Canterbury Bulldogs next coach: Kyle Flanagan on dad Shane’s coaching ambition
Shane Flanagan was one of the first names linked with the Bulldogs’ vacancy after Trent Barrett’s exit. Here’s what his son and current Dog Kyle thinks of the possibility of a reunion.
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Canterbury halfback Kyle Flanagan says he would welcome the opportunity to be reunited with his old man Shane in the NRL next year, while also declaring he is ready to “take the shackles off” his attacking game for the rest of 2022.
After Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett sensationally parted ways with the club this week, a host of contenders have emerged as the Sydney club’s next fulltime coach – including 2016 NRL premiership coach Flanagan.
While Mick Potter has been parachuted in for the rest of this season, others in the mix for the role long-term include Paul Green, Brad Fittler, Kristian Woolf, Cameron Ciraldo and John Morris.
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However, it is understood Flanagan, who shares the same manager as Bulldogs GM of Football Phil Gould, is also a leading contender for what is shaping as one of the toughest gigs anywhere in rugby league.
So as for what Kyle, who still lives at home with his parents, thinks of reuniting with the man who debuted him at the Cronulla Sharks in 2018?
“It’s always something that we like doing,” Flanagan said of the pair working together again.
“We both love rugby league.
“But I have to be careful with my words here.
“Dad’s definitely keen to get back into the coaching arena, but I’m just focused on my role here. Focused on playing well each week and giving a bit of cheek at home.”
Asked if he had spoken with Barrett since his shock, and hasty, exit, the young playmaker continued: “Everything’s happened really quick so I’ve just been focused on my role in this footy team.
“Trying to create as much positivity around training as I can.
“And obviously that’s been hard this week with cameras out the front of training, with guys having the flu … so I’ve just been trying to create as much positivity as I can.”
While the Bulldogs were eventually beaten by Wests Tigers 36-22 at Leichhardt Oval, they did rally back from an 18-zip deficit at halftime.
In fact, immediately after the break Canterbury posted three consecutive tries for what would eventually be a 22-point haul — or the most points they have scored this season.
While Flanagan conceded there was no secret to where the game was lost —“our defence let us down today”— he was pleased with what the side had shown in attack and added that, in coming weeks, he also wants to ensure he and Bulldogs No.6 Matt Burton build on their number of touches per game.
“That’s exactly what I want to do,” he said.
“Exactly where myself and Burto want to get to. Really dominating and taking the shackles off.”
While the number of possessions Flanagan has per match has been the subject of some debate recently, the playmaker revealed he now expects to have far more involvements as his combination with Burton grows.
“My confidence is building and I feel like I’m getting better each week,” he said.
“So more touches will come and better touches.
“My combination with Burto, I haven’t really played with him too much, it’s still only six or seven games.
“But the more we can work together, the more we can move around the field together the more it will help this footy team.”
Asked if coach Potter had instructed the pair to get their hands on the ball more, Flanagan it had been more a pact made between himself and Burton.
“We wanted to go out there and play some footy, play what we saw,” he said.
“And we linked up a few times on the left there to play to space. And if you give the outside backs space they will finish it off for you.
“So while it obviously wasn’t the result we wanted tonight, there was some improvement and definitely some positives to take out of it.
“There was the Tevita Pangai Jnr offloads, Marshall-King jumping out of dummy-half, then Burto, Dufty … they’re definitely players that can produce stuff like that and we did get a couple of tries tonight from off-the-cuff stuff.
“That’s the style of footy we need to go to more.”
DOGS’ IDENTITY CRISIS COMES BACK TO BITE
David Riccio
The Bulldogs are having a hard time working out who they are.
If what we’re being fed is right, that it could take years for Canterbury to find themselves, how 17 players developed by the Bulldogs are at other NRL clubs, is a good place to start.
Wednesday night is part of it, too.
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Because by Thursday morning, disappointment was being passed around by past players and clubman worried about their Dogs and who know exactly what the Canterbury-Bankstown DNA looks like.
The Bulldogs end of season awards night for the junior representative teams was a special night for the club’s rising stars from the Tarsha Gale, SG Ball and Harold Matthews Cup sides.
The Bulldogs executive team had two tables for key league club staff and Canterbury football board members, including chairman John Khoury and CEO Aaron Warburton.
From the Bulldogs football department, team manager Steve Litvensky was also there.
