Shane Flanagan

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Shane Flanagan Takes Full Control Of Sharks

Shane Flanagan Takes Full Control Of Sharks
20/07/2010 8:20:44 AM

Shane Flanagan will take the reigns as NRL coach of the Hisense Cronulla Sharks effective immediately after Ricky Stuart informed the players this morning of his decision to stand down.

The Club had previously agreed to Stuart’s request for a release at the end of the 2010 season with Flanagan set to come in as head coach for 2011, however Stuart has given Flanagan full autonomy now rather than in seven weeks time, feeling it will be beneficial for both the Sharks and himself moving forward.

“The time I have spent at the Sharks, in the main, has been most enjoyable,” Stuart said.

“The Sharks have a wonderful supporter base and a group of players who have always shown me their full respect and commitment.

“I wish the Sharks every success going forward.”

Sharks Chairman Damian Irvine was full of praise for Stuart and remained very optimistic about the club’s future and legacy the 2002 premiership-winning coach has left behind.

“The Club has been through a tough three year period and sometimes despite everyone’s best efforts only change and fresh faces can create the spark to realise full potential,” Irvine said.

“We now have a new coach, some fine youth and select recruits in the pipeline who will complement our elite forward pack perfectly.

“Ricky Stuart has contributed immensely to the Club during his time here and also to the success and victories ahead that the hard work will result in.”

He went on to commend Stuart for his service to the club and decision to stand aside prior to the original release terms.

“As a board we’ve supported Ricky unconditionally over the past 12 months.”

“It hasn’t been easy for him with the many changes happening at the club, but his commitment and competitive tenacity in striving for results has provided the entire club with consistency and guidance during some tough times.

“Ricky’s decision to step aside is also made with the players and club’s best interests and heart.

“We wish Ricky all the best with his coaching career in the future,” Irvine concluded.

Shane Flanagan will lead the Sharks to Canberra this weekend for his debut NRL game as Head Coach, making him coach no.16 in the club’s history.

Source: http://www.sharks.com.au/?s=article-display&id=28018

 

[Yahoo News]

Flanagan takes over Sharks

Shane Flanagan takes over the Cronulla coaching role as players learn of Ricky Stuart's abrupt departure.

Source:http://www.bigpondsport.com/news/tabid/91/newsid/57629/flanagan-takes-over-sharks/default.aspx

Flanagan takes over Sharks
July 20, 2010 - 11:34 AM
Source: BigPond Sport

Shane Flanagan took over the Cronulla head coaching role on Tuesday as players came to grips with Ricky Stuart's abrupt departure from the struggling NRL club.

Stuart was expected to explain his decision to the players on Tuesday after deciding to bring forward his scheduled end-of-season departure in the wake of the 14-placed Sharks' feeble 48-18 home loss to Manly on Saturday night.

He says he left because he realised he could not longer get 'that extra bit' out of the players and it was in everyone's best interests that he go.

His deputy Flanagan was to have his first session at the helm in the afternoon as he attempted to get the team ready to face an in-form Canberra on the road on Saturday.

Flanagan had previously been appointed to take over for the 2011 season after Stuart was granted a release from the last year of his contract several weeks ago.

On Tuesday, Sharks chairman Damian Irvine attempted to put a positive spin on the club's future and the sudden coaching change after Stuart's four-year tenure.

'The club has been through a tough three-year period and sometimes despite everyone's best efforts only change and fresh faces can create the spark to realise full potential,' Irvine said in a statement.

'We now have a new coach, some fine youth and select recruits in the pipeline who will complement our elite forward pack perfectly.

'Ricky Stuart has contributed immensely to the club during his time here and also to the success and victories ahead that the hard work will result in.

'As a board we've supported Ricky unconditionally over the past 12 months.

'It hasn't been easy for him with the many changes happening at the club, but his commitment and competitive tenacity in striving for results has provided the entire club with consistency and guidance during some tough times.

'Ricky's decision to step aside is also made with the players and club's best interests and heart.'

Stuart was in charge during a tumultuous time for the club which has had four chief executives during his tenure.

'The time I have spent at the Sharks, in the main, has been most enjoyable,' Stuart said.

'The Sharks have a wonderful supporter base and a group of players who have always shown me their full respect and commitment.

'I wish the Sharks every success going forward.'

 

[Blix]

I wonder if we might actually see some grubbers into the ingoal now (whether it be for repeat sets or for tries), instead of chips to the flank all the time on 5th tackle?

 

[shark3]

Please Flanno - stop the one up **** through the centre of the field every game. Get the ball out wiiiiiide boys!!!!!!!!! PLEEEEAAASSSEEE!!!!!!!!!!

p.s CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK COACH, THE BELIEVERS ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!

