Shane Flanagan slams nepotism suggestions, puts critics of son Kyle in their place
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has slammed suggestions of nepotism around his son Kyle after two heavy defeats, suggesting critics are looking in the wrong direction.
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St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has slammed suggestions of nepotism around his son Kyle after two heavy defeats for the Dragons.
Saints fans went into meltdown over the weekend after the club’s second-half capitulation against the Cronulla Sharks on the back of 56-6 loss to the Dolphins.
Most of it was aimed at his son Kyle rather than a number of his teammates who have also been struggling in recent weeks.
“To say Kyle is under pressure is ridiculous,” Flanagan said. “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 said his emotion-charged army of red and white fans were entitled to their opinions but some of the social media reaction has been particularly nasty.
Still, he’s not going to do an Adam O’Brien and suggest “they don’t know rugby league”.
Flanagan said most halfbacks would have struggled over the last fortnight.
“In the last couple of weeks against the Dolphins and in the second half against Cronulla we’ve been steamrolled in the middle,” he said.
“We know where our problems are and we’re going to address them.
“As for Kyle, we’re comfortable with what he’s been doing.
“Yes, from a performance perspective he can play better. Without a doubt he can do better offensively but week in, week out he competes hard and defends well.”
And so this is my view ...
Kyle is not the flashiest halfback going around. He’s solid and he’s steady.
In attack, he has 18 try involvements from his 12 games leading into round 15.
Not huge numbers but still superior to Lachlan Galvin, Jarome Luai, Ethan Strange or Luke Brooks.
Not that halves are paid to tackle but he does have fewest average missed tackles of any halfback with 1.3 a game. Next best is Matt Burton with 1.8.
In effective tackles he is second in the comp behind Canberra Raiders star Jamal Fogarty.
Still, the noise will not go away among St George Illawarra fans, especially as Lachie Ilias is playing some really decent football in NSW Cup.
The Dragons beat the Panthers 38-6 on Saturday, which was Ilias’s sixth straight win.
Personally, I’d be bringing Ilias back to wear the No.7 jersey and moving Flanagan to five-eighth.
Any suggestion of nepotism in sport is hard to deal with. A dad loves his kids more than anything.
And unless you’re Ivan Cleary with a son called Nathan or John Lang with a son called Martin, it can be difficult.
Brad Arthur had Flanagan-type drama bringing his son Jake into first grade at the Eels.
He’s a similar player to Kyle – super fit, strong, tough and reliable.
I remember Bozo Fulton did at Manly back in the ’90s with his boys Brett and Scott, who were both capable players but hardly automatic selections.
The back half of the year will be most interesting for Saints. They are still just a win outside the top eight.
But the noise will not go away until they start winning again.
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