Dragons Football Staff /

DRAGONS 2025 FOOTBALL STAFF

General Manager of Football	Ben Haran
NRL Head Coach	Shane Flanagan
NRL Senior Assistant Coach	Dean Young
NRL Assistant Coach	Ryan Carr
Head of Female Football	Samantha Bremner
NRLW Head Coach and Pathways Coaching Coordinator	Nathan Cross
Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Coach	Willie Talau
Recruitment and Pathways Manager and Jersey Flegg Cup Coach	Shane Millard
High Performance Manager	Daniel Lawson
Performance Consultant	Andrew Gray
Strength and Power Coach	Nathan Spencer
Speed and Conditioning Coach	Kelly Penfold
Club Contact and Pathways Performance Coach	James Moran
Pathways Recruitment Officer	Ian Millward
Chief Medical Officer	Dr Tom Carrigan
NRL Physiotherapist (Rehab)	Davis Theobald
NRL Physiotherapist (Medical)	John Callaghan
Performance and Recruitment Analyst	Gabe Cameron
Performance/Football Operations Manager	Travis Roche
NRLW Football Manager	Steve Nielsen
NSWRL Programs and Analytics Coordinator	Jason Streat
Sport Science Coordinator	Michael Baldock
Wellbeing and Facility Manager	Scott Stewart
Education and Wellbeing Manager	Chelsea Tout
Wellbeing Coordinator	Holly Scheeringa
NRL Gear Steward	Mick Lavorato
Football Assistant	Darren Watt
Dietician	Nicola Jaffrey
Dragons Academy Coach and Steelers SG Ball Coach	Shaun Timmins
Dragons Academy Coach and Dragons SG Ball Coach	Darren Nicholls

STAFF PROFILES

SHANE FLANAGAN, NRL HEAD COACH

• Came through the grades as a player at the St George Dragons throughout the 1980s.
• Made his first grade debut for St George in Round 11, 1987 in a 34-0 win over Western Suburbs.
• Would go on to play 78 first grade games across stints at St George, Western Suburbs, and Parramatta before retiring in 1994 due to a knee injury.
• Coached Parramatta's SG Ball Cup squad in 1997 before spending a season as an assistant coach with Castleford in the UK.
• Linked up with Ricky Stuart at the Roosters as an assistant in the early 2000s.
• Went on to coach the Australian Schoolboys squad before assisting Stuart with the Kangaroos and Craig Bellamy with the NSW Blues.
• Was appointed head coach at Cronulla in 2010 and was with the club until 2018 coaching 185 games and leading them to an inaugural premiership.
• Made his return to the head coaching scene in 2024 with the Dragons and is widely regarded as one of the sport's finest coaches.

NATHAN CROSS, NRLW HEAD COACH & PATHWAYS COACHING COORDINATOR

• Possesses 17 years of experience as a rugby league coach.
• Spent the past two seasons as an assistant with the Maroons Women's State of Origin squad under head coach Tahnee Norris.
• Also was an assistant with the Maroons Under 19s Men's State of Origin squad in 2024.
• Held assistant roles for multiple Queensland Cup sides and was previously a pathways coach for the Titans.
• Was recently working full-time for the Queensland Rugby League in the role of Head Coach – Pathways & Performance.
• Joined the Dragons in October 2024 as NRLW Head Coach and Pathways Coaching Coordinator.

IAN MILLWARD, PATHWAYS RECRUITMENT OFFICER

• Came through the grades with Illawarra before his playing career ended abruptly due to a serious neck injury.
• Spent time with the Steelers as a reserve grade head coach and first grade assistant before making the move to the UK to continue his coaching journey.
• Took over as head coach of Leigh in 1998 before joining St Helens where he led the club to titles in 2000 and 2002 and Challenge Cup victories in 2001 and 2004.
• Went on to become head coach at Wigan before stints as an assistant and interim coach at North Queensland and Canberra back in the NRL.
• Found himself in the UK once again with Leigh and Castleford before linking up with the Dragons in 2014 as a reserve grade assistant.
• Also spent time as an NRL assistant under Paul McGregor before moving into the recruitment space for the club.

