St George Illawarra's only premiership-winning coach Wayne Bennett has discouraged the Dragons from picking Shane Flanagan as their new mentor, saying a younger coach would be more suitable.
Bennett's comments come after the Dragons met with ex-Cronulla coach Flanagan on Wednesday as they seek a permanent successor for the sacked Anthony Griffin.
The bottom-placed Dragons hoped to have unveiled their new coach by now but were forced to change tack when front-runner Jason Ryles knocked them back last week.
Premiership-winning ex-Dragons, and current NRL assistants, Dean Young and Ben Hornby remain in the club's thoughts, as does Flanagan, who is the only one on the shortlist with head-coaching experience.
Currently an assistant at Manly, Flanagan's background as a head coach has dovetailed well with Sea Eagles boss Anthony Seibold since the pair began working together this year.
"Any coaching staff that has an ex-head coach ... that's a really positive thing because they've been through the furnace," Seibold said.
"From my understanding, it was a really positive conversation that they had (on Wednesday).
"(Flanagan) feels as though there'll be a resolution sooner rather than later.
"I hope he gets the job. He's qualified to get the job."
Bennett felt a different approach would work better for his old club, saying the Dragons needed to commit to rebuilding around a younger coach.
The current Dolphins mentor led the Dragons to the 2010 premiership, leaving a year later.
The club have subsequently sacked three other coaches - Steve Price, Paul McGregor and Griffin - in the pursuit of an elusive second title.
Young and the incumbent Ryan Carr have also held the job in an interim capacity but in the 11 seasons since Bennett's departure, the club has played finals only twice.
“Changing your coach every week doesn’t help," Bennett said.
“They’ve got to go long-term, you can’t keep changing coaches and think you’re going to have a successful club.
“I’d be going for a younger coach, someone they have to put their faith and trust in and make sure he gets the support he needs."
Bennett holds North Queensland assistant Young and South Sydney's Hornby in high regard, having coached them on the Dragons' run to premiership glory.
“They’re wonderful men," he said.
“Ben had three or four years at South Sydney and has done a great job. Dean’s been up to North Queensland and done a great job.
“They’ve got the DNA in their blood, they’ve coached lower grades there.”
Time is of the essence for the Dragons, who are keen for their new coach to begin working on roster management as soon as possible.
The Saints have struggled in recent years to attract elite talent and have faced speculation captain Ben Hunt could agitate for a release now close-confidant Griffin has been axed.
A major advantage had the Ryles appointment transpired would have been that the Sydney Roosters were willing to release him mid-season, allowing him to devote his full attention to the Dragons.
Seibold has yet to determine whether Flanagan would be permitted to leave early if offered the Dragons job.
Sitting outside the top eight in the crucial State of Origin period, Manly cannot afford distractions as they plot a return to the finals.
"It's something we'd need to put a little bit of thought into," Seibold said.
"(But) there's no point thinking about it until Flanno gets an offer and he wants to go.
"If he does, then we'll put some things in place to make sure there's the least amount of disruption possible."
