Dean Young

[getsmarty]

No grey areas with Young as Dragons coach

• National Sport
  
  
  
  Interim coach Dean Young says he has six weeks to make the St George Illawarra job his own.

• Dean Young will do it his way in his audition as St George Illawarra coach, telling Dragons players his expectations are clear.
  
  Young has six weeks to prove why he should stay in charge of the Dragons, as they start their search for a full-time replacement for Paul McGregor.
  
  The Dragons board want a coach with a track record of sound defence and discipline, as well as experience in a successful culture.
  
  And it's exactly that doggedness Young wants to instil in his players, beginning with Friday night against Brisbane.
  
  "The players know what I value in players," Young said.
  
  "I value players who compete. I value players who are disciplined and I value players that are consistent.
  
  "There is no grey in that. It's black and white.
  
  "You either compete hard or you don't. You're either disciplined or you're not. And you're consistent or you're not. It's pretty easy to see."
  
  The Dragons are languishing 11th on the NRL ladder, but Young is quick to point out that in the only two games they have competed in consistently this year, they won.
  
  "We've played for 80 minutes twice this year, once against Manly and once against Parramatta," Young said.
  
  "We got the result in both of them."
  
  Young admitted to having butterflies on his first day in charge, after serving as McGregor's assistant since 2014 - two years after his retirement.
  
  He has taken advice from Wayne Bennett in the past fortnight with the pair close from their time together at the Dragons.
  
  Bennett has been linked to a Dragons return while Craig Fitzgibbon and Jason Ryles are likely to be the other front-runners.
  
  Fitzgibbon and Ryles have history at the club and are the respective defensive coaches at the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne.
  
  Both however are locked into contracts for next year as is Bennett at the Rabbitohs.
  
  Shane Flanagan would be another option given Cronulla's sturdy defence in his final years, but his NRL ban means he can only be the Dragons assistant until the end of next year.
  
  Anthony Griffin, Paul Green and Todd Payten are likely to be the other figures considered by the Red V.
  
  But regardless, Young knows the next month is his best shot.
  
  "I'm pretty determined to do it my way," Young said.
  
  "I have six weeks now. It's a good opportunity for myself to do things my way.
  
  "It obviously is (an audition) but I am pretty good at staying on task and at the moment my focus is the next six weeks.
  
  "Ask me that question in six weeks time whether I want the job then, I'll know the answer then."
  
  Australian Associated Press
  
  https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6888208/no-grey-areas-with-young-as-dragons-coach/?cs=9321

 

[getsmarty]

How Bennett's influence helped prepare Young for Dragons job
Author
Brad Walter NRL.com Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Thu 20 Aug 2020, 06:01 PM

Interim St George Illawarra coach Dean Young has revealed he has received advice from seven-time premiership-winning mentor Wayne Bennett ahead of his first game in charge against Brisbane on Friday night.

Young, who took over the Dragons coaching reigns from Paul McGregor this week, played under Bennett in the club's 2010 premiership-winning team and remains in regular contact with the South Sydney coach.

The philosophies Bennett introduced to the club during his three-year tenure from 2009 to 2011 form the nucleus of a blueprint to identify the next St George Illawarra coach and Young has been given up to six weeks to prove he is the right man for the job.

While Young declined to provide details of his most recent conversation with Bennett, he confirmed the coaching guru had phoned him after he was appointed to the role last week.

"I speak to Wayne quite regularly," Young said. "He rang up and gave me a bit of advice. I'd tell you, but Wayne gets cranky when I tell people secrets so I'm not allowed to say."

Craig Fitzgibbon, Jason Ryles, Paul Green, Todd Payten and Anthony Griffin are other names linked to the position, while there has also been speculation that Bennett could work with Young in the role of coaching director.

"If the club decided to go down that path I'm comfortable working with anyone because I feel like that's a strength of mine," Young said of the possibility of the Dragons appointing a coaching director.

He also has a relationship with Griffin after they worked together under Kristian Woolf with the Tonga team that beat Australia and Great Britain at the end of last season.

A meeting of the Dragons board on Tuesday night decided to seek a defence-orientated coach, who can instil discipline in his players and has been involved with a successful culture. Young would meet each criteria.

After taking charge of the squad on Monday, Young told them the qualities he wanted in his players and they are similar to those which have characterised Bennett-coached teams for more than 30 years.

"I value players who compete, I value players that are disciplined and I value players who are consistent," Young said. "There is no grey in that. It's black and white for me. You either compete hard or you don't, you are disciplined or you are not and you are consistent or you are not.

"It's pretty easy for me to see and I let the players know on Monday that that is what I value so now it is over to them."

