- Tough decision made in massive week for St George Illawarra
St George Illawarra interim coach Dean Young has opened up about how he had to tell his ex-teammate and fellow footy great Michael Ennis that he’d been sacked.
Ennis was a part of the Red V’s coaching personnel as an assistant and attack coach since the beginning of the year.
But he has been told by Young, his former teammate at the Dragons in 2005, that he has been let go as the club makes big changes.
Young has revealed the decision has been made in the best interests of the club, as it stares down the barrel of an 0-8 start to the NRL season.
‘I’ve known Mick for a long time. I played with him back in 2005. I’ve got a good relationship with him, and unfortunately, he’s part of the change,’ Young said.
‘We need a circuit breaker. We need things to look different. We need things to feel different.
Michael Ennis (pictured) has been sacked from the St George Illawarra coaching staff
New Dragons interim coach Dean Young (pictured) was Ennis’s teammate at the club in 2005. He delivered the bad news on Tuesday
Ennis (pictured right with Young) missed out after gunning for the interim coaching role
Young (pictured) was in charge of St George Illawarra for six matches on an interim basis in 2020
‘I’ve got nothing against him as a coach, I think, potentially, he could be a good head coach down the track.
‘But for me, I need different voices. I need the playing group to feel different.’
Ennis, who was in the running for the St George Illawarra interim role, revealed he was blindsided by his termination.
‘Dean advised me this morning that he was changing his coaching structure and would no longer require me in my role,’ Ennis wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
‘Whilst I was surprised, I could do nothing more than wish Dean, the playing group and the club all the best.’
The snub has come as South Sydney Rabbitohs players have endorsed Ben Hornby to become St George Illawarra’s permanent head coach in the near future.
Hornby was the halfback in the joint venture’s last premiership-winning team in 2010.
Currently at the Rabbitohs working as a No.2 under Wayne Bennett, he is likely to compete with Young for the permanent role at the helm of St George Illawarra.
