0 
0 Shane Flanagan has taken a cheeky swipe at the Cronulla Sharks ahead of his much-anticipated return to the Shire next week.
The Dragons were thrashed 60-18 in their Anzac Day match against the Sydney Roosters, with coach Flanagan admitting he “could not wait” for the game to end.
Flanagan now turns his focus to the Sharks next Sunday – the club he won the 2016 premiership with.
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The 58-year-old left his role as head coach at Cronulla on the eve of the 2019 season after it emerged he had breached the terms of a suspension he received in 2014.
Flanagan denied that the upcoming game against the Sharks would be an emotional experience for him, but revealed he is “really interested in beating” his former side.
“Next week comes around real quick and we are playing a team from down the Shire that I’m really interested in beating,” the Dragons coach said on Thursday.
”That’s been marked in the calendar for a while.”
The coach was quick to take aim at the Sharks/’ inability to make it past the second round of the finals series since his departure, noting to fans that he has been the only person to take the club to a premiership victory.
“It’s not been an emotional week, I won a comp there. I don’t think they’ve won one since, have they?” he joked.
“It’s not about me. I don’t care about me and I don’t want it to be about me.
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“I want it to be about the team and the club.”
Flanagan said he does not feel he has a point to prove against the Sharks and has moved on with his career since his exit.
“That was ages ago. I’ve moved on,” he said.
“I’ve coached at Manly, worked at Fox, worked on radio. I’ve had a good life.”
Flanagan inked a three-year contract with the Dragons last season, taking over the reigns from sacked coach Anthony Griffin.
He told reporters during the post-match Anzac Day press conference that his focus for the next week is getting the team “back up to where” it should be.
“My job is to get these boys back up. Whether we are playing the Sharks or whoever we are playing, my job is to get the boys back up to where we were in the last couple of weeks,” Flanagan said.
“We’ve gone backwards as I’ve said a few times and I’ve got to get them up, no matter who the opposition is.”