Young also believes in rewarding winning performances when possible and has ruled out rushing Kangaroos prop Paul Vaughan into the starting line-up after completing his 14-day isolation period following a breach of the NRL's strict bio-security guidelines on the eve of the round 13 clash with Sydney Roosters.

Vaughan, who will meet his teammates ahead of their flight to Brisbane, has been training on his own and will start on the interchange bench, with Jacob Host replacing the suspended Tyrell Fuimaono in the second row.

"I have been in contact with him a fair bit, he has been hooked up on Zoom so he hasn't missed any video sessions or any meetings that we have had this week and our performance staff have done an incredible job of making sure he is ready to play this weekend," Young said.

"I like to stick with the side that gets the job done. That is not going to happen all the time, but I feel the blokes who started on the weekend got the job done against a stacked Parramatta side so I want to give them that opportunity again to start and see if they can be consistent and do the job again.

"Paul Vaughan is going to come off the interchange bench and I don't want to set him up to fail by starting him in a game when he has been away from the team for the last two weeks. He is going to come off the bench and he is going to have a role to play, and I am sure he will do it well."

Young, who admitted to "having butterflies" when he addressed the players for the first time as head coach on Monday, wouldn't confirm that he wanted the job full-time but admitted the next few weeks were an audition for the role.

"It obviously is but I'm pretty good at staying on task and the focus is the next six weeks. Ask me that question in six weeks time whether I want the job or not. I'll answer it then," he said.

"Every job has got its challenges but I wouldn't say there would be a heap of jobs where when the alarm goes off you jump out of bed. That's how I feel with footy.

"I've been blessed to play in the NRL for a long period of time and I've been involved ever since in a few different roles. I never take for granted what I've got. I'll try to do my best."


https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/08/20/how-bennetts-influence-has-helped-prepare-young-for-dragons-job/

 

[Dragonslayer]

I'm prepared to give Young 3 games in charge.

Of course I want to see us winning, that would be a good start, however, for me, I want to see:

1. Change in attitude of the players
2. Change in 'style' of play
3. Some innovative attack plays
4. Better defense
5. Better use of the bench
6. Stick to his word about player performance
7. Intergrate some of our up and coming players in games that suit.
8. Dont play injured players

I'm curious to see his half-time talks, will they be calm and keep his head or a rant and rave (particularly if we are behind).

His first coaches review was pretty good now lets see him back the talk with the walk.

 

[ChocOConnor]

I’m wishing dean all the best.

I don’t want him as coach but I do think down the line he will be a good coach Bennett style.

Ply your apprenticeship down at storm with Ryles leaving and then you may want to coach first grade at dragons.

I actually think he has the good of the club as he went through the choke tag and the one thing I will forever remember. Is that photo with Albert and Dean at 2010 grand final embracing. That is how I know what it means to Dean and what he went through for the club.
I always was pissed how they through Hornby under the bus but hopefully we will never go back to those dark places where that moron of a wanna be coach took us

 

[Dragons 09]

I’m wishing dean all the best.

I don’t want him as coach but I do think down the line he will be a good coach Bennett style.

Ply your apprenticeship down at storm with Ryles leaving and then you may want to coach first grade at dragons.

I actually think he has the good of the club as he went through the choke tag and the one thing I will forever remember. Is that photo with Albert and Dean at 2010 grand final embracing. That is how I know what it means to Dean and what he went through for the club.
I always was pissed how they through Hornby under the bus but hopefully we will never go back to those dark places where that moron of a wanna be coach took us

If Young gets the gig, we've never left those dark places.

 

[Old Timer]

If Young gets the gig, we've never left those dark places.

If he gets the gig that means the last match just burnt out.

 

[gitano]

Sign Deano.

3 years with an option in our favour

 

[mickeylane]

One thing I will say about Dean Young - he’s already a massive improvement on McGregor even before he coaches his first game!! and that’s in the way he carries himself and delivers his message. I as a supporter took every word in during his match day preview interview and felt his conviction and his unwavering stance on the standard of performance expected from his playing group. Basically from day one he has put every player on notice and there can be no ifs and buts when someone is dropped - I liked that very much - a touch of Trent Robinson.. I wish him the best and I’m certain he will be a massive improvement on the dope that just left but not sure he has the know how to reset the mess of the past 7 years....

 

[St Georgio]

I'm prepared to give Young 3 games in charge.

Of course I want to see us winning, that would be a good start, however, for me, I want to see:

1. Change in attitude of the players
2. Change in 'style' of play
3. Some innovative attack plays
4. Better defense
5. Better use of the bench
6. Stick to his word about player performance
7. Intergrate some of our up and coming players in games that suit.
8. Dont play injured players

I'm curious to see his half-time talks, will they be calm and keep his head or a rant and rave (particularly if we are behind).

