senior level, there was an occasional sense of 'heaviness' about the two-time leading goalkicker as he dealt with repeat setbacks. '(King) had been progressing really well, we were planning a round 17 (or) 18 return,' Lyon said. 'He was in a really good headspace, and then he just had a grab in the knee and decelerated from a run-through, not dissimilar to what he felt before. 'We thought we'd got to the root cause, but clearly we need to go do more investigation. It's not (about the next) six weeks, it's about (the next) six years … we would love him back, but we'll just find a solution.' Lyon said the Saints were not concerned about a major structural issue, but specialists were still yet to identify the cause of King's discomfort. 'He'll go and do some scans under load, because it seems to be a mechanical issue,' the coach said. 'There were some bone spurs they removed (in this year's surgery), and obviously he's had an ACL (in 2018), but the surgeons haven't been able to identify anything else structurally, so we thought we'd got to the root cause. 'But clearly when moving under load, there's a certain mechanism (of) something grabbing, and they need to figure that out.' King booted 90 goals over the 2021-22 seasons before shoulder and knee issues restricted him to just 23 games since the start of 2023. Scott took the opportunity to go into bat for Brownlow Medal favourite Bailey Smith, saying players and staff at Geelong had been 'rankled' by reports that some players were unhappy with the antics of the high-octane midfielder. 'When I hear that, your first responsibility as a coach is to get to the truth ... 'is there anything that we're not across?' And it's an emphatic 'no',' Scott said. 'And in fact, it's the opposite. They love him. Our staff love him. 'We've had enough to do with Bailey already to think 'let him go'. And occasionally, because he is so high-profile, there'll be a few things that maybe step over the mark — but I'd be staggered if it ever comes from a bad place.' The Agenda Setters After her prominent role at AFL House was split in two amid an overhaul of the league executive, football operations boss Laura Kane scored a welcome victory, according to Caroline Wilson. Wilson said Kane had been instrumental in laying the ground for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's return to Whitten Oval on Monday after an extended absence to deal with personal issues. 'Laura Kane has played a pivotal role ... she has met semi-regularly with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan,' Wilson said. '(Kane) has played the biggest role of anyone from the AFL aside from the mental health boss Kate Hall.' St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt was buoyed by the footage of Bulldogs teammates embracing Ugle-Hagan out on the track on Monday, and said it was the 'best possible environment' for the 23-year-old to be in. 'It's (also) self-interest for the Bulldogs, Jamarra becoming the best version of himself,' Riewoldt said. In the 'Roo's Marks' segment, there was a resounding A-plus grade given to NewsWire journalist and good friend of this column, Marco Monteverde, for his votes in the Brisbane-GWS game on Saturday. The votes? Three for Jesse Hogan, two for his young offsider Aaron Cadman, and one for Logan Morris after the three talls booted 16 goals between them in the entertaining shootout at the Gabba. 'Let (Monteverde) give every vote for every game for the Brownlow Medal! Let him give the Norm Smith Medal,' Riewoldt yelled. As Wilson began to express her doubt that Geelong coach Chris Scott was considering the Tasmania job for 2028, her phone began to ring quite loudly to the surprise of her and fellow panellists. This was not missed by the Footy Classified team, who had time to sit and watch the whole show before they went to air 45 minutes later. Footy Classified It was Matthew Lloyd who took the opportunity to sink the boot into his agenda-setting rivals, playing a clip of a lighting issue at the start of Seven's flagship show and then the Wilson phone mishap. But the panellists held off with their pointscoring until the end of a substantial episode where Sam McClure revealed Tom De Koning had signalled a desire to remain at Carlton by asking for a meeting with incoming chief executive Graham Wright on Friday. 'They had that meeting above the gym at the football club in Brian Cook's office ... and in that meeting, Tom De Koning essentially asked Graham Wright: 'if I am going to stay at this football club, what is going to change?',' McClure said. McClure said there had been a sense of 'resignation' at Carlton that the star ruckman would depart for St Kilda's massive long-term offer, but the meeting had renewed hopes he could be retained. Damian Barrett and McClure doubled down on their contempt for the traditional 2.30pm grand final timeslot, but McClure clarified that he only wanted the game shifted to 4pm – a move that Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said would be small enough to stomach. 'There's not one team that asks for a 2.30pm Saturday game at any stage of any given season,' Barrett said. On the Couch The round 14 tall forward-takeover was welcomed with open arms by Couch panellists Jack Riewoldt and Jonathan Brown ... two weeks after Nathan Buckley said small forwards had gained ascendancy in the modern game. 'What's this crap about small forwards taking over the game. I think you suggested that two weeks ago ... you were wrong, Nathan (Buckley). Admit it. Admit it live on TV,' Brown urged. Buckley did not admit it. The Collingwood champion later unpacked the dilemma facing Brisbane coach Chris Fagan after his side comfortably cleared GWS on the 'expected score' metric – only to lose the game and approach their bye with just two wins from their last six. 'They're creating a lot of opportunities ... (Fagan would be saying) we're not going to create a problem that we don't think exists. As soon as you start thinking about your goalkicking more, you're generally going to get miss,' Buckley said. 'It's like a golf swing ... you want to have one swing tip that you're working on, and you want to consistently feel like you're hitting them sweet.' Brown said the season-ending knee injury to fullback Jack Payne was now of more concern to his former side than the departure of premiership spearhead Joe Daniher. 