Dean Young is the man to lead the Dragons forward.
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In fact, he should have been in this position from the start even before the club extended Shane Flanagan.
And for anyone trying to question his character, I honestly don’t know what they’re talking about.
I know Dean well from my early days at the Dragons. Craig Young was head of football at the time and Dean was one of the senior players. One thing I’ll always remember about Dean was his ability to connect a club from top to bottom.
He was never someone who sat above the group. He sat within it.
I remember one pre-season when I was just 17 years old and Dean went out of his way to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing. That meant a lot. He had a real knack for making people feel comfortable and included.
That is why I can only imagine how valuable he’ll be for this current Dragons team, particularly one that needs to lean heavily on its younger and emerging talent if it’s going to climb out of the hole it finds itself in.
It’s important to have someone like Dean there for those young kids coming through. He won’t just support them, he understands what it means to be a Dragon. He understands the history of the club, the standards, the pride and the weight of that jersey.
And that can’t be overstated, especially when you consider the divide that still seems to exist within the club.
It’s clear there is still tension between the Illawarra and St George factions. I don’t know every detail of what is happening at board level, but it’s easy to see the impact from the outside.
Just look at the number of times the club has frozen contracts. First with Paul McGregor, then with Shane Flanagan. That points to a lack of trust and a lack of empowerment for the people in charge.
It’s telling that the only person to have real success at the club in the joint venture era is Wayne Bennett.
Wayne oversaw every part of the football program and ran the show. It took someone of his stature to come in, clear the room and take total control for the Dragons to have success.
That says a lot.
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If anything, the Dragons could learn something from what Benji Marshall is building at the Wests Tigers, another joint venture club. Benji, as a club legend and former great, understands both sides of that merger. Dean Young is in a similar position at the Dragons.
The last thing you want to do is bring in someone from outside who doesn’t understand the factions, the history, the politics and, for lack of a better term, the skeletons in the closet.
Dean could have easily shifted his focus to landing another role in the NRL. He came very close to getting the top job at Newcastle.
But instead, he stayed at the Dragons, warts and all because he wants to see change. More importantly, he knows what that change needs to look like.
He’s perfect for them.
He’s not just a club great in his own right, he’s the son of a Dragons legend. And now he’s working alongside another club legend in Ben Creagh as chief operating officer. There wouldn’t be too many people who bleed more red and white than those two.
Sure, some people might argue that Dean isn’t the right choice because he was part of Flanagan’s coaching staff. But that argument doesn’t hold much weight for me.
The head coach sets the strategy. The head coach sets the framework, the style of play and the direction of the team. Assistant coaches are there to carry out that vision. They cut the footage, deliver the messaging and do the hard yards behind the scenes.
Dean would have put his own spin on things, of course, but ultimately he was working within Shane’s system.
Now he is the one calling the shots.
That matters.
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And we’ve already seen signs of that. He’s put his fingerprints on the team by dropping Kyle Flanagan and blooding young half Kade Reed. He’s also started shaping his own coaching staff after the departure of Mick Ennis, which is another positive sign that he’s been given genuine authority.
This is Dean’s one chance to impress at the Dragons, so it’s only fair that he has the people around him that he wants.
He’s one of the smartest rugby league minds I’ve been around, and one of the best leaders too.
He is definitely the right man for the job.
That said, don’t expect instant success like we’ve seen with Kieran Foran at Manly. The Dragons simply don’t have that sort of roster.
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THE ONE DRAGONS DECISION I CAN’T UNDERSTAND
Speaking of roster decisions, I can’t understand the talk around the Dragons offering Scott Drinkwater a long-term deal.
Honestly, I think it would be the dumbest move they could make.
Why?
Two words: Oliver Burton.
He’s the best junior at the club and is set to sign an NRL contract for 2027 at just 18 years old. He’s a superstar. He’s the future.
So why would you go and reportedly throw a long-term deal worth around $900,000 a year at Drinkwater when you already have your long-term fullback sitting in your own backyard?
Sure, Burton might not be ready just yet. But that doesn’t mean you block his path with an expensive long-term signing.
Because it won’t take long for Burton to look elsewhere if he can’t see a clear opportunity, and then suddenly the Dragons are left with an ageing Drinkwater and no long-term answer.
Sometimes you’ve just got to eat the s**t sandwich.