His first coaches review was pretty good now lets see him back the talk with the walk.

Adding to Dragonslayer-
I have watched one game in 2 years with McIdiot, I will watch the next few games in a relaxed open minded attitude.I will expect basically the Dragons to win there last 5 out 6 games for Dean to get the full time gig, other than that NO MORE f**kING ROOKIES!

 

[Mjab]

Sign Deano.

3 years with an option in our favour

As an assistant !

You are joking I assume , or have you been so impressed by 1 prematch press interview

Even if he wins a few games he cannot seriously be head coach next year

If we sign a rookie that must be Fitzgibbon, at least he has been successful, can coach defense and been tutored by a good coach. Still a risk and an unknown quantity as head coach

None of the above relate to Deano

 

[_Johnsy]

One thing I will say about Dean Young - he’s already a massive improvement on McGregor even before he coaches his first game!! and that’s in the way he carries himself and delivers his message. I as a supporter took every word in during his match day preview interview and felt his conviction and his unwavering stance on the standard of performance expected from his playing group. Basically from day one he has put every player on notice and there can be no ifs and buts when someone is dropped - I liked that very much - a touch of Trent Robinson.. I wish him the best and I’m certain he will be a massive improvement on the dope that just left but not sure he has the know how to reset the mess of the past 7 years....

Agree with you 100%. The thing with Deano is, standards matter.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I'm all in favour of giving our young up and comers their chance when it is warranted....but if we are to become a force to be reckoned with in the future and fixing the problems post McGregor then imo we still need to attract some profile players from outside our current roster....and by that I dont mean some profile players that are getting past their use by date like Merrin Luke etc.... currently Im not sure what players are off or near off contract this year with other clubs but I dont see Young being the coach to attract some quality players to our club in the near future unless we pay overs for their services......Young in my opinion still needs a lot of work and experience under a seasoned Coach before hes given the top job .

 

[getsmarty]

Dragons $6m man says Red V should go on Hunt for experienced coach

Christian Nicolussi
59 mins ago

Getty
Rookie coach Dean Young has been widely endorsed to be the man to steer St George Illawarra next year, but Dragons star Ben Hunt believes the club would be best suited to appoint an experienced coach.

The Red V's $6 million man also said he would have no problems being reunited with Wayne Bennett if the club were serious about luring the veteran back.

Hunt is signed until the end of 2023 and has plenty of interest in who the club appoints to succeed Paul McGregor.

While the Queensland and Kangaroos utility has a lot of time for Young, and backed him to do the job if given the nod, he believed the ideal situation would be to go with an experienced campaigner with a proven record who could coax the best out of the young playing group.

Bennett has reiterated his desire to see out his deal at Souths until the end of 2021, but is expected to feature on the Dragons' short-list along with Paul Green, Anthony Griffin, Todd Payten, Young and Craig Fitzgibbon, who like Bennett has made it clear he won't cut and run a year early from the Roosters.

A decision is expected in the next four to six weeks. Young has a lot of support, but so did first-time head coach McGregor and Steve Price before him, and both failed to deliver any silverware.

"I'm definitely interested in who they appoint, and from the moment I heard we were moving on from 'Mary' [McGregor], I was like, 'who are we going to get?' " Hunt told the Herald.

"Straight away you start thinking about which coaches are available.

"There's been talk about what we've done with the past couple of coaches and how we've hired within.

"In my opinion I think an experienced coach is probably the way to go.

"We have a young group, I'm 30 and I'm the second eldest in the group.

"With Wayne I'd happily play under him again. We had an up and down ride at Brisbane, but I always thought he was a great coach and he did the right thing by the team.

"If he did get the job I'd be happy. I respect him and I'm pretty sure he respects me. He always gets the best out of the players he's got."

Hunt has been impressed with Young who starts his six games in charge as caretaker coach on Friday night against the Broncos.

What he lacks in experience, Hunt said, could be offset by having Shane Flanagan supporting him.

"We've only had a few days at training but Deano has been very clear about what he expects from us and what he wants," said Hunt, as he took time out from a VB Thirst promotion this week.

"Deano hasn't given me a long-term plan but as of right now he'll keep playing me at No.9, we spoke about how our team is set up at the moment and he thinks that's the best position for me the rest of this year.

"He is pretty solid in what he wants from players and he sticks with it and drives it. He demands we're 'on' whenever we start training."

Hunt is determined for the Dragons to succeed. He has lost count the number of times he has been asked about the pressure that comes with his whopping price tag, with the Queenslander taking up an option for 2023 during the COVID-19 shutdown.

