There are suggestions Shane Flanagan has lost the St George Illawarra Dragons playing group after reports young gun Loko Pasifika-Tonga wants to follow Jaydn Su’A out the door.
Pasifika-Tonga played 10 games for the Dragons last season, but has been unable to get a crack so far this year, despite the club losing their first six games of the season to sit last.
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Pasifika-Tonga’s management took issue with Flanagan saying, he doesn’t have players ready to step up in order to make changes to his side for Round 7, which has angered players in reserve grade.
“This is very strong from Pasifika-Tonga and his management, which seems like he just wants out of there,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read revealed that several more players are considering their future at the Dragons due to the lack of opportunities and the direction of the club under Flanagan.
“Those comments were in reference to what Shane Flanagan said the other day, sort of insinuating that there weren’t any better options to use in NSW Cup,” Read said.
“And if you’re a Pasifika-Tonga, you read that, much like some of the other guys in NSW Cup, I’d be pretty dismayed as well if I read that.
“So I can understand that reaction from his management and he’s not the only guy at that club at the moment considering his future.
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“It sounds to me like the relationships between players and the club is deteriorating and I think it’s really deteriorated over the last couple of weeks.
“I think there’s more players who are considering their future of that football club right now.”
Anasta asked: “Has Flanagan lost the playing group?”
“Well when you hear that and you read that and you hear Jaydn Su’A’s left, what other conclusion can you draw?” Read replied.
“That he’s lost maybe not all of them, but he’s certainly lost some of them. That’s pretty obvious.”
Read revealed the elephant in the room is the fact that Kyle Flanagan gets special treatment from Shane Flanagan and hasn’t been dropped and other players have, while some languish in reserve grade.
“I don’t think it’s just because they’re losing, I think there’s a perception, rightly or wrongly, in some quarters of that football club, that perhaps not all players are treated the same within that dressing room,” Read said.
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“So it’s been an issue that’s come up in the past and it causes a lot of drama and we get a lot of phone calls from Flanno and other people saying, it’s unfair, but that is the perception. There’s no doubt that’s a perception.”
“Tallis interjected: “You’re talking about his son.”
“Well yes,” Read replied.
“And we’re seeing a guy like Pasifika-Tonga is now considering his future, and that’s not related to Kyle by the looks of it.
“But the other guys who are considering their future, it’s not directly related to that situation, but that contributes to it. And it builds up and builds up, and it all becomes one massive issue, and that’s what they’ve got at the moment.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis feels that now the club is losing and players are not getting opportunities, they feel more comfortable speaking out.
“There’s been elements in the background hinting at this there’s no doubt,” Carayannis said.
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“And now that they’re losing their circling and probably have a sense to come forward and say some of those things that they think have been festering.
“And now the pressure’s on and things are happening and Jaydn Su’A’s situation is not ideal and now one of their best young talents wants out.”
Anasta, who manages Lachlan Ilias, who had similar experiences in his one and only season at the Dragons before joining the Titans, feels there is a communication problem at the club.
“There’s an obvious communication problem there and a development problem,” Anasta said.
“The problem isn’t that, you’ve got to work your ass off to get back into that spot.
“It’s the communication of where am I at, what am I going to do, am I doing it, how close am I, how far away am I?
“That’s just what you want to hear if you’re on the verge of playing first grade or you’re hungry and you’re a young gun who wants to play for his club.”
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