Dean Young has had two conversations that could change the trajectory of St George Illawarra: his pitch to Scott Drinkwater and the decision to spare Valentine Holmes from the axe.
The interim Dragons coach wasted no time leaving his mark after taking over from Shane Flanagan on Monday, moving on assistant coach Michael Ennis and handing a debut to rookie halfback Kade Reed for the biggest game of the NRL regular season. However, it’s what Young did next that could have just as big a bearing on the Red V’s fortunes.
Negotiations to bring North Queensland fullback Scott Drinkwater to the club were already under way before Young’s elevation to the top job, but they have just ratcheted up another level.
Young and Drinkwater share a close bond from their time together in Townsville and Young, a former Cowboys assistant coach, made a personal pitch in a bid to seal a three-year deal.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Drinky; I enjoyed coaching him up at the Cowboys for three years,” Young said.
“I rang him the other night and had a 20-minute conversation with him. I told him that with where the club is at the moment, it doesn’t look good, but behind closed doors there are a lot of positives happening.
“I’m close with Drinky and I told him that as a friend – take away the coaching side of it. I wouldn’t tell you to come to a joint that is a basket case.
“No one wants to lose, especially Drinky because he’s so competitive. I think the club is on the way up, and he was pretty positive about it.
“He’s close mates with Valentine Holmes and he could see all of the young forwards we’ve got coming through – the Couchmans [twins Ryan and Toby], Dylan Egan, Hamish Stewart. He can see some potential in them.”
Drinkwater is contracted to the Cowboys for next year, but has been given permission to explore other opportunities early after the club earmarked Jaxon Purdue as their long-term No.1. Current Dragons fullback Clint Gutherson has given the move his blessing and has also been texting Drinkwater about a potential switch, insisting he would happily step into another position. However, Young’s recent conversation with Drinkwater is expected to get the transfer across the line.
It’s not the only heart-to-heart chat Young has had since being installed as head coach. The former premiership-winning forward resisted pressure to drop Holmes after perhaps his worst NRL performance. Marking up on Latrell Mitchell, the former Maroons centre was powerless as his Rabbitohs counterpart scored four tries on Saturday night in South Sydney’s 30-12 win.
However, Young ultimately opted not to drop his highest-paid player for Saturday’s Anzac Day clash against the Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
“I’ve known Val for a long time – I went to the Cowboys back in 2021 and he was fullback then,” Young explained.
“Both [Cowboys head coach] Todd Payten and I agreed that probably wasn’t his best position. Todd decided to move him into the centres with my support. I wasn’t the head coach, but I was certainly a fan of that decision.
“And I worked really closely with Val to turn him into a centre and he’s made a real fist of it. He’s certainly not happy with his own form this year, but I know Val doesn’t walk away from challenges.”
Young pointed to Holmes leaving the security of a lucrative league contract in 2019 to try his hand at NFL as proof that he won’t shy away from difficult assignments.
“He likes to challenge himself,” Young said. “No one walks away from $900,000 on the table to go and play NFL for $60,000 if they don’t like a challenge.
“He’s got one at the moment because his form is not where it needs to be, but I’m backing him to be back at his best.”
Young’s own future remains unclear. It is his third crack as an interim head coach after previous stints with the Cowboys and Dragons, and there are no guarantees he will remain in charge beyond this year.
“I want to be an NRL coach,” Young said.
“Whatever opportunity that comes up, I’m going to look at it. I want to coach for 10 to 15 years, so whatever opportunity that is presented to me, I’ll be taking it.
“Whether that’s here, at Manly or Dapto Canaries, the Cowboys, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve got to sit down and look at all my options.
“At the moment, the furthest thing from my mind is next year. It’s just about the Roosters [this week].”
The Dragons are on an 11-game losing streak dating back to last year, but Young hopes his side can give a good account of itself on Anzac Day.
“I haven’t really thought about it as a coach, but I was blessed to play about nine games on Anzac Day,” he said.
“It’s the best game of the season – apart from semi-finals and the grand final – without doubt. I certainly don’t miss playing rugby league any more, by any means, but when Dragons versus Roosters comes around on Anzac Day I certainly miss running out there, that’s for sure.”
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