'Can you absolutely replace Jack Payne, who plays on the big boppers every week?' he said. '60 goals are gone from Joe Daniher, and Jack Payne saves 30 or 40 goals (in a season) potentially.' The Couch quartet pondered why struggling West Coast did not have 'more vibrancy' under a first-year coach in Andrew McQualter. Buckley put the blowtorch on senior players including co-captain Liam Duggan and Tim Kelly, who recently signed a contract extension to the end of 2027. 'I don't know what else 'Mini' (McQualter) can do, to be honest. He's moved players around, players have been dropped, players have been counselled, they've been asked for more,' Buckley said. 'In the end, the individual has to decide the purpose and the reason for him fronting up to prepare first and then perform, is enough to spend this time and energy on. 'When you're getting rewarded regardless of the time and energy you're putting in, that creates a problem.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Adam Reynolds reveals why he made incredible $1m sacrifice
Broncos veteran Adam Reynolds revealed he was tempted to join the Wests Tigers but ultimately decided to sacrifice $1m to do what is best for his family. The 34-year-old is set to sign a one-year extension to remain in Red Hill in 2026 worth around $500,000 a year, with a plan in place for the experienced halfback to then join the club's coaching ranks. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. But the star could have instead opted to head back to Sydney, where Benji Marshall's Tigers tabled a monster two-year deal worth around $750,000 a season. Explaining his decision to turn his back on the more lucrative offer, Reynolds said he couldn't have asked his young family to pack up and move again and also couldn't stomach leaving them for several months of the year to live in Sydney. 'Yes, I was seriously tempted,' Reynolds said speaking of his decision to remain in Brisbane with his wife Tallara and their four kids – aged 15, 14, 10 and 7. 'Benji is a great coach, I've always had a lot of time for him – I idolised him as a player when I was growing up. 'But at the end of the day, family is the most important thing, and if I did leave for Sydney, it would have been without the family, and that was going to be too hard. 'The Tigers have a great spine, and I spoke to Benji about how me and Jarome (Luai) could have worked. 'He's an instinctive player who brings a lot of energy and plays off the cuff, while I'm that organising half. The biggest thing for me was I believed I could have added a lot to that team.' Reynolds said ultimately 'no amount of money could have changed my mind' when it came to separating from his family. The halfback admitted earlier this year that his family initially struggled with the move from Sydney to Brisbane when he joined from the Rabbitohs in 2022, but says they have since become settled. 'We wanted a lifestyle change,' Reynolds told the Courier Mail in February. 'We wanted a big house with a big yard for the kids and the dogs, somewhere they could run around. 'To be honest, it was tough at first to leave all we had known, all our Sydney friends and family, and the kids were a bit nervous about leaving old friends at school, not knowing anyone. But from the moment we announced we were coming up, everyone just took us in. 'It's been a great move, we have felt very welcomed here, the people we've met and the relationships we've made, and the kids absolutely love it here. 'They don't want to go back to Sydney. They call Brisbane home now and so do we. We feel very happy with the call we made.'
Daily Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Kaylee McKeown hits out amid special treatment claim following overturned disqualification at Australian national swimming trials
Don't miss out on the headlines from Swimming. Followed categories will be added to My News. Kaylee McKeown has hit out at claims she is given special treatment in the wake of her dramatic disqualification and then reinstatement at the Australian national swimming trials in Adelaide last week. McKeown – who holds the 50m backstroke world record at 26.86 seconds – was the clear fastest in last Monday's heats of the 50m backstroke but was disqualified over an issue with her start. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. McKeown, who claimed Olympic gold in both the 100m and 200m backstroke at the Paris Olympics, was informed by officials she had broken early, as she was ushered off the pool deck in tears. The ruling seemingly dashed her hopes of competing for a 50m backstroke world championships gold medal later this year. However, the 23-year-old protested the decision and in the end, it was overturned. McKewon was reinstated in the final which she won narrowly over Mollie O'Callaghan, securing her ticket to the world championships in Singapore from July 27 to August 3. You can watch her Australian swim trials victory in the player above. Kaylee McKeown has rejected claims she gets preferential treatment. Image: Getty But in the wake of the ordeal, McKeown was accused of receiving preferential treatment due to her reputation and status in the sport. And in an Instagram post on Monday, McKeown moved to clear up what went down as she rejected the notion there was any sort of favouritism at play. 'I've copped quite a bit of scrutiny over the past week for my DQ in the 50 backstroke,' she wrote. 'I'd just like to clarify that while it was a clear disqualification, I was able to lodge a protest due to movement directly behind my starting block. I followed all the standard procedures for my reinstatement! 'For those who know me well, you'll know I'm all for fair sport and certainly wouldn't have protested if I knew I didn't have a fair case. 'What I'm not for is people tearing others down … at no point was I shown any favouritism.' Kaylee McKeown is the 50m world record holder. (Photo by) After hearing her protest officials ruled in her favour, accepting she had been 'distracted by a movement' on the blocks. 'Things happen and it just crumbled that way,' she continued. 'I knew as soon as I started, what I had done. 'But thankfully we had the technology to look back at footage and saw the distraction and I got reinstated.' McKeown will next compete at the world championships in Singapore which get underway on July 27. Originally published as Kaylee McKeown hits out amid special treatment claim following overturned Aussie swim trials disqualification
