‘I want the job’: Young’s plea as players start asking questions
Dragons interim coach Dean Young has confirmed he wants the role full-time but revealed there’s been no talks with the club about signing a contract.
Young coached the Red V to their first win of the season in a shock 30-26 result against the Broncos.
Dean Young on Nine's 100% Footy. Nine
The 2010 premiership winner took over from Shane Flanagan in April amid a dreadful run of form and has finally delivered some cheer for Dragons fans.
Speaking on Nine’s 100% Footy, Young delivered a definitive “I want the job” when asked by Paul Gallen.
The Dragons will be bolstered by numerous recruits next season with Scott Drinkwater, Phillip Sami, Keaon Koloamatangi and Luke Metcalf all arriving. Connor Watson will also have a year with the Red V before heading to PNG.
On the show’s panel, Phil Gould had asked if there’d been any discussions around Young taking the role moving forward, to which he confirmed there hadn’t been.
Gould then pressed about recruits and their need to know who’s coaching next season during negotiations.
Young confirmed that question have been raised by players.
“Yeah they do and I’ve been involved in a lot of the meetings with players,” he said.
Scott Drinkwater in action for the Cowboys. Getty
“I’ve obviously got a great relationship with Scott Drinkwater from my time at the Cowboys, I’ve worked with Keaon with Tonga since 2019, met Luke Metcalf for two hours and explained the style of play I think will work in today’s game and the spine the Dragons will have next year. I hope I get a pre-season with them, Gus.”
Along with the recruits, Young has an exciting batch of young players to work with if he gets the job.
The interim coach brought youngster Kade Reed in as his first decision, although that only lasted a short time. Lyhkan King-Togia was also given a chance by the interim coach.
Young explained why he made those calls.
“When I first took over I wasn’t really happy with the way things were going, I thought we needed to make some change so I gave an opportunity to young Kade Reed, and unfortunately he hurt his finger; and Lykian got an opportunity against Newcastle but didn’t take that opportunity,” he said.
“So I went back to Kyle (Flanagan) and Atko (Daniel Atkinson) and I thought we did a good job against Penrith, we played straight and stuck to the game plan ... the next week against the Warriors, although we fought hard, I was really disappointed with the way we performed, and we didn’t stick to the way we wanted to play, and we spoke about that and had a plan for the Broncos and stuck to it.”
The 42-year-old also explained one of his first acts was to change how they trained when asked about the improvement in performances from senior players.
“When I first took over we stripped everything back and got back to the basics and tried to nail the fundamentals,” he said.
“I can’t thank the players enough because we’re in a real tough spot. To lose as many games as we have on the trot and keep turning up to training with a good attitude, keep fighting in game and keep believing in the messages that I’m giving them is really pleasing.”
The Dragons next face the Sharks on Sunday.
