Paul McGregor

Bennett to return to the Red V? Don’t count on it

Don’t count on seeing this image again anytime soon, with the Dragons firmly behind Paul McGregor 🙅‍♂️

Published by
Ben Cotton

Dragons assistant Shane Flanagan has quashed suggestions that Wayne Bennett will return to the club, potentially as soon as next season.

Despite being contracted to the Rabbitohs until the end of 2021, the seven-time premiership mentor has been linked to a St George Illawarra homecoming.

The Dragons' 0-2 start to the season has heaped pressure on coach Paul McGregor, however, Flanagan said the club is sticking by their man.

“I’d be very surprised. The club is 100 per cent behind Paul McGregor, he’s doing a really good job. We didn’t get off to a great start but who knows what the rest of the season holds,” he said on Fox League on Wednesday night.

“The club is really united and working really hard from top to bottom and I’d be really surprised if that was on the club’s agenda, especially at the moment.

“We’re all working hard and he’s working harder than everyone else and to think that they’re going to have a coach change in this period of time is way off the mark.”

Flanagan also spoke about the difficulty of replacing Newcastle-bound Tyson Frizell under the current circumstances.

“The trouble with at the moment, we’re in a holding pattern,” he said.

“There’s no recruitment going on, there’s no training going on, and I’m sure Paul and the recruitment staff have got their head around possible people that we could recruit to the club next year.

“And let’s be honest, he’ll be hard to replace. He’s an Origin and Test player.

“They’re just not out there to grab and we might have to get a younger one and hope that he develops into a Tyson Frizell but I’m sure the club is thinking about what’s next.”

Published by
Ben Cotton