After coaching the St George/Illawarra Dragons to a 60-18 loss against the Sydney Roosters on ANZAC Day, Shane Flanagan was asked about the Dragons next game against the Cronulla Sharks.
Things got weird…
According to News.com.au Flanagan told reporters.
“That’s been marked in the calendar for a while.”
Fair enough. It isn’t a surprised that anyone wants to make sure they perform well against their former club.
Then things got a bit weird. When asked if the game would be an emotional occasion Flanagan said…
“I won a comp there. I don’t think they’ve won one since, have they?”
“It’s not about me. I don’t care about me and I don’t want it to be about me.”
“I want it to be about the team and the club.”
He then went on to say…
“That was ages ago. I’ve moved on.”
“I’ve coached at Manly … worked at Fox, worked on radio.”
“I’ve had a good life.”
While coaching the Cronulla Sharks between 2010 and 2018 Shane Flanagan was banned by the National Rugby League for 12 months in 2013 for his role in the ASADA scandal in which the clubs was involved in an illegal supplementation program.
In 2017 the Cronulla Sharks new CEO Barry Russell took control of the club, had a look at the clubs books, and with a great deal of personal integrity, reported to the NRL that the Cronulla Sharks had breached the NRL salary cap.
A subsequent investigation by the NRL found that the Sharks had breached the salary cap over a period of time dating back to the 2013 season.
The club had allegedly set up a company that was to seek out 3rd party payments for players. Something that is not only against the rules, but a blatant way to try and get around the salary cap rules. It was during this investigation that the NRL uncovered evidence that Shane Flanagan had been contacting the club during his ban in 2014.
In late 2018 Shane Flanagan was banned for life by the NRL after it came to light that during his previous ban, which occurred during 2014, Flanagan had continued to work behind the scenes, emailing the coaching staff and the football department, something that is strictly not allowed during the ban he was handed down.
This life ban of course was overturned by the NRL in a moment of weakness shown by the league.
For Shane Flanagan to sit there as coach of the St George/Illawarra Dragons acting like he was hard done by at any point by the Cronulla Sharks is absurd. Flanagan coached a team that broke the NRL’s rules regarding not only performance enhancing drug use, but the salary cap as well, and even disregarded his 12 months ban handed down by the NRL.
The Cronulla Sharks may not have won a competition since Shane Flanagan left the club, but they also didn’t receive a life ban from the sport (Which should never have been overturned).
The Shane Flanagan era at the Sharks might have resulted in a questionable premiership win, but it also devastated the club. A club that was well regarded and liked around the league had it reputation ruined, it struggled to attract a main sponsor for some time, and the club required a total rebuild of not only the team on the field, but the coaching staff and football department as well.
So while Shane Flanagan feels hard done by, maybe he should think about the mess he left behind at the Sharks for a moment.
The St George/Illawarra Dragons are mad for having this guy coaching their club.
