The Wests Tigers have emphatically shut down rumours they are interested in Kyle Flanagan as a wider recruitment ploy to bring Shane Flanagan on board as coach.
Kyle Flanagan has struggled to gain a place in Trent Barrett's side at the Canterbury Bulldogs thus far, currently sitting behind Matt Burton and new partner Brandon Wakeham.
Change could be afoot after a dismal start to the season, which included a 44-0 thrashing at the hands of the Melbourne Storm last Sunday.
Despite that, Flanagan is off-contract at the end of the year and the Bulldogs would appear unlikely to renew his deal with the club.
On top of that, it's a well-noted fact Shane Flanagan wants to return in an NRL coaching position in the near future - and that he has done for some time.
He is currently working in media with Fox Sports, as well as recently taking up a recruitment consultancy position with the St George Illawarra Dragons, where he formerly served as an assistant coach under Paul McGregor following the lifting of his NRL ban.
The reports have been trashed by the Tigers though, with Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis telling SEN Radio that he was "bemused" at the speculation.
“I was bemused over the weekend by the extent of the authoritative reporting on what’s being proposed of Luke (Brooks) and the Bulldogs,” Hagipantelis said on 1170 SEN Breakfast.
“I can confirm that there have been absolutely zero discussions between the Wests Tigers and the Bulldogs in regards to any player swap.
“There have been zero discussions internally with Flanagan, either senior and or junior.
“The only discussions that have been held internally are focused entirely on our performances.”
Brooks was heavily linked with a move away from the Tigers for most of the off-season, with the Newcastle Knights thought to be interested, while Michael Maguire narrowly survived an internal review at the end of last season with his job.
The pressure on those holding the keys to the vehicle at the joint venture won't be going anywhere soon though following a zero and four start to the season, which could be about to get a whole lot worse with the Cronulla Sharks, Parramatta Eels and South Sydney Rabbitohs on the menu in the next three weeks.
Bizarre!
ONE
Luke Brooks isn’t playing like DCE or Nathan, but he’s solid for Wests.
Kyle Flanagan can’t get into the first team at Canterbury.
Why would Wests swap Luke for Kyle?
TWO
If Luke is on $1.1M and Kyle is on $200K (say). then for the rest of the Oct 2022 to Sep 2023 contract season, Wests will need to pay Luke $550K and Canterbury will need to pay Kyle $100K. If the two halves swap clubs then Canterbury will need to find an extra $450K in their salary cap (ie $550K minus $100K). I really doubt that they have that sort of money available.