 

[Google News]

Sharks Look For Pride

Sharks look for pride
20/07/2010 6:07 PM
Adam Lucius

Returning old-fashioned pride and commitment to the jumper will be the cornerstone of Shane Flanagan's coaching philosophy as he embarks on the NRL's toughest gig – plotting Cronulla's path to a maiden premiership.

The low profile Flanagan became the 16th coach in the Sharks' 43-year history on Tuesday when Ricky Stuart abruptly tendered his resignation sevens weeks before he was officially due to depart.

Flanagan's first priority will be to end a miserable campaign on a high note to give him something to build on in 2011 – a task that begins against the Raiders at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

Cronulla has won just five games from 17 starts this year, with last Saturday night's embarrassing 48-18 loss to Manly the final straw for Stuart.

"Pride and commitment. I'll be asking the players to get some pride back into that jersey and perform like the old Cronulla did," Flanagan said when asked what his first message to the players will be.

"I've got to make sure I do a good job here over the next two years and get some pride back into the jersey."

"I don't go into (the history). This is all about my time now and I can't change anything that's gone on prior to me."

"We're a side that's down the bottom but I see some positives."

Flanagan will now step up his recruitment drive for next year, with outside backs at the top of the Sharks' shopping list.

The club will spend up to the salary cap, with the in-coming Cronulla boss insisting the club is not regarded as a no-go zone following two poor seasons.

"From all reports and talking to managers, there's not an issue about players coming to this club," Flanagan said.

"We've had some offers out there and hopefully it's one of each (back and forward)."

"I'm more than confident we'll be more than competitive next year."

Cronulla chairman Damian Irvine, who never saw eye to eye with Stuart, welcomed the changing of the guard and a new era at the club.

"When a club's been through what we have the last three years, sometimes change is what can turn the tide," he declared.

"I'm very confident it's the start of good things."

He said of Flanagan: "He's the right man for the job."

"We had a very clear picture on what we required in a Cronulla coach and that is a coach that is here to forge his own reputation and build with the club and the young players coming through and really prove himself."

"We had the best one sitting on our doorstep. He knows the club, he knows the players."

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...ague-news-display/sharks-look-for-pride-95196

 

[SharkLabelSociety]

Flanno - just get the boys enjoying footy and playing with some heart again. That's all this BELIEVER asks for.

 

[Yahoo News]

Flanagan focuses on Sharks future

Shane Flanagan says his early elevation to Cronulla's top job won't take his focus away from rebuilding the Sharks into a finals contender in 2011.

Source:http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/other/7613642/flanagan-focuses-on-sharks-future/

Flanagan focuses on Sharks future
By Steve Jancetic
July 20, 2010, 5:28 pm

New Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan says his earlier-than-expected elevation to the top job won't take his focus away from rebuilding the Sharks into a genuine finals contender in 2011.

Flanagan was given a seven-week head start to life as the 16th head coach at the Sharks when Ricky Stuart vacated the post ahead of schedule on Monday.

And while his first challenge will be to restore pride in the jersey following last week's 48-18 pummelling by Manly, Flanagan said he wouldn't take his eye off the bigger picture as a result of the added responsibility.

That bigger picture could begin to take shape as early as this week with Flanagan revealing news on the player-signing front was imminent as he debunked the myth players weren't attracted to the Sharks.

"I just think I need that first one and hopefully we can get that done this week," Flanagan said on Tuesday.

"From all reports and talking to managers, there's not an issue about players coming to this club.

"We've got some marquee players here - Paul Gallen, (Kade) Snowden, (Luke) Douglas, (Anthony) Tupou.

"Anyone would want to come and play with those types of players.

"It's my job to get them here and I'll be concentrating on that over the next couple of weeks ... hopefully we'll have some good news soon."

Asked about the cash-strapped club's ability to afford top-end talent, Flanagan said: "The financial side of things is a bit of a concern.

"But the club has stated to me we will spend our salary cap and we'll have some marquee arrangements in place," he said.

While Flanagan's deal with the Sharks is for only two years, chairman Damien Irvine said the club viewed him as a long-term solution.

And on the back of the most volatile period in the club's history, Irvine was hopeful Flanagan's elevation would provide a fresh start.

"Sometimes when a club's been through what we have the last three years, sometimes change is what can turn the tide," Irvine said.

"We won't be expecting miracles and making large promises.

"We won't be spending money just to try and win a premiership next year or the year after.

"It's time that this club started doing things for the long term with a master plan.

"That takes time to build. We've brought in some fine coaches and fine players but it's been a bit slapdash.

"We've had three- and four-year cycles with coaches where the club has stripped out, re-built, stripped out and re-built.
"That's not how we're going forward now. We're 100 per cent committed in Shane and his team and the players we've got here."

