Shane Flanagan (born 2 December 1965) is an Australian professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
football coach, and was the Head Coach of the
Cronulla Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (National Rugby League, NRL), Australasia' ...
. He was appointed assistant coach of NRL team
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
in 2006 and was subsequently appointed to the top position when former coach
Ricky Stuart
Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
He ...
resigned on 20 July 2010.
Flanagan is currently the Assistant Coach at the
St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
and Coaching Director of the
PNG Kumuls.
He is the father of
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
player
Kyle Flanagan.
Playing career
Flanagan played
S. G. Ball Cup,
Jersey Flegg Cup
The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Easter ...
, and President's Cup for
St. George Dragons
The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...
prior to making his first-grade debut for the club in 1987. He came off the bench in this game, a round 11 match against the
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...
, and played his second game against the same opposition in round 24. After making three first-grade appearances in 1987, he made none in 1988.
In 1989, Flanagan joined the
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...
. In his second game for them, he accused his
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
opponent
Andrew Gee Andrew Gee may refer to:
* Andrew Gee (rugby league)
* Andrew Gee (politician)
See also
* Osher Günsberg, Australian television personality formerly known as Andrew G
{{hndis, Gee, Andrew ...
of biting, showing the referee a mark on his forearm. The Magpies’ CEO later decided not to take any action against Gee. In round 8, Flanagan scored his first top-grade try in a tight victory over St. George at
Kogarah Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one ...
. He scored his second and final try of the year in round 16, darting over from dummy-half.
After being a regular starter at hooker in 1989 and 1990, he played only five games in 1991 under new coach
Warren Ryan
Warren Redman Ryan (born 27 October 1941) is an Australian former professional rugby league football coach and player. He is considered one of the most influential rugby league coaches of the 20th century. Ryan also played in the NSWRFL Premie ...
, with Ryan preferring new recruit
Joe Thomas in the hooking role. His last game for the Magpies was a winning play-off for fifth spot, which allowed the Magpies to make their first semi-finals appearance since 1982.
He moved to
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
in 1992 and remained with the club until 1994, when he retired from playing football following a knee injury. Flanagan was later engaged to coach the Parramatta S.G. Ball team in 1997.
Coaching career
After spending the 1997 season in the English Super League as
Stuart Raper
Stuart may refer to:
Names
*Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
* Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
*Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
Northe ...
's assistant at the
Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...
, Flanagan returned to Australia and was eventually appointed to an assistant coaching role at the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
for two years under
Ricky Stuart
Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
He ...
. He went on to coach the Australian Schoolboys side, was an assistant coach for Australia under Stuart in 2007, and was an assistant coach under
Craig Bellamy
Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...
for
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
from 2008 to 2010.
[
In July 2010, Flanagan was instated as Cronulla-Sutherland head coach following Ricky Stuart's resignation with six weeks remaining in the 2010 season.
As head coach of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Flanagan lost his first three games mostly by small margins before a breakthrough win came against premiership contenders the ]Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
in round 23 of the 2010 season. The Sharks won 18–12. The Sharks won one more game in the 2010 season, against the Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...
.
In the 2012 NRL season
The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...
, Flanagan coached Cronulla to finish 7th on the ladder. Flanagan built a reputation for signing key players to the club. Having signed Todd Carney
Todd Carney (born 2 June 1986), also known by the nickname of "Toddy", is an Australian former professional rugby league player who played in the 2000s and 2010s.
He has previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Sydney Roosters and ...
the previous year, Flanagan secured the purchases of Beau Ryan
Beau Ryan (born 11 May 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, television presenter, actor and singer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. Ryan is also well ...
and Chris Heighington
Christopher Heighington (born 14 January 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An English international, Country New South Wales and NRL All Stars representative, his positions were and . He played for the Wests Tigers and ...
from the West Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture c ...
, Michael Gordon and Luke Lewis from the Panthers, and Jonathon Wright from the Bulldogs.
In 2013, following a year-long investigation into the Sharks' supplements program carried out during the 2011 NRL season
The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL ...
, Flanagan was suspended from his role for a period of 12 months.[Sharks fined $1m, Flanagan suspended](_blank)
NRL.com official website, 17 December 2013
In the 2016 NRL season
The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...
he guided Cronulla to a top-four finish. They would travel to Canberra in the first week of the 2016 Finals and record a 16–14 victory thus earning a preliminary final at Allianz Stadium. The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks would win this preliminary final against the 2015 premiers, the North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
, by 32-20 thus earning a place in the 2016 Grand Final. On 2 October, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks would record a 14–12 victory over the Melbourne Storm and win the Premiership becoming the first head coach of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to win a premiership.
In the 2017 NRL season
The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...
he guided Cronulla to the finals. In week one, Cronulla played against North Queensland in the elimination final. Cronulla went to be upset 15–14.
In 2018, Flanagan took Cronulla to a top-four finish. Cronulla lost their week one final match against Eastern Suburbs before defeating Penrith the following week 21–20. In the preliminary final, Cronulla was defeated by Melbourne 22–6.
On 19 December 2018, Flanagan was de-registered as a coach indefinitely for failing to adhere to the conditions of his suspension in 2014. The NRL integrity unit had found that Flanagan had sent more than fifty emails exchanged between Flanagan, club management, and the football department which was strictly against the conditions of his suspension which included that Flanagan was to have no contact or involvement with the club during his ban. The NRL also fined Cronulla $800,000 as punishment.
On 20 September 2019, it was announced that Flanagan was allowed to return to the NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
but under strict conditions. He was still unable to hold a head coaching role at any club until 2022 but was allowed to return as an assistant coach. He joined his junior club the St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
as an assistant coach to Paul McGregor beginning in the 2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
. Flanagan's role is specifically focused on defence. Flanagan was the most important of one of 8 coaching changes at the Dragons following a dismal 2019.
In September 2020, Flanagan was told his services would not be required in 2021 by St. George after the appointment of new head coach Anthony Griffin.
On February 24 2022, it was announced that Flanagan would return to the Dragons, this time as a List Management Consultant.
References
External links
Cronulla Sharks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Shane
1965 births
Living people
Australian rugby league coaches
Australian rugby league players
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coaches
Parramatta Eels players
Rugby league hookers
Rugby league players from Sydney
St. George Dragons players
Western Suburbs Magpies players