Flanagan and Peptides. Will he ever live that down? Probably not. All the same, is Flanagan to blame? Or what about the CEO, Chairman of the Board and others at the Club?
Clubs surround themselves with experts. Experts on preventing racial vilification, abuse of women, alcohol abuse, how to deal with fans and social media, how to invest for your future. Should Flanagan of been across all these areas as well in case some consultant gave poor advice?
Lets not forget Danks came from Manly. Hasler had used his sports medicine techniques for 2 years. No investigation there strangely, yet we still hired Hasler.
Flanagan understood it was amino acids which assist in recovery which were being supplemented. Was he out of his depth? Sure. Was the entire Club mislead about what the supplements contained? Absolutely but lets not forget that there's no evidence that anyone at the Club were aware it was synthesised human growth hormone they were consuming.
Elkin (trainer) and Damien Irvine (Club President) have not been seen since. Flanagan was given a sentence for his part in the doping which expired October 2014. With the assistance of Maloney, Ennis and Barba they won the comp in 2016.
Has Flanagan paid the price for not being smarter? Absolutely.
Should this scandal prevent any Club considering Flanagan as an appropriate FG coach? Of course not. Any more than if a crooked investment adviser had given the players bad investment advice.
Flanagan did his time. He's paid the price for his naivety.
He's one of the best development coaches in rugby league. Players loved to play for him. He'd attract players. He delivered a premiership for Cronulla who were rocked by the scandal just a few short years earlier. A scandal that Steven Dank has never suffered any penalty for it must be said.
I don't care if his son plays for us or not. The fact is there's hardly any elite number 7's running around. Most are tradesman like, just like Kyle. Having his son play for us should not be relevant. If we can secure a better 7, then do so. Until then, Kyle is the best 7 in the Club. He was effective against the Eels, he played his part in executing the win.
Flanagan is an elite coach. We'd thrive under his leadership. He'd bring us back to being a powerhouse. He's the only coach available that would.
Overlook Shane Flanagan at your peril Mr Gould.
