{"id":325887,"date":"2023-08-25T02:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T02:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=325887"},"modified":"2023-08-25T02:58:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T02:58:32","slug":"banished-dragons-hero-in-talks-to-end-bitter-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=325887","title":{"rendered":"Banished Dragons hero in talks to end 'bitter' feud"},"content":{"rendered":"

NRL<\/a> legend Matt Cooper is in discussions with newly-appointed Dragons<\/a> coach Shane Flanagan<\/a> to join the team in a formal coaching capacity, Wide World of Sports can reveal.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old, who will fight as part of Stan's exclusive pay-per-view 'Battle on the Reef' bout<\/a>, has confirmed a reunion with the club is on the cards ahead of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

Cooper, a Dragons lifer who played nearly 250 first-grade matches in the Red V, has been an outcast at the club after a falling out in the twilight of his league career.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Panthers' three-peat chances rocked by Luai injury<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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His issues with the club stemmed from its then-CEO Peter Doust who offered him a job that never eventuated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cooper snubbed a 10-year premiership reunion to avoid further friction, which ironically led to more criticism directed at the NRL veteran.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Now, fresh dialogue between Cooper and Flanagan could see the pair unite in a bid to make the Dragons a top eight team again.<\/p>\n

"I'm having conversations with Flanno about maybe helping out next year, which would be great because I think can help the outside backs, especially in defence," Cooper told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

Watch all the action from 'Battle on the Reef' on October 7.<\/strong><\/em> Available to watch via pay-per-view live and exclusively on Stan<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

"That was my specialty. They used to call me the best defensive centre in the game and I think I can really help the guys out, so hopefully I'm involved next year."<\/p>\n

Cooper said an exact name for the role hasn't been decided on yet but an appointment would "probably happen in the next two months".<\/p>\n

\"Shane<\/p>\n

In any case, the former representative star is ready to bury the hatchet and help lead the club back towards being an NRL powerhouse again.<\/p>\n

"When I retired from the Dragons, I left the club on bad terms. It was just one person and I love the club that much where I'm willing to put that aside and try and help the club \u2013 so hopefully I can be there in some formal capacity," said Cooper.<\/p>\n

"I love the club so much that what happened is not worth being bitter and being an outsider of the club because I want to be involved in the club because I love it so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"The club was a part of my life \u2013 18 years. I would love to put things aside and help out the players."<\/p>\n

This season has been disappointing for the Dragons, who languish in 16th position on the ladder with two rounds remaining.<\/p>\n

With five wins from 22 games, it's a grim reality for a team that last won the competition in 2010.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Hunt<\/p>\n

The club's leading try scorer said the team has the potential to be a contender again under Flanagan.<\/p>\n

"It has been disappointing. The team's played a few good games. The disruption with coach and just everything behind the scenes hasn't helped," said Cooper.<\/p>\n

"I think now that we've got Flanno as the coach, I think he's going to do wonders for the team and I think next year a lot of people are going to be surprised how well the Dragons are going to be next year.<\/p>\n

"They've got the players to do it. They just need the coach to bond that team and I think Flanno is the man to do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"He's won a grand final with the Sharks. He knows what he's doing and I'm excited to see how they go next year because I love the club. I played at that club my whole career. I gave everything for that, for that club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"I want the Dragons to be at their best because when I was playing at the Dragons, we were probably one of the most feared sides, I want that back for the Dragons, I want that back for the club and I think we're gonna do it."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NRL legend Matt Cooper is in discussions with newly-appointed Dragons coach Shane Flanagan to join the team in a formal coaching capacity, Wide World of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325887"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=325887"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325893,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325887\/revisions\/325893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/325889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=325887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=325887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=325887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}