Parker: "Garbage" Dragons let fans down in Flanno saga

The Dragons “tossed up a bunch of garbage” when they confirmed Shane Flanagan had been sacked as the club’s head coach, according to Corey Parker.

After an 11-game losing streak, the board severed ties with their coach and head of football, Ben Haran, on Monday but the news had been brewing for weeks.

Club chairman Andrew Lancaster and CEO Tim Watsford announced the change in leadership on Monday in front of select media who had been told they would be limited in how much they could ask – it was one question per journalist in unprecedented scenes.

“The press conference itself was comical,” Parker said on SENQ Breakfast. “It was an opportunity for the Dragons to say this hasn’t worked, the marriage with Shane Flanagan hasn’t worked and we’re sorry for that but here’s some clarity moving forward. Yet it was quite the opposite.

“From a journalist’s point of view, you’ve driven an hour to get there and you’re only allowed to ask one question? Were dealing with a professional organisation that beats their chest that says they’re a big club, and they love their fans, and they’re sorry and all this garbage and they toss that out?

“Are they just appeasing the fans at the moment? Surely, when you’re trying to attract other players to come to the club you want clarity on the coaching situation?”

There was a small amount of certainty from the club later in the day on Monday when Dean Young was confirmed as the interim coach. While many jumped on the comparisons between the Dragons and manly in terms of interim coaches turning their fortunes around, Michael Carayannis doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think I have ever been in a situation like that where I have been told you have one question,” he said of the press conference.

“The confusing element of it all is the Flanno situation was not a surprise. As a board, they should have said ‘OK we have a hunch Shane won’t be the coach so let’s get to a point of knowing what the plan is. Dean is interim, that’s plan A; if he doesn’t want the role full time what’s the plan?’

“That should all have been decided on Sunday.

“Dean was a logical solution, for mine, he is the guy best placed to take over short term. Dean has the experience.

“But if I’m Dean I would have had some reservations about taking the job unless I was guaranteed with the permanent role because, unlike Manly, this side will not turn their season around.

"That’s extra pressure on Dean. The expectation should not be there on Dean as it is on Manly.”