The Dragons are definitely his home, even though his former club and Friday's opponents Brisbane could do with his experience and playmaking qualities.

While the Dragons' fans demand excellence, Hunt said their expectations were nothing compared to those in love with the Broncos.

"They've had a lot of success up there, and when you lose a few games it feels like the whole city turns against you," said Hunt, who spent nine seasons at Red Hill.

"Every day I look at my phone something new pops up about that club. I've still got some good mates there. It's tough because you go out and do your best, you don't get the results, and it's hard to perform each week when there's so much going on around the place."

The Dragons stunned the Eels last week in McGregor's farewell game, but know repeating it will be a big challenge.


https://www.msn.com/en-au/sports/ru...-go-on-hunt-for-experienced-coach/ar-BB18bKro

 

[qld redvee]

with the criteria that the board have set for the new coach Dean cant be a serious contender , If over the next 6 weeks he sticks with his beliefs either players lift OR are dropped then i would say he would be a good assisstant / right hand man for our next coach If he serves as an assisstant like fitzgibbon has then he should be good enough to step up in a few years . I hope he can tweak our attack and drop a non performer or 2 and even blood a rookie or 2 ... lets see how the next 3 weeks go and hopefully we all see a massive change in the team
Lets hope dean can get a good win up against the ponies we need to kick them while their down !!!!!!!

 

[getsmarty]

NRL 2020: Wayne Bennett throws his support behind Dean Young to coach St George Illawarra
Wayne Bennett loved Dean Young as a player during his tenure at St George Illawarra, so he sees no reason why he can’t become a successful NRL coach.

Matt Logue
NCA NewsWire
August 21, 20203:23pm

Wayne Bennett has backed Dean Young to be St George Illawarra’s next coach, declaring he possesses the qualities to be successful.

Young is in the mix to lead the Dragons after he was appointed interim coach following Paul McGregor’s departure.

Bennett called his former premiership-winning player from 2010 during the week to offer support ahead of his maiden match in charge against Brisbane on Friday night.

The super coach joked that his chat with Young was more to emphasise with him for entering the brave world of NRL coaching.

“I don’t usually congratulate guys for getting coaching jobs,” Bennett said frankly.

“I usually commiserate with them because it is such a tough gig.

“You go in with such high expectations and it can all be blown away on them in six months, 12 months or 18 months.

“But I know Dean will give it his best shot and I know he has a lot to offer, so I wish him all the best.

“He is a great communicator; he is full of enthusiasm and he has got a lot of attributes that good coaches have got to have.”

Wayne Bennett, Dean Young and Ben Hornby and the 2010 NRL premiership trophy. Picture: Gregg PorteousSource:News Limited

Bennett expects Young to face hurdles, like all coaches in the NRL, but he believes the former forward has the personality to rise above the challenges.

The pair built a close rapport at the Dragons, especially during the franchise’s premiership year in 2010 when they combined to defy the doubters and end the club’s previous finals fade-outs.

“Dean is one of my favourite players that I’ve coached,” Bennett said.

“I loved him as a player because he gave so much on and off the field.

“He was just a great player and a great guy to be around. He is a great clubman.

“I was pleased for him (to get the coaching job). I know what it meant to him to get that opportunity.”

Bennett has another season to run on his contract at South Sydney, but he has been linked to a return to the Dragons as a coaching director.

The super coach distanced himself from those reports when asked after training on Friday.

“Well I’ve been linked with everybody, haven’t I?,” he said.

“You guys (in the media) keep getting me jobs and then I don’t finish up with a job.

“I’m a bit confused, so I can’t get carried away with this one.”


https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/d...a/news-story/a783c82855141e97d5bba0c75f0b4900

 

[Dragon Blood]

Same shit McExit dragons footy in that first 40 mins. Deano is not the answer moving forward.

Yeah few bullshit calls their way but still, we should have sang their lullaby way before the 1/2 time.

We need a proper hard nosed coach that strikes fear for your position to perform rather than old mate protecting his ass

 

[dragon_around]

What the hell was that bench management? Sims and Merrin played how many minutes?

 

[St Tangles]

He at least sounds intelligent in the press conference

Probably not hard after the last bloke

 

[Saints Forever]

A refreshingly honest post game interview.

Unlike the imposter, Dean has told both the team and the media what we all know, which is our side is currently miles behind the top sides.

Whilst he praised Norman’s kicking in the second half he made it plain he is far from satisfied with his overall play.

 

[RPG437]

Very impressed with Dean's press conference. Looking forward to the next few weeks. We shouldn't pre-judge him based on his old man's efforts as a coach.