The 2025 National Rugby League (NRL) season has entered a dramatic new phase, as newly appointed interim head coach Dean Young has wasted no time implementing sweeping changes to the struggling St George Illawarra Dragons, just hours after taking over the role.
With the Dragons mired in a winless 0-7 start to the campaign, Young moved quickly to grant promising young playmaker Kade Reed his long-awaited first-grade NRL debut this Anzac Day against the Sydney Roosters. The coaching shake-up follows the sudden departure of former head coach Shane Flanagan, whose son Kyle Flanagan — the incumbent starting half — has been demoted to the bench to make space for Reed in the starting lineup.
Young’s appointment was confirmed by Dragons CEO Tim Watsford and chairman Andrew Lancaster at 5:30 p.m. Monday, and within hours, he drove directly to Reed’s family home to deliver the life-changing news in person, alongside the departure of assistant coach Michael Ennis from the club.
Reflecting on the whirlwind sequence of events in his first official press conference, Young said he first broke the news to his own family, warning them of the chaotic stretch ahead, before heading to see Reed. “That’s the best part of coaching,” Young explained. “There are lots of things that you don’t enjoy about coaching, but when you give young men opportunities to reach their dreams, that’s the best part.”
The rookie playmaker’s promotion comes after months of calls from Dragons supporters to give Reed a shot at the top level, with former coach Shane Flanagan opting to develop the teenager gradually through reserve grade to build his experience against bigger, more experienced opponents. Young, however, said the club’s poor start to the season demanded an immediate change, and he made the call because of his firm belief in Reed’s ability to deliver.
Critics have already labelled the call risky, fielding an untested teenager on the high-profile Anzac Day match for a club stuck in a lengthy losing streak. But Young pushed back on that assessment during the press conference, saying he wanted Reed and his family to know he sees the young playmaker as a core part of the club’s long-term future. “To sit in the lounge room in front of his parents and his brother Cooper and tell him that he’s about to play on Anzac Day means a lot to me,” Young said. “I wouldn’t do it unless I believed in him.”
Addressing Kyle Flanagan’s demotion, Young noted the halfback has only set up two tries through the first seven matches of the season, and will now provide cover at either half or hooker for starting hooker Damien Cook. Young added that he has a strong relationship with Flanagan, who has accepted the change for the good of the team. “We need change,” Young said. “Where we’re going isn’t getting us to where we want to go. We’re getting the same results each week where 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.”
Outside of the Dragons’ major reshuffle, a host of other team changes have been confirmed across the league ahead of the upcoming round of matches. At the Wests Tigers, young rising winger Heamasi Makasini has been dropped from the first-grade side after a poor performance against the Brisbane Broncos, with Luke Laulilii named to take his place on the wing. Starford To’a will also step into the starting centers, replacing Patrick Herbert.
The Canberra Raiders will be without forward Hudson Young due to suspension, while veteran prop Josh Papalii will miss up to eight weeks of play with a partially torn calf muscle. For the North Queensland Cowboys, three key players — Jeremiah Nanai, Murray Taulagi and Reed Mahoney — are all set to return to the lineup for their match against the Cronulla Sharks, who will welcome back veteran forward Cam McInnes on the bench, after McInnes recovered from a season-opening ACL tear.
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have mixed team news: captain Stephen Crichton has been cleared to return from a shoulder injury, but starting winger Jacob Kiraz will miss the team’s Friday match in Brisbane due to a knee injury. Their opponents, the Brisbane Broncos, will be without starting props Payne Haas and Corey Jensen, forcing coach Kevin Walters to name Ben Talty and Jack Gosiewski in the starting front row.
Elsewhere, Brad Schneider will start at five-eighth for the Dolphins, replacing suspended playmaker Kodi Nikorima. Freddy Lussick will take over starting hooker duties for the Penrith Panthers while Mitch Kenny recovers from a serious leg injury. Manly Sea Eagles speedster Tolu Koula will replace injured fullback Tom Trbojevic, while the Parramatta Eels will welcome back Sean Russell and Kelma Tuilagi, both returning from concussion-related absences.