Dean Young was unsure about taking the Dragons job. Then he went hardcore

April 22, 2026 — 7:30pm

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Dean Young wasn’t sure.

The Dragons roster is so poor, taking over as interim coach could be fatal for his burning ambition to be an NRL head coach.

Everything Young, a Dragons 2010 premiership hero, has done since the end of his playing career has been geared around coaching at the highest level.

He began with Illawarra’s SG Ball side in 2013, graduating to the Dragons under-20s in 2014, co-coaching with Ben Hornby.

By the 2015 season he was an assistant to Paul McGregor for the Dragons NRL team.

To break the shackles of his beloved club and further advance his coaching aspirations, he headed to the Cowboys as an assistant for three seasons under Todd Payten.

He returned to St George-Illawarra in 2024 when asked by the now axed Shane Flanagan.

Coaching the Dragons in the NRL would fulfil the ambition he has harboured since he turned his mind to coaching late in his playing career.

But getting there this way – by accepting the role as an interim for the remaining 17 matches of this season – is fraught with danger. He stewed........

© Brisbane Times