The St George Illawarra Dragons will not stand in Shane Flanagan's way in his pursuit of the Canterbury Bulldogs coaching job.
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The premiership-winning coach publicly stated his intention to apply for the role over the weekend, declaring his desire to lead the proud club back to the NRL's elite.
Flanagan was hired by the Dragons in February as a list management consultant.
Senior club officials have confirmed to the Mercury that he is free to pursue the Canterbury coaching gig.
In an interview with radio station 2GB on Saturday, Flanagan revealed his desire to replace Trent Barrett at the Bulldogs.
"I'd love to do the job," Flanagan told 2GB. "I want to get back into coaching at NRL level, I think I could do a good job there but I don't know what their plans are. At this point, there's been no contact."
Banned from coaching by the NRL in 2018, Flanagan has long spoken of his desire to return to a head coaching position. The suspension officially ceased at the start of the 2022 pre-season.
A move to Canterbury would see him reunite with son Kyle, the youngster struggling to find his feet in the top flight in recent times.
Many have questioned the suitability of Shane coaching his son, but the father has no concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
"If he's not the best halfback in the club, no matter where I be at, he doesn't play," Flanagan said.
The development comes as the Dragons returned to form on Saturday.
Cody Ramsey was the star in the 24-18 victory over the Warriors, the fullback scoring a try and setting up another.
The 22-year-old was a controversial selection in the No 1 jumper, fellow youngster Tyrell Sloan handed just one game back in the top flight before being demoted to reserve grade.
Where Sloan struggled under the high ball last weekend, Ramsey excelled and coach Anthony Griffin said the performance will go a long way to securing him the fullback role on a long-term basis.
"He's still very raw too," Griffin said. "But he had that energy today to pick us up in attack, particularly in the second half with that line break coming out of his own end.
"I thought he did a great job under the high ball, him and our two wingers did a really good job all day.
"Cody had a great game and that's what we needed him to do."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
