The St George Illawarra Dragons have parted ways with Shane Flanagan, which has resulted in Dean Young being placed as interim head coach for the remainder of their 2026 NRL campaign.
In his first press conference since getting the head gig on Tuesday, Young confirmed the two things he did after being told the news from the club.
Young spoke to his wife, telling her about the challenging journey ahead and to "buckle up", and apologising to his kids about the chaos that ensues when you take on the head gig and the journey ahead.
The second was driving over to Kade Reed's house to let him and his family know he wants him to be the starting halfback moving forward for the Red V.
Reed will make his highly anticipated NRL debut on Anzac Day, with many fans widely calling for a change in guard at the Dragons in the making of the halves.
The local Wollongong junior will line up as the chief playmaker, with Daniel Atkinson starting at five-eighth and Kyle Flanagan reverting back to the six-man bench as spine coverage.
It is a bold move to have the youngster start his career in such an important game for the Dragons, however, Young said he wouldn't throw him to the wolves if he didn't think he was ready.
"I thought it was important that his parents understood the reason why I'm giving him the opportunity," Young said, speaking to the media on Tuesday.
"People will probably judge my decision and say that we're 0 and seven, chucking in a kid on debut on Anzac Day is risky.
"But I wouldn't do it unless I believed in him and I wanted him to know that I believe in him, and that his parents fully knew that I'm in there for the long haul with him and he's a big part of the future."
The youngster impressed in the preseason challenge and got Red V fans excited about a long illustrious career in the red and white, and looks like Kyle Flanagan will be the one to miss out of the starting lineup moving forward.
"I don't know if it's my stamp; we need change," Young added, speaking of swapping Flanagan and Reed.
"Where we're going isn't getting us to where we wanna go. We're getting the same results each week, we're leading games and then not getting it done, and we need a bit of a circuit breaker.
"I know Kade will do a good job, but Kade Reed is not the saviour of this club. He needs the 16 players that take the field on the weekend to do their job and then he'll be able to do his."
Young also revealed that Shane Flanagan "had enough" after their loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday, before there was an agreement on Monday to split ways.
"I was in there fighting as hard as I could with Shane till the end, and then he told me after the game (on Saturday night) that he's had enough, and I can understand that."
All eyes will be on whether the change of guard at the Dragons will be enough to match it with the Sydney Roosters on Anzac Day this Saturday.
