Burning questions: Valentine Holmes under fire as Shane Flanagan exit opens door for Dragons premiership hero

After a shocking run of 11 losses in a row, stretching back to the last four games of 2025, Shane Flanagan has been let go by a club that has lost its soul.

Flanagan, a premiership coach, struggled to assert himself at the Red V, with the club lurching from one crisis to the next during his tenure.

The beginning of the end stretches back to 2024, when Flanagan gave Ben Hunt an almighty dressing room spray that was captured by cameras. Hunt immediately began to agitate for an exit and the Dragons were left with a huge void to fill in the halves.

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The coach's continuous backing of his son Kyle to fill that void backed him into a corner and the halves situation has played a significant role in the coach's downfall.

The departure of Flanagan doesn't fix everything though. Wide World of Sports takes a look at the burning questions that linger.

Who takes the top job?

Dean Young has long been considered a future NRL coach but in his column for The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, Danny Weidler reported that his reputation is stronger outside the four walls of St George Illawarra than they are inside the club.

Young's father Craig is an influential figure at the Dragons but that may have a negative impact on Dean's hopes of getting the job. Given that perceptions of nepotism have dogged Flanagan's tenure, would the Dragons want to create another situation where nepotism could become a narrative?

Mick Ennis is the other big name assistant coach at the Dragons and he is highly rated for his communication skills and his footy IQ. However, being mentored by Anthony Seibold, then Flanagan - the last two NRL coaches to be shown the door - could count against him. He also has a significant media role that he would have to sacrifice to take on a coaching job, so he'll want to be certain that he's taking the right job.

Rabbitohs assistant Ben Hornby is a Dragons legend having captained the club to a premiership in 2010. He has previously taken an interim role after Souths sacked Jason Demetriou and is highly rated by Wayne Bennett, who has heavily influenced his apprenticeship. Hornby's appointment would have the added benefit of giving the club's disgruntled fans a lift, given his status as a hero of the joint venture's only period of success.

If the Dragons decide they again need an experienced head coach, other potential candidates would include Brad Arthur or Demetriou, who both still have ambitions to coach and are likely to be given another opportunity in the NRL at some stage.

The outsider who may well get an interview is former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who is currently an assistant coach at the Roosters. Cheika was reportedly considered as an option when Flanagan was hired by the Dragons but it never got to the level of a serious conversation. Not too many coaches boast as much success as Cheika and now that he's in the NRL in a full-time role his CV is only becoming more attractive.

What happens to Kyle Flanagan?

His dad no longer holds his fate in his hands but that may not be a bad thing for a halfback who has copped more than his fair share of blame for his underperforming team.

The halves are a huge problem area for the Dragons but out of Flanagan and off-season recruit Daniel Atkinson, Flanagan is the more natural No.7. There are two other players in the picture and they will almost certainly get more of an opportunity to stake their claim in the coming weeks.

There is a huge push for highly touted youngster Kade Reed, who is signed with the club until the end of the 2028 season, to get his shot at halfback. On Nine's The Sunday Footy Show, Andrew Johns strongly made that case, encouraging the Dragons to get Atkinson playing to his strengths as a running five-eighth.

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"Put him in at 7," Johns said of 20-year-old Reed. "The halves, the way they're playing at the moment, are creating nothing.

"Both of them (Flanagan and Atkinson) their confidence is down. Daniel Atkinson is normally a really good defender, his confidence is shot, he missed Latrell (Mitchell) with that one (against the Rabbitohs on Saturday). There has to be some sort of change in the halves.

"I'd say Kyle (should be dropped) and just say (to) Atkinson, you are running the ball. You are a running five-eighth.

"Get the young bloke in there, I know it's hard because they're struggling, but you've just got to put him in there, simple as that."

Another highly rated 20-year-old half, Lykhan King-Togia, has already played 23 first grade games, 17 of them last season, but has only been given one opportunity this year.

A big body, King-Togia is perhaps better suited to the five-eighth role and it would be a huge call to put both of the young players into the team at the same time.

Flanagan and King-Togia are both contracted until the end of next season, meaning both will have a full off-season to press their case with whoever is appointed as the next full-time head coach.

While still just 27, Flanagan would not likely attract offers from other NRL clubs if he is told he has no future at the Dragons. His two most likely options are to fight for his future in the Red V in reserve grade or start looking at a move to the Super League.

What are the club's next big roster moves?

Until a full-time coach for 2027 is appointed it is unlikely the Dragons will be able to sign any big name players. That means the club's push for a star fullback of the ilk of Scott Drinkwater or Jahream Bula will probably go on hold for now.

Perhaps more pressing will be stemming the flow when it comes to players requesting early releases from their contract. Origin forward Jaydn Su'A was recently given permission to exit his contract early and will join the Eels in 2027.

That news was quickly followed by the revelation that promising young front-rower Loko Pasifiki Tonga also wanted out. Pasifiki Tonga, 20, is contracted for next season and the Dragons have showed their cards, responding to the request with a stern 'no' and promoting him into the match day squad for Saturday's loss to the Rabbitohs.

Pasifiki Tonga's management group was clearly unhappy with the direction of the club under Flanagan, so the coach's sacking may placate them to a degree, depending on who is hired to replace him.

The Dragons also have some big calls to make on their senior core of players. Damien Cook is off contract at the end of this season and is unlikely to be extended after facing criticism for his form in 2026. Clint Gutherson and Valentine Holmes are both on big money deals that expire at the end of next season and both will face significant pay cuts if they are offered extensions.

Speaking on SEN, Corey Parker turned his sights on those players, all of whom were brought in by Flanagan, saying their performances had let the coach down.

"He has brought a couple of players in, a couple of experienced older players in who have grossly let him down," Parker said.

"One in particular on the weekend - Val Holmes. Twelve missed tackles - boy oh boy. These are the people that set standards and values."

Toby and Ryan Couchman are considered crucial to the club's future but the Dragons are yet to lock them in beyond next season. Sticking with the engine room, Emre Guler, Blake Lawrie and Josh Kerr are all veterans whose careers are winding down. Keaon Koloamatangi joins the club on mega money next season but there is more work to do to reshape a forward pack that is struggling to lay a platform this season.

With a lot of the club's highest paid players coming off contract either at the end of this season or next, the Dragons are in a strong position to turn over their roster quickly but it's unlikely any big moves will be made until they've hired a football department boss or a full-time head coach or both.

What's next for Shane Flanagan?

After leading Cronulla to the 2016 premiership, Flanagan's reputation has been dented by his involvement in the club's peptides scandal, his failure to abide by the conditions imposed on him when he was suspended for that saga by the NRL and now for his tenure at the Dragons.

There is a school of thought that the style of play that is successful in the NRL in 2026 has evolved significantly since 2016 and that Flanagan hasn't evolved with it.

He has also taken some knocks for his man management since being appointed by the Dragons, first with the way he handled star halfback Ben Hunt, then the way he engineered a situation for his son to play a significant role for his team. In the time that Kyle Flanagan has taken a grip on the Dragons' first grade side, halves who were viable alternatives such as Ashton Ward, Lachlan Ilias and Jonah Glover have all left the club.

So can Flanagan the coach bounce back from the mistakes that led to his departure at the Dragons to again put himself in a position to be the head coach at an NRL club?

Stranger things have happened but a more realistic future for the 60-year-old involves a step down to assistant coaching, where new opportunities frequently arise.