'Less disruption': Mark Geyer's message to Dragons as Shane Flanagan fights for job

Former rugby league hard man Mark Geyer believes the Dragons should refrain from sacking Shane Flanagan mid-season but make it clear this year is his last in charge.

Flanagan is contracted until the end of 2028 but St George Illawarra have lost their past 10 games under him, across last season and this year, and calls for the 2016 premiership-winning coach to be booted are growing louder.

Making matters uglier, Queensland State of Origin forward Jaydn Su'A has decided to leave at season's end rather than activate a player option, while young gun Loko Pasifiki Tonga, who's contracted until the end of 2027, requested permission in recent days to immediately negotiate with rivals.

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Tonga has been left confused and demoralised by repeated non-selection for first grade but his request was rejected.

Geyer weighed in on the dramas engulfing Flanagan and the Dragons on The Continuous Call Team's Mark My Words podcast.

"I would try and have as less ... frenzy or less disruption as possible for this year," Geyer said on the 2GB podcast.

"If I'm an interim coach looking for a job, I'm not taking that job because I don't want to be judged on what I've got there; I wanna be judged on what I bring to the table next year.

"So I wouldn't cut him, I wouldn't be sacking him; I'd be saying, 'You've got the whole year, and you might make a fool of us and make the [top] eight, but so be it. Just know that this is your last year as coach. Go out and do what you wanna do'.

"If you're Dean Young or you're [Ben] Hornby or you're [Ben] Te'o or someone who is looking at a full-time gig, you don't want to be [an] interim [coach] at this Dragons team right now. You might make a little difference, but you're not gonna make a massive difference."

Former rugby league cult hero Mark "Piggy" Riddell, who played 92 of his 251 NRL games with the Dragons, agreed with Geyer.

"It's too much of a risk," Riddell said.

"Because if you're aiming to be a head coach and those three guys you mentioned – they're all the talk for the next jobs, aren't they? They're saying Dean Young, they're saying Ben Hornby, Te'o ... Those blokes are always in the conversation.

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"So the risk involved is that if they take that and then they don't do well, it tarnishes them and their name goes back down the ladder so to speak.

"So it'll be an interesting one just to see how it plays out over the next few weeks.

Geyer added: "It looks like they're playing with shackles."

The last-placed Dragons will face the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium on Saturday night.