‘Where’s all the noise now?’ Why Dragons fans owe Shane Flanagan an apology

One of the NRL’s sharpest minds has launched a passionate defence of former St. George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan as the 0-10 Dragons continue to search for their first win of the 2026 NRL season.

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Speaking on this week’s Footy IQ podcast, Blake Austin went as far as declaring many outspoken Dragons fans even owe their former coach an apology.

“I think every single Dragons fan, and even Dean Young to a certain extent, owe Shane and Kyle an apology,” Austin said, following the avalanche of criticism earlier this season around Flanagan’s stubborn reluctance to blood young playmaker Kade Reed in the NRL.

“I get it, it was fun to push for Kade Reed to play, but he got beaten 100 to 20 (in the two matches he played)—it can’t be great for the young kid.”

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“I’m actually really angry that they took a few weak (selection) decisions to appease a few fans for a couple of weeks there—where’s all the noise now?” Austin added bluntly.

“(Kade Reed) showed us that he needs more time in NSW Cup, does he have traits that say he can play in the NRL and be successful? Of course he does.

“But does he also show traits that say, ‘hey, you came on to the big stage too soon?’ Yeah, I think he does.”

Asked for specifics, Austin suggested the necessary level of toughness to survive as an NRL playmaker was still missing from Reed’s developing game.

“When young kids come into the top grade at a minimum, you need to see a level of toughness,” he said.

“(Reed) played very sideways pre-line and I don’t think he made one tackle where you went, ‘man, what a brave tackle that was’.”

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“I’m not saying he defended poorly, but I would have liked to have seen a few more moments where you go, he’s got something this kid.”

As for the rest of the season, Austin said Dragons fans should be encouraged that the wooden spoon favourites showed some real fight against the Panthers in Magic Round.

“That team on the weekend (against Penrith) looked like a Shane Flanagan team,” Austin said.

“They were hard to beat, they didn’t have a lot of polish at the end to really challenge, but they forced the opposition to beat them. 

“That’s the team they should be for the rest of this season.”

While Kade Reed is currently out with a hand injury, Austin feels the 20-year-old playmaker should spend the rest of the season honing his game away from the NRL spotlight.

“That Dragons team you saw on the weekend (with Kyle Flanagan at halfback) is the best they’ve got at the moment,” Austin said.

“Kyle is the best seven in the club, so leave him there, let him lose every week and when your stars come in next year, that’s when you make a decision whether Kyle’s the guy. But at the moment, 110% he’s the guy.”

The Dragons will chase their first win of season in NRL Round 12 against the high-flying Warriors on Saturday afternoon at Kogarah. Kick-off at 5:30pm.

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