With respect to all who attended, the suits weren’t who the kids wanted to see.
The main man, the big dog of the Kennel, the general manager of the entire rebuild of the footy club Phil Gould wasn’t present.
It was noticed enough for those in the room to suggest the Dogs aren’t looking hard enough for their DNA.
Those on the executive tables defend Gould, with everyone aware he’s been stretching himself more than some of the Canterbury players have on the field.
He’s been breaking news to players that Trent Barrett is gone, explaining it to the press, driving to Austinmer to appoint Mick Potter, podcasting for Nine, appointing new high performance managers, even fronting an AGM to discuss a plan forward.
An inquiry into the 18 players — and coaches — playing at, or working, at other clubs who were developed by the Dogs, must be part of the plan.
The combined list of Canterbury local juniors, Harold Matthews, SG Ball and NSW Cup players currently at other clubs would be more than competitive this year.
Instead, they’re working against the Dogs.
Parramatta’s Bailey Simonsson represented the Bulldogs under-18s and under-20s until 2017.
Tommy Talau, now at Wests Tigers, captained the Bulldogs 2018 SG Ball side to the grand final.
Centre Reimis Smith is loving life in Melbourne after five years at the Dogs, which began in the lower grades in 2016.
Manly’s Morgan Harper single-handedly won the 2018 NSW Cup premiership with Canterbury with a huge steal in the final moments of the decider.
Isaiah Tass made his NRL debut for Souths this year against Canterbury — even though in 2019 he had starred in the Bulldogs’ Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup teams.
Halves Moses Mbye and Adam Keighran know Belmore well. Just as well as they know how each other like to receive the ball, having trained together in the halves through 2015 under Des Hasler at the Dogs.
David Klemmer couldn’t have been any more “Berries” rising through the club’s development system in 2011 all the way to the green and gold of Australia.
NSW Origin hooker Damien Cook came through the lower grades and was let go to Souths from the Dogs in 2016.
In 2013, Padstow Panthers junior Martin Taupau was released after 11-games and with a year to run on his contract to join the Wests Tigers. On Friday night, he notched up 210 NRL games.
Shaun Lane, the towering backrower at the Eels, was 18 when he came to the Dogs. He was originally hard work to train, but just when he began to show focus, he was let go.
Aaron Pene ran out on Saturday for the Warriors as a forward. But at the Dogs for the 2014 under-20s side, the Canterbury local junior scored three tries in one game on the wing.
Dale Finucane is perhaps the greatest loss of all. Now at the Sharks, Finucane is everything that the Dogs need. Unwavering, elite-level prepared and with a team-first mentality; on and off the field.
Yet one of the reasons why he was let go by the Dogs to join the Storm in 2015 was because the coaching staff at the time felt “he couldn‘t pass” and made ”too many mistakes.”
There are more players too, with blue and white learnings tattooed into their character, including Royce Hunt (Sharks), Makahesi Makatoa (Eels), Heman Ese’ese (Titans), Ben Marschke (Roosters) and Aiden Tolman (Sharks).
And it’s not just players, but coaches too with Dogs DNA within.
Milperra Colts junior and Titans coach Justin Holbrook is best mates with fellow Colts junior and astute Sharks assistant Steve Price.
Daniel Holdsworth, a Bulldogs 70-gamer, is developing a huge reputation as an attack coach, under Cronulla Craig Fitzgibbon.
Michael Ennis, a player that the Bulldogs should never have let go, is working as coach of the Eels spine this season.
Even Shane Flanagan, a well-credentialled candidate to replace Trent Barrett, played in the Canterbury junior league competition for the St George Dragons.
The Bulldogs are searching high and low for their DNA.
What they should be looking at is within. At their own talent, at themselves — and why they let this happen.
Until then, the rest of the NRL will be happy to take their talent.
Gould risks repeating mistakes if rumours are right
-Brent Read
The whisper doing the rounds a few weeks ago was that Canterbury head of football Phil Gould was sniffing around Melbourne star Cameron Munster as he eyed off a big-name signing for 2024.
He wasn’t the only high-profile star apparently on Gould’s hit list. There was another rumour that he was interested in Brisbane superstar Payne Haas when it surfaced that he may want out of the Broncos.
There were even suggestions Gould met Haas’s manager last week at Belmore. Not for the first time either. Just Gus doing what he does best – wheeling, dealing and spinning the rumour mill.
