NRL star’s scathing nepotism swipe at former coach Shane Flanagan
NRL star Lachlan Ilias has applied the blowtorch to former coach Shane Flanagan and made a bombshell claim of nepotism at his old club.
Lachlan Ilias has hinted at nepotism by former St George Illawarra Dragons Shane Flanagan in a scathing swipe at his former club.
The 25-year-old played only seven games at the club before he was dropped by Flanagan and spent the rest of the season with the NSW Cup side.
The Dragons had a 3-4 record at the time Flanagan made the call to drop Ilias with the halfback going on to lead the NSW Cup side all the way into the Grand Final.
After being dropped the Dragons struggled and won only five games for the remainder of the season as they finished 15th on the ladder.
Despite his best efforts, Ilias was never given a chance in the first grade side again with Shane’s son Kyle and Lyhkan King-Togia remaining in the halves for the rest of the season.
Ilias has now spoken out and stated he wasn’t given a “fair crack” to return to the Dragons side even after playing working on his game.
Watch Ilias speak out about the Dragons in the video player above
“Our first win was against Melbourne in Kogarah in the wet - we were building nicely, but then sh*t happens,” Ilias said on the Unscripted Podcast.
“I don’t think I was given a fair opportunity to get back into the team after I was dropped.
“I got told I was dropped for my defence, I don’t know what was said in the media or why I was dropped. (It was about) reads and it was a new defensive system as well, so I was getting used to it and they said there were a few tries between me and Jaydn Su’A.
“I told the defensive coach and the wrestling guy after I got dropped that I would do more extras and put my best foot forward to try and get picked back into the team.
“I was doing all that, I went back to Cup and I barely missed a tackle for five or six weeks. I just don’t think I got a fair crack.”
As the losses continued to mount for the Dragons, Ilias believed a call would be on the way but communication over his progression towards a potential return was non-existent.
“The only dialogue that I got after I got dropped was after we won 10 or 11 games in a row for Cup and then we played terrible against Newtown … it just wasn’t our day and that was the only time I got feedback about my game, saying that I played poorly,” Ilias said.
“I was doing everything I could, I don’t know if I could have done any more to get back into the team. It was a different time, because the boys in NRL weren’t playing great but we were playing well, so the vibe was high in the Cup team.
“We were building these connections in Cup, putting our best foot forward … I don’t think myself or other boys in the Cup team were given a fair opportunity to get back into NRL.”
Ilias has since departed the Dragons, signing a two-year deal to join the Gold Coast Titans with fellow half Jonah Glover also seeking greener pastures over a lack of first grade opportunities.
Ilias believes Glover and fullback Tyrell Sloan should have been inserted into the Dragons line-up, especially given the team was stuck in the lower part of the ladder.
“I’ve got to shout out Jonah Glover as well, I think he deserved a spot and definitely deserved at least a debut,” Ilias said.
“He’s just signed to Souths, he got five-eighth of the year for Cup - not just our player of the year, but the competition.
“Sloany (Tyrell Sloan) was dropping in and out of the team, he’s an unreal winger.
“I’m not trying to talk shit about anything else, but I just think there were a few things that went wrong and I feel like the best team wasn’t picked week-in and week-out.
“(I am) a little bit bitter that I didn’t get a fair crack. I don’t think I had a fair opportunity to get back into the side. I did everything to put myself back into the team.”
Ilias has hit the ground running at the Titans, turning up to training a week ahead of schedule as he looks to get back onto the NRL’s main stage.
Originally published as NRL star’s scathing nepotism swipe at former coach Shane Flanagan
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