‘My ego is not that big’: Flanagan open to vacant Tigers job
Shane Flanagan is open to throwing his name into the mix for the vacant assistant coaching role at the Wests Tigers, as the club looks to make changes.
The joint venture is on the hunt for a new right-hand man to Benji Marshall after assistant John Morris handed in his resignation after three seasons.
Benji Marshall was appointed head coach at the Tigers in 2024. Getty
An advertisement for the job was published on LinkedIn, breaking away from Marshall’s coaching set-up, which has favoured his former Tigers teammates.
Flanagan has done several stints in various jobs across the league, but is currently without a club since being sacked by St George Illawarra in April.
However, the 2016 Sharks premiership winner says he wants to get back in the fold somewhere and expressed interest in joining the Tigers.
“I want to coach,” he told Triple M’s The Journos Podcast.
“I’m not worried about being a head coach. I’ve had my time there. Whether it is an assistant coach or in the admin side of things, I want to be involved.
“My ego is not that big that I have to be the big boss. I just want to get out there and do something that I love.
“I love rugby league. I’ve done it my whole life, so I don’t want to, at this stage of my life, go and start in another industry. I want to continue in this.”
Flanagan is not short of achievements on his resume, having guided Cronulla to win their only premiership a decade ago. He has also held assistant coaching roles with the national team, the NSW Blues, Sea Eagles and the Roosters.
While the 60-year-old has not officially applied for the vacant Tigers job, he has not ruled himself out of potentially going for the role.
The most enticing part about the vacant assistant coaching role at the Tigers to Flanagan wa the “enormous amount of young talent” the club has at its disposal.
The likes of the Sione, Samuela, and Latu Fainu as well as fullback Jahream Bula were notable youngsters who Flanagan is excited to watch grow into stars.
“They have a lot of class players, a lot of them are young,” he continued.
“Benji is working really hard and trying hard but maybe he is on his own and needs some help.
“I enjoy the challenge of (a role this like). I enjoy working with young men, teaching them, getting in the systems and seeing people improve their careers.
“I think I’ve got some runs on the board. I’ve got to work. Whatever club it is, I think I can add something.”
Shane Flanagan. Getty
Flanagan made clear that he does not know Marshall, nor has he had anything to do with him since he was appointed the head coaching role at the Tigers.
And while he knows how much criticism the Tigers and Marshall have faced lately, he praised the club for “getting off their ass and doing something about it”.
“We have a bit of a joke about advertising the role on LinkedIn, but at least they are doing something,” he said.
Flanagan said having a system across all levels of football where the same terminology and football style is played is “crucial” to helping a club grow.
“If you have that system in place, you can pluck a kid out of the Jersey Flegg team and have him train in the NRL and it won’t be all new to them,” Flanagan said.
“The language that they use, they have been through the pathway and already understand it. Then the progression to NRL is also quicker because they’ve started (learning it) three years earlier.”
The Tigers finished 15th at the end of the regular season for 2026.