It sounds harsh, but that’s the reality of rebuilding.
You have to build from within. You have to commit to doing things the right way. You need a plan, you need to know who is in your pathways, and you need to back them in.
That is the only way forward.
And it’s not like the Dragons are completely without building blocks.
Look at their forward pack Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan and the Couchman brothers, just to name a few.
There are genuine green shoots there for fans to get excited about.
These aren’t just promising players within the Dragons system either. They are players other clubs would happily sign tomorrow. If any of them were on the open market right now, they would be snapped up.
There may not be a lot for Dragons fans to feel positive about at the moment, but that is definitely one of them.
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THREE DEBUTANTS IN MY PREDICTED ORIGIN TEAM
Moving on from the Dragons, Origin is fast approaching, so I’ve had a crack at picking my NSW team for Game 1.
At fullback, I’m going with Dylan Edwards, with Penrith teammates Brian To’o and Casey McLean on the wings.
McLean has made a real name for himself this year in the centres, but he has also shown he can do a job on the wing. He’s a strong ball carrier, good in the air and doesn’t look overawed by big moments.
The centres pick themselves if everyone is fit: Stephen Crichton and Latrell Mitchell.
The same goes for the halves. Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary complement each other really well.
In the middle, Payne Haas would be a huge loss if unavailable, but Addin Fonua-Blake is a pretty handy replacement under the new eligibility rules. Mitch Barnett also brings plenty of punch now that he’s back from injury.
His teammate Jackson Ford is leading the Dally M count and is unlucky to miss out on the 19-man squad, but Origin selection always comes back to balance.
Ford is a very good defender and his fitness is elite, but with some bigger middles available, I’ve gone another way with the bench make-up.
The rest of my starting side is Liam Martin and Angus Crichton in the back row, Isaah Yeo at lock and Reece Robson at hooker.
Blayke Brailey gets a well-deserved call-up off the bench for his Blues debut, with Tigers skipper Apisai Koroisau missing out.
That’s not to say Koroisau hasn’t earned consideration based on his form. It’s more about fit. Robson suits playing with Cleary and Yeo because he offers a similar style to Penrith hooker Mitch Kenny, who may well have been in the frame himself if not for injury.
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As for Brailey, while Robson gets first crack, it may not be long before the Sharks hooker really pushes past him. The modern game suits his speed and style.
Under the new rules, Laurie Daley can afford to be a bit more creative with the bench, so I think it makes sense to carry not just a genuine back-up hooker but also cover at fullback and in the halves.
Fullback in particular is arguably the most important position on the field, and if you lose a winger, Edwards can always shift there.
That’s why someone like James Tedesco on the bench makes a lot of sense. He gives Daley real peace of mind if Edwards goes down mid-game.
And while Jarome Luai might seem the obvious choice as the spare half given his history in the Blues system, I’ve gone with Raiders young gun Ethan Strange.
He’s powerful, he breaks tackles, and he can cover multiple positions. He can play centre, lock, five-eighth or halfback, which makes him incredibly valuable in a 19-man squad.
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As for the forward bench, balance is again the key.
I’ve gone with Hudson Young as an impact edge forward, Keaon Koloamatangi as a big middle body and Cameron Murray as the workhorse.
That gives the Blues a really nice mix of skill, mobility and punch through the middle.
Jacob Preston is unlucky to miss out, and so is Haumole Olakau’atu.
If I was naming a couple of bolters for Game 1 or the series as a whole, I really like what I’ve seen from Hamish Stewart in a struggling Dragons side.
He’s reliable, and reliability matters in Origin. He’s creative, he carries well, he’s fit and he competes. I like everything about him.
The same goes for Dylan Lucas. His speed and fitness are made for the modern game. It’s just a shame he’s injured at the moment.
ALEX MCKINNON’S BLUES TEAM FOR GAME 1
1. Dylan Edwards
2. Brian To’o
3. Latrell Mitchell
4. Stephen Crichton
5. Casey McLean
6. Mitchell Moses
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Reece Robson
10. Mitch Barnett
11. Liam Martin
12. Angus Crichton
13. Isaah Yeo
14. Blayke Brailey
15. Hudson Young
16. Cameron Murray
17. Keaon Koloamatangi
18. Ethan Strange
19. James Tedesco
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