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Shane Flanagan has defended Canterbury’s handling of son Kyle’s return to the NRL and confirmed that Phil Gould has personally managed the situation while ensuring “they haven’t thrown him to the wolves.”
Kyle Flanagan has been recalled to the side for the clash against premiers and competition leaders Penrith at CommBank Stadium on Sunday. It will be the playmaker’s first top-grade game since last August after five-eighth Matt Burton was initially partnered with Jake Averillo and Brandon Wakeham in the opening four rounds.
Sections of the media have claimed Canterbury have been negligent in their duty of care to Flanagan given he has struggled to establish himself at Belmore following stints at Cronulla and the Roosters. Those suggestions have been rubbished by Gould, and now Shane Flanagan has had his say on the matter.
“It’s been a tough week; we don’t want this and Kyle definitely doesn’t need it,” Shane told 2GB on Saturday afternoon.
“Kyle couldn’t care who he plays against this week, he just wants to get back into first grade. It just happens to be against Penrith Panthers, but so what in Kyle’s mind.
“He just wants to get out and play first grade. At some point during the year, hopefully he goes out and plays against every footy team. I can understand some people’s perception about him being thrown in against Penrith, but if it’s time for him to play, it’s time for him to play.
“There’s a few things I’d like to say: Gus came out and said that he’s been dealing with Kyle, and that is 100 per cent correct.
“I met with Gus last year and he said, ‘We need to reset him, we need to get him started again, he had a tough year last year and was playing in a side getting a lot of points put on them’.
“He’s changed his game, he’s changed the way he is playing, so he needed to go back to NSW Cup and enjoy himself.
“Gus said he’d work really hard, work on a few things and once he got them right he’d be back in first grade. To his credit, he stuck to his word and has been working with Kyle.
“Trent said exactly the same thing, that he’d go back for a month or so – he left it a bit open – and be back in first grade. To his word, he is back in first grade.
“The club behind the scenes have supported him, they haven’t thrown him to the wolves. There’s been a bit of a plan and he’s a first-grader. He’s back playing tomorrow and I’m sure he will do well.
“Whether the Bulldogs win or not, I’m not sure. But he will be out there doing his best. He has played 30 or 40 first-grade games and hopefully he plays another 150 to 200.
“It’s strange for me to see all the drama around it this week. It was a bit disappointing, but for Kyle [it’s] a distraction for him coming back to play first grade. It should have been a positive story.”
In a bid to be ready for his opportunity, Kyle made weekly trips to the Sweet Science Boxing Gym in Cronulla, where Paul Gallen trains. His father said the maligned halfback hasn’t been given any guarantees about how long he will get in first grade.
“It’s not just Kyle, the team hasn’t been playing well,” Shane said. “Kyle has gone into it now. There’s a lot of talk about freeing up Burton to play; Kyle coming back is going to get the team around the park. He’s hopefully going to kick well and defend well.
“That’s all he’s going to do for two or three weeks.
“To answer your question about ‘has he been told if he’s back for three, five, 10 [weeks] or the rest of the season’, no he hasn’t.
“He’s got to go out and play good footy week after week.
“Obviously he’s going to get a couple of weeks to get the combination right and they won’t keep changing their halves, but no one is guaranteed a week-to-week position, especially in that Bulldogs side.”
www.smh.com.au
Kyle Flanagan has been recalled to the side for the clash against premiers and competition leaders Penrith at CommBank Stadium on Sunday. It will be the playmaker’s first top-grade game since last August after five-eighth Matt Burton was initially partnered with Jake Averillo and Brandon Wakeham in the opening four rounds.
Sections of the media have claimed Canterbury have been negligent in their duty of care to Flanagan given he has struggled to establish himself at Belmore following stints at Cronulla and the Roosters. Those suggestions have been rubbished by Gould, and now Shane Flanagan has had his say on the matter.
“It’s been a tough week; we don’t want this and Kyle definitely doesn’t need it,” Shane told 2GB on Saturday afternoon.
“Kyle couldn’t care who he plays against this week, he just wants to get back into first grade. It just happens to be against Penrith Panthers, but so what in Kyle’s mind.
“He just wants to get out and play first grade. At some point during the year, hopefully he goes out and plays against every footy team. I can understand some people’s perception about him being thrown in against Penrith, but if it’s time for him to play, it’s time for him to play.
“There’s a few things I’d like to say: Gus came out and said that he’s been dealing with Kyle, and that is 100 per cent correct.
“I met with Gus last year and he said, ‘We need to reset him, we need to get him started again, he had a tough year last year and was playing in a side getting a lot of points put on them’.
“He’s changed his game, he’s changed the way he is playing, so he needed to go back to NSW Cup and enjoy himself.
“Gus said he’d work really hard, work on a few things and once he got them right he’d be back in first grade. To his credit, he stuck to his word and has been working with Kyle.
“Trent said exactly the same thing, that he’d go back for a month or so – he left it a bit open – and be back in first grade. To his word, he is back in first grade.
“The club behind the scenes have supported him, they haven’t thrown him to the wolves. There’s been a bit of a plan and he’s a first-grader. He’s back playing tomorrow and I’m sure he will do well.
“Whether the Bulldogs win or not, I’m not sure. But he will be out there doing his best. He has played 30 or 40 first-grade games and hopefully he plays another 150 to 200.
“It’s strange for me to see all the drama around it this week. It was a bit disappointing, but for Kyle [it’s] a distraction for him coming back to play first grade. It should have been a positive story.”
In a bid to be ready for his opportunity, Kyle made weekly trips to the Sweet Science Boxing Gym in Cronulla, where Paul Gallen trains. His father said the maligned halfback hasn’t been given any guarantees about how long he will get in first grade.
“It’s not just Kyle, the team hasn’t been playing well,” Shane said. “Kyle has gone into it now. There’s a lot of talk about freeing up Burton to play; Kyle coming back is going to get the team around the park. He’s hopefully going to kick well and defend well.
“That’s all he’s going to do for two or three weeks.
“To answer your question about ‘has he been told if he’s back for three, five, 10 [weeks] or the rest of the season’, no he hasn’t.
“He’s got to go out and play good footy week after week.
“Obviously he’s going to get a couple of weeks to get the combination right and they won’t keep changing their halves, but no one is guaranteed a week-to-week position, especially in that Bulldogs side.”
Good as Gould: Shane Flanagan backs Bulldogs over son’s NRL return
Shane Flanagan has defended Canterbury’s handling of son Kyle’s return to the NRL, declaring “they haven’t thrown him to the wolves.”
