Dean Young reveals first moves he pulled after appointment, says Shane Flanagan had 'had enough'

Dean Young made two immediate moves after being told by Dragons bosses he'd scored the interim head coach gig.

He first headed home to tell his wife to "buckle up" and apologise to his three kids about the chaotic journey ahead, and then drove to Kade Reed's house to tell the highly rated 20-year-old playmaker he'd be making his NRL debut against the Roosters on Anzac Day, at the expense of Kyle Flanagan.

Young revealed his immediate moves in his first press conference in his new role on Tuesday afternoon, during which he said Shane Flanagan told him after Saturday night's loss to South Sydney that he'd "had enough".

READ MORE: Dragons rip 'fabricated' report as shock Young rift revealed

READ MORE: Hollands admitted to hospital as Blues probed over sad saga

READ MORE: Usain Bolt's timely advice to Aussie sprint star Gout Gout

Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster and CEO Tim Watsford told Young about 5.30pm on Monday that he'd be replacing Flanagan as head coach on an interim basis, following the sacking of the 60-year-old.

Reed, a product of the Western Suburbs Red Devils and the Dragons academy, will play at halfback alongside five-eighth Daniel Atkinson at Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon, while Flanagan, who's been dropped to the extended bench, will be used as cover for the halves and hooker Damien Cook.

"I thought it was important that his parents understood the reason why I'm giving him the opportunity," Young said of Reed.

"People will probably judge my decision and say that we're 0 and seven [zero wins and seven losses in 2026], chucking in a kid on debut on Anzac Day is risky.

"But I wouldn't do it unless I believed in him and I wanted him to know that I believe in him, and that his parents fully knew that I'm in there for the long haul with him and he's a big part of the future.

Watch the 2026 NRL season live and free on Nine and 9Now.

"I don't know if it's my stamp; we need change," Young added, speaking of swapping Flanagan with Reed.

"Where we're going isn't getting us to where we wanna go. We're getting the same results each week, we're leading games and then not getting it done, and we need a bit of a circuit breaker.

"I know Kade will do a good job, but Kade Reed is not the saviour of this club. He needs the 16 players that take the field on the weekend to do their job and then he'll be able to do his."

Young declined to reveal the reasons for axing Flanagan.

"I spoke to him about the reasons why, which will stay between us, and I'll see him tomorrow," Young said.

"But he's on board for whatever the team needs.

"I've got a really good relationship with him."

On Shane Flanagan, Young said: "I was in there fighting as hard as I could with Shane till the end, and then he told me after the game [on Saturday night] that he's had enough, and I can understand that."

A day after it was revealed Flanagan and Ben Haran had been dismissed from their respective roles as head coach and general manager of football, Young took the extraordinary step of cutting Michael Ennis as an assistant.

"That one was hard, mate, to be honest," Young said.

"As I said, the best part of coaching is giving kids their debut, and the toughest part of the job is telling people that there's no job here for them.

"I've known Mick for a long time. I played with him back in 2005 [at the Dragons]. I've got a good relationship with him.

"Unfortunately, he's part of the change. We need a circuit breaker, we need things to look different, we need things to feel different.

"I've got nothing against him as a coach. I think potentially he could be a good head coach down the track.

"But for me, I need different voices, I need the playing group to feel different."

Assisting Young as coaches are NSW Cup coach Willie Taulau, whose role has expanded, and former Dragons forward Tom Eisenhuth, who hung up his boots in May last year.