Dean Young (rugby league)
Dean Young (born 28 October 1983 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for, and currently coaches in an interim capacity,[3] the St. George Illawarra Dragons of the National Rugby League. Son of former St. George Dragons captain and coach, Craig Young, Young played primarily in the forwards and spent his entire career at the Dragons, winning the 2010 NRL Premiership with them.
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| Full name | Dean Craig Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 October 1983 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker, Lock, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
Young made his first grade debut in Round 2 of the 2003 NRL season, against the Parramatta Eels. He consistently played in the first grade side following his debut, playing either at Back Row or hooker as required. In 2006, Young was selected as 18th man for New South Wales in the 2006 State of Origin decider in Melbourne, but did not play.
Young did not play for the majority of the 2007 season, as he was recovering from a knee injury incurred in 2006 from a Lance Thompson tackle. His recovery was further hindered by complications from surgery which was performed to address this injury. Young did, however, make three appearances for the Dragons in 2007, including at five-eighth for a memorable victory over the Penrith Panthers.
In July 2009, Young signed a new three-year contract with St George Illawarra.
In May 2010 Young was selected to represent 'Country' in the annual City Vs. Country Origin match. Young made a stellar representative debut scoring two tries and helping 'Country' to its first victory since 2006.
In 2010, Young, like his father, Craig Young, won a Premiership for the red and whites, even scoring a try in the 2010 NRL Grand Final. It was the first Premiership for the joint-venture club and the first for St. George since 1979 in which Young's father captained. Adding to the list of successes for 2010, Young was again selected for representative duty by gaining selection for the Australia national rugby league team for the Four Nations tour.
At a press conference on the 10 April 2012, Young announced that 2012 would be his final year of football for the Dragons and that he would be retiring at the season's end.
Coaching career
In August 2020, Young was named caretaker coach of the Dragons after Paul McGregor decided to resign mid season when the board couldn't confirm he had a coaching future with the club in 2021.[3]
References
- Dean Young at the Rugby League Project
- NRL Stats
- Walter, Brad (13 August 2020). "McGregor era over as Dragons coach falls on his sword". NRL.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.