Top NRL assistant Michael Ennis has split with St George Illawarra a day after the club confirmed head coach Shane Flanagan’s departure.
The Dragons on Tuesday afternoon confirmed in a statement that the 2016 Sharks premiership winning hooker had left the club due to “a restructuring of the program”. Tom Eisenhuth, who finished up as an NRL player with the Dragons at the end of the 2024 season has been promoted to replace Ennis, while Willie Talau, also on the staff will have expanded responsibilities.
Ennis was overlooked for the interim coach position on Monday, with Dean Young landing the role after Flanagan’s departure.
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“Mick contributed professionally during his time at the Dragons and has been a valued member of the coaching staff. We thank him for his efforts during his time at the Dragons,” club CEO Tim Watsford said in a statement.
“We wish Mick and his family all the very best for the future.”
Ennis lasted less than half a season on the Dragons’ coaching staff. He was appointed in September after leaving his position as an assistant to Anthony Seibold at Manly.
His departure brings the casualty list at the Dragons from the last few days to three, with football department boss Ben Haran also leaving the club.
Chairman Andrew Lancaster and Watsford called a snap press conference on Monday morning to announce the immediate departures of Flanagan and Haran.
Bizarrely, they addressed media before an interim coach had been put in place.
Journalists at the Bruce Gordon Centre in Wollongong later revealed Dragons players were asking them whether they knew who would be coaching the team this week.
It wasn’t until hours later, on Monday night, that the club confirmed Young would take the reins for the remainder of 2026.
Young also acted as interim coach when Paul McGregor was sacked in 2020. Young – a 2010 premiership winner with the Red V – then spent several years as an assistant at North Queensland before returning to his beloved Dragons.
Ennis, 42, played 274 NRL games between the Knights, Dragons, Broncos, Bulldogs, and Sharks, as well as eight Origin games for New South Wales.
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Since retiring in 2016 he has built a profile as one of the more astute analysts in the game, working on Fox League.
But he’s also been building his coaching credentials, having worked at Canberra and Parramatta before being appointed assistant coach to Anthony Seibold at Manly.
Ennis left the Sea Eagles over the off-season to reunite with his 2016 premiership coach Flanagan at the Dragons.
He had been working with the team’s attack, while Young focused more on defence.
The Dragons attack has been ridiculed this season. The team has lost seven straight games to kick off 2026.
Nevertheless, Ennis was considered a leading candidate to potentially replace Flanagan as head coach from 2027, although that now seems near impossible.
He will, though, remain in the running to coach Manly, after the Sea Eagles sacked Seibold just three games into the season.
Kieran Foran has been instated as the interim coach and has led the northern beaches side to three consecutive wins, but the Sea Eagles have given no indication if he will coach the team permanently.
Young must now find himself new assistant coaches as soon as possible.
The Dragons take on the Roosters on Anzac Day.