 

[Shark68]

Bellamy has been recommending players to come to us as he has told them that they will learn a lot under Flanno

 

[sharks4ever]

Bellamy has been recommending players to come to us as he has told them that they will learn a lot under Flanno

are u bull****ting us ?

 

[Bundy Shark]

are u bull****ting us ?

thats what i was about to ask, hope its true & i hope cronk & blair are the ones he is telling this to

 

[Scarface]

well hes not such a bastard after all lol

 

[Capital_Shark]

Bellamy was singing Flanno's praises when the Eels were looking for a new coach too.

 

[Mr Wright]

As a comparison, Bellamy loves Flano as much as Gould loves Hayne/Burgess.

 

[SharkLabelSociety]

As a comparison, Bellamy loves Flano as much as Gould loves Hayne/Burgess.

So when do they send out their wedding invites? I can get a band for the reception for free if they're keen.

 

[brently]

Last night I was almost ready to change my sig. Sticky's decision is, i think, the right one for everyone. He tried and failed like many who went before him. Good luck to him wherever he goes. I'm happy with Dwarf's (wait a minute... dwarf. believe gnome. is there some crazy mixed up karma here??) appointment. Give the man his shot and see what he can do. Let's get behind him. I would love to see some good news on the financial front. If I were to be offered the same position by two or more different organisations I would have substantial reservations about opting for the one surviving on the clink of two twenty cent pieces... Go sharks.

 

[peachey]

Good Luck!

thats all i can say..

 

[Google News]

Flanagan kicks off with recruitment drive

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...ecruitment-drive/story-e6frg7mf-1225894768686

Flanagan kicks off with a recruitment drive
Margie McDonald
July 21, 2010 12:00AM

NEW Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan will announce some key signings as early as today as he shifts into the head chair vacated by Ricky Stuart.

While the club lurches from one drama to another, Flanagan said the Sharks were still able to attract good talent.

Cronulla chairman Damian Irvine said it was the board's intention to spend the full $4.2 million cap for 2011.

While, Flanagan would not be drawn on which players he hoped to sign, St George Illawarra's Test backrower Jeremy Smith is among those being targeted to beef up a Sharks backrow which already boasts internationals Paul Gallen and Anthony Tupou.

For strike power in the centres the Sharks are interested in Brad Tighe (Penrith) and Dane Nielsen (Melbourne) and are also looking at Panthers five-eighth Wade Graham.

"I'll announce them as soon as I can - probably tomorrow but definitely by the end of the week," Flanagan said. "We just need to sign some quality players and I'm talking to a couple of good ones and hopefully get them over the line."

Flanagan was due to take over from Stuart at the end of the season and is unfazed at being thrust into the role seven weeks early. He also doesn't see the Cronulla coaching job as any kind of poisoned chalice despite the club not having won a premiership.

"Usually when a new coach takes over something major has happened at a club - they've either had a terrible year or they've got the wooden spoon, or haven't lived up to expectations," he said. "So you often go to a club with problems or issues. At least I know the issues."

He was adamant the players had not lost faith in Stuart but he also wants the players to show him something a lot better over the remaining seven rounds.

"I want some wins and some real solid performances," Flanagan said. "People have got to show me they want to play for me and this club."

The players had a rest day on Monday and Stuart's talks with the board and his manager over his future were not finalised until Monday night.

Irvine said the players having to read the news in the morning papers was "not ideal".

"Obviously, it's a decision Ricky made with a lot of thought. He doesn't do things on a whim," Irvine said. "So it didn't leave a lot of time for him to properly communicate with the players."

Asked if he had himself spoken with the players, Irvine said: "No I haven't. It's not my place. Ricky has a very loyal and close relationship with his players - he does at every club that he's coached at - so it's not for me to get in address them before he has."

But Irvine said recruitment and the rebuilding of the club would be done in a different style from now on. Flanagan becomes the 16th coach at the club, established in 1967, but the fifth since 2000 following John Lang, Chris Anderson, Stuart Raper and Stuart.

 

[Google News]

Gummy Sharks on notice: Flanagan

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...sharks-on-notice-flanagan-20100720-10jiz.html

Gummy Sharks on notice: Flanagan
CHRIS BARRETT
July 21, 2010

THEIR semi-final prospects are - to borrow the phrase du jour - dead, buried and cremated. But as Cronulla's new head coach casts one eye towards next year he has signalled that, for many members of his struggling squad, there is everything to play for over the next seven weeks.

Shane Flanagan, who took command of the Sharks at Toyota Stadium yesterday after Ricky Stuart told players he was departing the post immediately, has been in 2011 planning mode for some time now. He hopes to announce the signing of a back and a forward, understood to be Penrith's Wade Graham and Jeremy Smith of St George Illawarra, in the next week.

