NRL 2020: Dean Young to quit St George Illawarra Dragons to join rival team
Interim coach Dean Young is poised to quit St George Illawarra to join a rival NRL team in a move that will rock the Dragons and trigger a series of coaching changes around the league.
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Interim Dragons coach Dean Young is poised to quit St George Illawarra after being overlooked for the top job in favour of Anthony Griffin.
In a stunning move that will rock the Dragons, News Corp can reveal Young is favoured to join incoming North Queensland coach Todd Payten’s staff as an assistant.
However, in another twist, the 36-year-old also completed an interview with Newcastle on Monday.
There had been speculation linking Young to the Wests Tigers but a shift to Concord appears unlikely. There had also been talk of him joining the New Zealand Warriors on former Dragons teammate Nathan Brown’s staff.
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While he hasn’t formally decided to leave St George Illawarra, it is becoming increasingly likely he will sign with either North Queensland or Newcastle, breaking away from the club at which he played his entire career, and won the 2010 premiership.
A daily commute from Wollongong to Concord may swing Young towards Townsville or Newcastle, where he would relocate.
Young was an assistant coach under Paul McGregor before being made interim coach, and he has another year remaining on his current Dragons contract.
He missed the top job at St George Illawarra earlier this month when the club’s board opted for Griffin as head coach.
A move away would scupper any thoughts the Dragons had of grooming Young to succeed Griffin.
It is understood Young and Griffin are close and the Dragons want their former forward to serve out the remaining year of his current contract in 2021. However, the club won’t stand in his way if he chooses to seek a release.
Young’s father Craig is a Dragons great and a club director, while the man himself has only ever represented and coached at Saints.
There is a belief among certain sections at the Dragons that a stint at a rival club would only broaden his career and enhance Young’s resume.
Young – who played for the Dragons, Country Origin, NSW and Australia – became interim coach when the club sacked McGregor in August.
A shift to North Queensland under Payten, the current Warriors interim coach, is an option Young is strongly considering.
Young is seen as a rising star in the coaching ranks and has already attracted praise
from former NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley.
Should he join Newcastle under head coach Adam O’Brien, Young may take the place of David Furner, who, ironically, was another candidate for the Dragons position.
The highly regarded Furner is almost certain to sign as an assistant to Trent Barrett at Canterbury in a new-look coaching department that will also include Cronulla’s Craig Sandercock and the Cowboys’ David Tangata-Toa, who has impressed with his work with Penrith’s junior pathways and as an assistant coach with the Tongan national team.
Young, part of the Dragons 2010 premiership-winning side, has secured mixed success as interim coach at the Dragons.
Players, however speak highly of his coaching ability and football nous.
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Griffin’s appointment sparked plenty of debate and, while accepting of the decision, Young was known to be disappointed at being overlooked for the head coaching role.
It comes as St George Illawarra fullback Matt Dufty revealed his disappointment that “influential” assistant Shane Flanagan won’t be at the club next season, lauding him for helping him “become a first grader consistently”.
“I’d have a few good games and then have a few games off. Flanno has coached a team to the premiership and he knew what qualities I had to work on,” Dufty said.
“He has been a very influential part of my year and I’ll be a bit upset if he leaves.”
After his success with the Warriors this year, working with Payten has become an attractive option for rival coaches.