St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has insisted he would never risk the health of his son – nor any Dragons player – after recalling halfback Kyle Flanagan 12 days after he suffered a sickening heavy concussion.
Flanagan will start at No.7 for Friday’s must-win clash against Manly, with Daniel Atkinson reverting to five-eighth, Tyrell Sloan replacing the injured Clint Gutherson at fullback and rookie playmaker Kade Reed to be included for the first time on the six-man interchange bench.
The younger Flanagan was knocked out against the Titans last Sunday week and had to stand down for 11 days under the game’s concussion protocols.
The Sea Eagles game will mark 12 days since the incident, but coach Flanagan said Kyle had passed all the necessary medical tests and was adamant there was nothing to fear.
“Yes he’s my son, but I wouldn’t risk any of my players if the medical team didn’t tell me they were 100 per cent right to play,” Flanagan told this masthead.
“Kyle has done all the testing. He hasn’t had any headaches, and our doctors, who are fantastic, including one who is the head of the emergency department at a hospital, have told me he’ll be ready to go.
“Kyle is a tough kid. I had enough trouble telling him he wasn’t playing last week let alone this week.”
Flanagan said Atkinson was shifted to five-eighth because it suited his natural running game, but his days of calling the shots at halfback were far from over.
“We feel once we’ve got to know Daniel more, we appreciate his strengths are his running game,” Flanagan said.
“He can get the ball and not worry about organising the team – all he has to worry about is the people outside him.
“Kyle has done all the testing. He hasn’t had any headaches, and our doctors have told me he’ll be ready to go.”
Shane Flanagan
“Daniel wanted to come here and be the halfback. He had a good pre-season. He also hadn’t had a lot of time in the NRL before he arrived, so with time he will only get better and grow in that space. He can still end up a halfback, but right now his best position is No.6.”
Flanagan had resisted calls to fast-track local junior Reed, who caught the attention of fans during pre-season trials.
As late as last week, Flanagan warned that playing Reed before he was ready would harm his development. But the youngster will be included on the bench and is an outside chance of debuting against the Sea Eagles, depending on what happens during the game.
“We’ve set Kade some goals and tasks to work on, and it’s only a matter of time before he plays – he could even get on this week,” Flanagan said. “When he’s ready, he’ll get his opportunity.”
Speculation continues to grow about Flanagan’s future after the club’s winless start. The 32-0 loss to the Cowboys on the weekend was one of the worst the club had produced in recent memory.
Some of the recruitment decisions have been pinned on Flanagan, but he defended the signings of Gutherson and Damien Cook.
“Those two have done an outstanding job for what we’ve needed,” he said.
“Cooky’s deal expires at the end of this year, I’m not sure what happens next year, but he’s been a great signing. So has Gutho. We had to change the culture and attitude, and those two have been a big part of that.
“I’ve received a lot of messages from family and friends and people in the game. Rugby league has been my life. I’ve had a lot of support. But I also know if you don’t win footy games, the criticism will come. We just need to win.”
Hooker Jacob Liddle said the concussion suffered by Kyle had been “an ugly one”, but it was nice to see him lead the team around the park in attack at training on Tuesday.
