Out-of-favour halfback Kyle Flanagan may have found himself a new position as the Bulldogs defeated the Dragons 22-12 in the NSW Cup on Sunday.
The playmaker was picked at hooker for the side and impressed two very important onlookers in coach Cameron Ciraldo and Phil Gould.
After his side’s win over St George Illawarra, Ciraldo was asked about the future of Flanagan amid reports he was set for an immediate switch to Manly.
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“I know nothing about that and Kyle rang me actually straight away and his phone was going off as well and he just wanted to reassure me that there was nothing in it,” he said in the post-match press conference.
Gould, Canterbury’s general manager of football, had high praise for Flanagan’s hooking role.
“Just watching Kyle play NSW Cup here in Wollongong at the moment,” he wrote on Twitter.
“He is playing hooker and looks quite at home in the role.
“Good quality reserve grade game.
“Despite the player drain with injury, our boys are competing well.”
Ciraldo was also happy with Flanagan’s impact on the match.
“Kyle had a tough week and (it was) a tough decision to not be in the team. We played him at hooker in NSW Cup today and I thought he was outstanding,” he said.
“He was really good all week, he took it on the chin. There’s a lot of weight of expectation on Kyle and brings a lot of attention, but he turned up to training with the right attitude and embraced a new position. I thought he did really well out there today.”
Reports of Flanagan making an immediate move to Manly emerged on Saturday night, causing Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold to give an answer after his side’s unexpected 26-10 loss to the Titans.
“I’m not going to speculate on that,” Seibold said post-game.
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“One thing I will say is that we have a spot to fill. We have signed 29 players, and we are going to fill it before June 30.
“What we are doing at the moment is having a good look at the position we need to fill.”
Seibold said the club would most likely look to target a player like prop Aaron Woods, who came across from the Dragons.
“We had 28 players, we brought Woodsy in to do a role, so we will look around for what we need. We are short for outside backs, potentially we can add to our halves as well, so we will have those conversations during the week, but we certainly haven’t signed Kyle Flanagan if that’s the speculation.”
Flanagan’s potential move to Manly would reunite him with his father Shane who is an assistant coach at the Sea Eagles.
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