‘Rang me straight away’: Coach breaks silence on Kyle Flanagan to Manly report

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has broken his silence on reports the Sea Eagles were going to swoop in to nab out of favour half Kyle Flanagan.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 24: Kyle Flanagan of the Bulldogs looks on during the round 19 NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Titans at CommBank Stadium, on July 24, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has weighed in on a report linking dropped halfback Kyle Flanagan with an immediate move to Manly.

Flanagan was axed last week and it was reported over the weekend that he was headed to the Sea Eagles where his father Shane is an assistant coach.

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“I know nothing about that and Kyle rang me straight away, his phone was going off as well, and he just wanted to reassure me that there was nothing in it,” Ciraldo said after his side beat the Dragons on Sunday night.

“Kyle had a tough week and it was a tough decision to not have him in the team and we played him at hooker in NSW Cup today and I thought he was outstanding.

“He was really good all week, he took it on the chin, there’s a lot of weight of expectation on Kyle and it brings a lot of attention but he turned up to training every day with the right attitude, embraced a new position and I thought he did really well out there today.

Flanagan has fallen down the pecking order at Belmore in recent weeks, shifted to five-eighth in Round 8 before being dropped for veteran Josh Reynolds and rookie half Karl Oloapu - who came off the bench on Sunday night.

Kyle Flanagan of the Bulldogs. Getty

Manly coach Anthony Seibold has promised his club would sign a 30th player before the June 30 squad deadline – but also shut down chatter the club had already locked in playmaker Flanagan.

Seibold said the club had not yet decided on how to fill its final roster spot, and confirmed the Sea Eagles ‘certainly’ haven’t signed Flanagan yet.

“I’m not going to speculate on that. One thing I will say is that we have a spot to fill. We have signed 29 players, and we are going to fill it before June 30,” Seibold said.

“What we are doing at the moment is having a good look at the position we need to fill.

“Probably like an Aaron Woods.

“We had 28 players, we brought Woodsy in to do a role so we will look around for what we need.

“We are short for outside backs, potentially we can add to our halves as well, so we will have those conversations during the week, but we certainly haven’t signed Kyle Flanagan if that’s the speculation.”

The Sea Eagles slumped to a poor defeat to the Titans on Saturday night.

Originally published as ‘Rang me straight away’: Coach breaks silence on Kyle Flanagan to Manly report