Shane Flanagan says the pressure around kyle flanagan and a losing streak helped push him out of St George Illawarra last month. He said not winning games was the main reason he left, but the noise around his son was part of the decision too.
Shane Flanagan and Kyle Flanagan
“That’s why I’m sitting here, really it is,” Flanagan said on Monday, explaining why the job became harder to carry. “There were some other things that made my decision. Not winning footy games was the main one, but obviously the Kyle thing came into it.”
He had re-signed with the club until the end of 2028 last year after taking over the joint venture in 2024. That deal looked like a long runway. Instead, he is already gone after a horror run of form.
St George Illawarra’s halves shift
Flanagan said Kyle was never originally signed to carry the main playmaking load. “It’s tough, but at the time when Kyle came to the club, Ben Hunt was halfback and we had Junior Amone and Jayden Sullivan - we bought Kyle to come there to be that 14,” he said.
The shape of the roster changed fast. Hunt left, Amone was suspended and Sullivan went to the Wests Tigers, leaving Kyle in the halves when Flanagan had expected a different role for him.
Flanagan backed his son’s effort level but drew a clear line around his game. “Kyle has been put in that position to play in the halves and for me, he was the best halfback at the club. He competes really hard, he’s not that creative - we know that,” he said.
Luke Metcalf and Scott Drinkwater
Even with Luke Metcalf and Scott Drinkwater arriving, Flanagan said Kyle will stay in the playmaking role next year. “Next year with Drinkwater coming there, that’s exciting for them,” he said.
That leaves St George Illawarra with a cleaner answer than the one that followed Flanagan’s exit: Kyle remains part of the halves picture, and the club now has to make that work after the coach who signed him to be a bench option is already out.
