ANNOUNCEMENT:Shane Flanagan, Announce Resignation And Departure From St George illawarra DragonsToday…

One of multiple ex-Dragons players on this list – but someone who has not been as closely tied to the club during his coaching career.

Shane Flanagan did have a brief stint back at the Red V in 2020 and 2021 in secondary roles, but has since moved on to other ventures and is assisting Anthony Seibold in the Manly rebuild operation.

With a wealth of experience and a premiership to his name with the Sharks, Flanagan is the best out of the experienced options.

Speaking on 2GB’s WWOS Radio on Monday, he revealed his management have been in talks with the club.

“I’ll just let it unfold – that’s what you have managers for and hopefully something happens and gets done,” Flanagan said.

“But at this stage, I haven’t had any communication with the Dragons, my manager has and that’s the way I’ll leave it.

“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long if it’s going to happen but I’ll leave it to my manager… but I don’t think I need to go through an interview process.

“Obviously the club would know what I’ve done in the game, I’ve coached at NRL level for eight years, won a competition, obviously everyone talks about I’ve had a suspension but I learned so much from that period and I’m a better person, better coach …

“If the Dragons are interested, we’ll chat.”

The 57-year-old reportedly has a get-out clause at the Sea Eagles should he be offered a top job elsewhere.

Manly coach Anthony Seibold has also endorsed his current assistant for the role and hopes Flanagan’s future will be sorted in the coming weeks.

“It’s really important that our relationship is transparent, so Flanno’s kept me up to date with where things are at. He feels as though there’ll be a resolution sooner rather than later,” he said.

“I hope he gets the job. I think he’s qualified to get the job, he’s obviously been a premiership-winning coach, coached eight years.

“He’s been fantastic for me, he’d be a loss to us as a club but ultimately with assistant coaches, you want them to be aspirational. I’d love to see him get an opportunity and hopefully he gets one at the Dragons.”