The St George Illawarra Dragon's future is looking promising, and after a shaky 2026 campaign, which saw the Red V part ways with Shane Flanagan, the club is looking for the next coach to bring the premiership trophy back to Wollongong.
As per reports from the Sydney Morning Herald, the Dragons have finished interviews with three successors to take on the head coaching role: Dean Young, Ben Hornby, and a mysterious unnamed candidate.
It is understood the board will meet on Monday to finalise a decision, with both major stakeholders of the joint venture having to agree on who will take the Dragons to the promise land.
Dean Young took over as interim coach mid-April after Flanagan was sacked, and since then has recorded two and seven losses since Anzac Day against the Roosters.
He remains the favourite to take out the role, given he is a Wollongong-junior, and the club has seen improvement under his guidance, while also having premiership success at the Red V in 2010.
Young is willing to blood his excellent crop of talented juniors coming through, including Kade Reed, and has the backing from the players, including incoming recruit Scott Drinkwater, who worked with Young at the Cowboys in 2021.
“I do watch a little bit closely now,” Drinkwater said to the NewsWire last week about his upcoming team.
“Youngy's picking players who are defensive effort-based players and who go after the game that way. They're in games a lot now and it's much tighter than what they have been.
“He's a great coach and I hope he gets the job. The way he's able to talk to his players is great and he has a good relationship with players.
“He understands different players and how they need to be approached or brought up in video sessions or even just one-on-one with him.
“He's a good dude, hard, and a good communicator, so he's got every trait. He's from Wollongong, loves the club, so it's great to have people who have a really big love for something.
“Fingers crossed he gets it. But if not, I can't dwell on it. Whoever comes in to coach, I can't be sulking about that. We'll see what happens, but fingers crossed Youngy gets it.”
Then there is Hornby, Young's 2010 premiership teammate, who has been quietly plying his trade as a coach under Wayne Bennett at South Sydney.
If history is anything to go by, if you're an apprentice under Bennett or Melbourne's Craig Bellamy, you're destined for a head coaching role.
It is the ultimate acknowledgment of respect that you have what it takes.
The begs the question: who is the unnamed interviewee?
Trent Barrett has emerged as an option amid amounted speculation.
Similar to Hornby, Barrett has quietly been working behind the scenes as an elite attacking coach at the Panthers, and now at the Broncos.
Although his stints as head coach at Manly and the Bulldogs weren't spectacular, he would have gained plenty of learnings from those experiences, which would shape him into becoming a more robust and mature coach.
Given he is a Dragons old-boy, he would get the mark of approval from the faithful on the WIN Stadium hill, which, from what we've seen with Manly, turns out to be an important part of the recruitment process.
Jason Demetriou is floating around as an option, and given he is also a Dragons junior and a product of Hurstville United, the Dragon's head honchos may have scouted him as a potential option.
Demetriou holds a 50% winning record across his 58 games coached, and is also in charge of the PNG Kumuls on the international scale, giving his resumé an attractive boost.
His current coaching position at the London Broncos has been wildly successful, and sits undefeated in the Betfred Championship with 17 wins in a row.
While Ben Te'o also emerges as an option, but is more on the unlikely side of the scale, given his recent commitment to the Queensland Maroons.
It's also safe to rule out returning coaches to the club, including Paul McGregor, Nathan Brown, Anthony Griffin and Ryan Carr.
Whoever comes out on top of the podium will have plenty of eyes set on them for 2027.
The club has undergone an incredible re-build in a short amount of time since Flanagan's departure.
The Red V now emerges as a Top 8 threat with the names they've recruited for next year, including Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf, Connor Watson, Phillip Sami and Keaon Koloamatangi, who signed under Flanagan's reign.
Accompanied by the clearly talented group of young forwards at the club, including the Couchman brothers, Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan and Jacob Halangahu, the future is shaping up bright in Wollongong.
If it is Young who eventually signs on full-time, he will no-doubt have moments of reflection on the hard times endured in 2026, with the club coming out on the other side in what is an incredible roster overhaul.