In the meantime, it is audition time for those already at Cronulla, starting on Saturday night with a daunting road trip to Canberra.

''The next seven weeks is going to determine, for me, a lot of the players' relationship with me. We've got to start to forge that,'' Flanagan said. ''I can't go back and say to Paul Gallen 'You've got to start from scratch'. But a lot of the other players … I'm going to give them the opportunity to impress and to stake their claims for next year.

''Obviously some of the established players will still be here but a lot of the fringe players have got to start to impress me and say they want to play for me. I've got to recruit a couple of players, high-profile players hopefully. It's a big challenge for me. The current players have got to help me there as well.''

Assignment one for Flanagan is to avoid another beatdown akin to the 48-18 drubbing given to them by Manly on Saturday night. It was that humiliation that convinced Stuart he could not see out the season.
''I need to fix that up and make sure we don't have any of those for the rest of the year,'' Flanagan said. ''That's my first challenge - to make sure we're competitive for the rest of the year.''

A long-time assistant coach, at Parramatta, the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla and the NSW State of Origin team, Flanagan has now been cast firmly into the hot seat.

''I haven't been under the pressure that Ricky has so I can't say how I'm going to handle it,'' Flanagan said. ''Ricky handles pressure pretty well but he has been under enormous pressure week in, week out for a long time. It has got to him a touch. How am I going to handle it? I suppose ask me in six weeks' time.''

A father of three, Flanagan preaches the importance of not placing the success of a rugby league team too high on the list of life's priorities. But capture a glimpse of him during game day and it's clear he is deadly serious about his job.

Like his NSW superior Craig Bellamy, he can also be animated. ''I do take the job really seriously but I don't think it's that important in the whole scheme of things,'' he said. ''There's kids sick and all that sort of stuff and we're down here and we haven't won a footy game for a couple of weeks and it's 'dire straits'. One thing I've always concentrated on is … I'm only a footy coach. It's not that important. Sometimes you put too much emphasis on what a big role it is. I've got to keep reminding myself that it's football.''

Attachment: Man in charge ... new Sharks coach Shane Flanagan, who has inherited the toughest job in rugby league, yesterday. Photo: Ben Rushton

 

[Google News]

Sad news didn't stop players celebrating

[SIZE=-1][/SIZE]Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...yers-celebrating/story-e6frexni-1225894809989

Sad news didn't stop players celebrating
By James Phelps
July 21, 2010 12:00AM

ALBERT Kelly danced in his bright orange boots as his teammates clapped and cheered.

Adam Cuthbertson took his shirt off and waved it over his head and they cheered some more.

All huddled in the middle of Toyota Park full of laughter and hope, this is how the Sharks ended their first session under new coach Shane Flanagan after Ricky Stuart quit after four hard years.

"You're lucky Trent Barrett wasn't dancing," Flanagan said.

"He only knows one dance and it doesn't come with clothes."

Most were expecting a funeral at Shark Park yesterday.

Expecting the players to be down and out following another humiliating loss and the departure of their coach. But yesterday was about new beginnings.

"It is definitely sad to see him go," Sharks captain Trent Barrett said. "He has done so many things for this club. But Ricky has made the decision that he thinks is the best for him and the best for the club."

At 1.57pm, wearing a black jumper and jeans instead of a Sharks polo shirt and spray pants, Stuart walked into the Cronulla dressingroom and told his players he would no longer be their coach.

He spoke to them for 19 minutes, telling them he was proud to be their mate and why he had to leave.

"He was disappointed and relieved at the same time," Barrett said.

"He just wanted us to know that the decision was based on him. It wasn't about us and certainly wasn't about us letting him down.

"We knew that but he told us anyway."

The players did not know Stuart had quit until they woke up yesterday morning to screaming headlines and ringing phones.

"I know him well enough to know something was wrong but I didn't know he was ready to quit until my phone started ringing," Barrett said.

Several players tried to ring Stuart to see if it was true.

To see if he really had quit. But no one could get through.

"I didn't know until a mate called me," NSW Origin prop Kade Snowden said.

And that is why the Cronulla dressing room erupted to thunderous applause at 2.16pm when Stuart finished his final address.

"We just thanked him and said well done," Snowden said.

As Stuart finished his 10 minute and 47 second meeting with the press, Snowden stood behind a wall peering at all the cameras and microphones that had been at Shark Park since 7am. After a moment of hesitation he made his way out onto the field and the rest of the team followed. New coach, same job.

"They wouldn't care if Jack the Ripper was coaching them," Flanagan joked.

"As long as they are getting paid and playing football, they are happy."

And you can bet there will be more bright orange boots and silly dances if they begin Flanagan's career and see off Stuart's with a win.

 

[snowman]

pick up the tele today and read the articles, he sounds like the director we need, i am putting all support behind him and believing in flanno