The Bulldogs have become a treasure trove for gossip and innuendo in recent weeks. The whispers and speculation may yet prove wide of the mark but they point to a club with money to spend and a desire to spend it.
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The Bulldogs will be armed and dangerous on November 1. They could have more than $6 million sitting in their war chest, a figure could inflate further once the salary cap is finalised.
Gould cashed to the hilt will have the rest of the NRL on high alert. A word of warning though. The Bulldogs need to tread carefully. They don’t need glitz and glamour right now.
When the Oakland Raiders signed a player a few years ago to massive deal he vowed to be a “good force” in the city. Then, on his first day of training, he arrived in a hot-air balloon. Needless to say, it didn’t work out.
That’s not what the Bulldogs need. They don’t need egos. They don’t need to fritter away money on big names who erode the club’s culture. They did that with one player recently and word is that they would now be happy to let him go.
They need players who have quality combined with a work ethic that seeps through the club and its playing group. It was interesting to watch as the worlds of Gould and Brisbane coach Kevin Walters collided on Thursday night after the Broncos win over Newcastle.
Gould in his role as a commentator with the Nine Network spoke to Walters after the game and congratulated him on the job he had done in Brisbane. It wasn’t that long ago that the Broncos were at rock bottom, having sacked their coach Anthony Seibold after a period of defeat that mutated into anger and frustration.
The Broncos are quickly becoming a template for how to turn your club around. Invest your money wisely in the positions that matter, recruit leaders who can show others how to win, and find the right coach rather than the best coach.
Walters isn’t mentioned in the same breath as Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy. Likely never will be. But he loves the Broncos and his passion is infectious. He has reinvigorated the club.
It helps that he has invested the club’s spare cash wisely, spending money on footballers like Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell, blokes who know how to win and more importantly, know how to lead.
They set a standard on the training track and others have followed. Even when Reynolds is absent, as he was last night, others have stepped into the breach.
The message is loud and clear for the Bulldogs. Get your recruitment right and things can change quickly. It begs the question who the Bulldogs should pursue.
By 2024, when they have room to manoeuvre, Josh Jackson’s contract will have come to an end and he is likely to have slipped into retirement.
A roll call of potential signings includes the likes of Munster and while he is clearly top quality, he has a past and Sydney may not be the best place for him.
They could do worse than look at Mitchell Moses as he heads to market on November 1. If Matt Burton is to test the market and potentially depart, they will need a quality half. Moses is just that.
Victor Radley would be the ideal replacement for Josh Jackson at lock. He is a ferocious competitor who loves to win. Prising him from the Roosters will be difficult, but no harm in asking.
They need a fullback so perhaps it is worth taking a chance on Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow or Daine Laurie at the right price. The important thing is that they get it right.
The Bulldogs know better than most that getting it wrong can lead to prolonged pain. That’s the last thing their supporters need.
* * * * *
The Bulldogs decision to part ways with Trent Barrett has given them a head start in the coaching market.
The timing is impeccable. There is every chance the Wests Tigers will review their coaching position over the bye - which arrives in a fortnight - and decide to head in another direction.
Michael Maguire was under pressure over the opening month of the season.
A couple of wins and the Bulldogs issues proved a distraction but the focus will soon return.
There is a view that if you don’t have double digit points by the midpoint of the season, you can kiss goodbye to your finals chances.
The Tigers are scrambling to get there and if their season is effectively over by round 13, they have a decision to make.
The decision is unlikely to be good news for Maguire. It means the Tigers will head back to market, leaving the Bulldogs two weeks to resolve their situation or potentially face competition for their chosen coach.
* * * * *
Sydney club bosses have unanimously backed the ARL Commission to maintain the fight with the NSW Rugby League in a move that is destined to send the game back to the courts.
News Corp understands that the NSWRL sent an email to Cronulla chief executive Don Mezzatesta this week offering him the opportunity to join their board — less than a week after the NSW Supreme Court deemed that he was wrongfully prevented from running in board elections.
Mezzatesta is expected to reject the offer because the clubs and the commission want the election to be run again. The NSW clubs held talks on Wednesday where they were united in their stance that the commission should appeal the Supreme Court verdict.
While the Supreme Court conceded that Mezzatesta should have been allowed to run for the board, they ruled the elections were valid.
The commission is expected to contest that part of the decision with an appeal. They have the backing of the Sydney clubs, who are united in their belief that the elections should be run again.
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