SHANE MILLARD, RECRUITMENT & PATHWAYS MANAGER / JERSEY FLEGG HEAD COACH

• Debuted for the Roosters in 1996 before spending time at Western Suburbs and South Sydney.
• Made the move to the UK in 1998 to link up with London where he spent four seasons appearing in the 1999 Challenge Cup Final.
• Came back to Australia in 2002 to join the Dragons before stints back in the UK with Widnes, Leeds, and Wigan – where he retired at the end of 2007.
• Coached the Illawarra Cutters NSW Cup squad in 2012 and 2013 before taking over as head coach of the Steelers SG Ball team from 2014 to 2017.
• Had stints working in the pathways department at the Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, and Bulldogs.
• Joined the Dragons as Recruitment and Pathways Manager in 2023.

TRAVIS ROCHE, PERFORMANCE/FOOTBALL OPERATIONS MANAGER

• Came through the club's pathways system as a player from 2005 to 2010 playing Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball with the Steelers before filtering into the club's Toyota Cup squad.
• Spent the 2011 NSW Cup season with Canterbury before being forced into an early retirement due to three significant knee injuries.
• Has spent over a decade as a strength and conditioning coach and has been with the Dragons for over three years.
• Received a Diploma of Fitness and Business and is an ASCA Level 2 Strength Coach as well as EXOS Fitness Specialist.
• A highly regarded leader in athletic development, performance improvement, and management who brings a strategic, scientific, and modern approach to building players to be NRL ready.

DARREN NICHOLLS, DRAGONS SG BALL HEAD COACH

• Came through the Wests Tigers pathways system playing Toyota Cup for the club in 2008 and 2009.
• Joined Mounties in 2012 after some time in France before embarking on an extensive reserve grade career with stops at Wyong, Norths, Redcliffe and Penrith.
• Linked up with the Dragons in 2018 and made his NRL debut in Round 17 at age 29.
• Moved back to Queensland in 2020 playing for Souths Logan and the Brisbane Tigers before retiring from football at the end of 2022.
• Began coaching the Dragons SG Ball squad in 2025.

SHAUN TIMMINS, STEELERS SG BALL HEAD COACH

• Kiama junior who came through the grades at Illawarra before debuting for the Steelers in Round 18, 1994 as a 17-year-old.
• Played 86 games with Illawarra before becoming a key member of St George Illawarra in the 1999 season in which they made a run to the Grand Final.
• Made his international debut for the Kangaroos that same year in a 42-6 Tri-Nations win over Great Britain and made his State of Origin debut in 2000.
• Went on to play eight Tests and nine Origins booting an iconic field goal in NSW's Game I victory in 2004.
• Retired from rugby league at the end of the 2006 having played 210 games all for Illawarra and St George Illawarra.
• Was appointed Pathways Recruitment Manager for the Dragons in 2019 having spent the previous five seasons in assistant roles for the Steelers SG Ball squad and Dragons reserve grade outfit.
• Became Steelers SG Ball head coach in 2024 leading them to the finals in his first year in charge.

SCOTT STEWART, WELLBEING & FACILITY MANAGER

• Has spent 22 years with the Dragons working in wellbeing, administration, and coaching.
• Has held a multitude of roles including Education and Wellbeing, Rugby League Pathways Manager, Junior League Development Officer, Holden Cup Assistant Coach, Steelers Junior Representative Coach, School Liaison and High Performance Academy Coach and Coordinator.
• Received a Bachelor of PDHPE Education from the University of Wollongong as well as a Cert IV in Elite Athlete Wellbeing, a Cert IV in Career Coaching, and a Level 3 in Rugby League Coaching.