When you think about Mark Flanagan, two clubs spring to mind: St Helens and Salford Red Devils.
Whilst at those two clubs, Flanagan played a starring role in two fairy tale’s that defied the odds both of which occurred at this time of year: Grand Final season.
Flanagan was tasked with filling in as a halfback for St Helens in 2014 when, despite the absence of a number of key injuries and the loss of one of their few remaining halfbacks Lance Hohaia on Grand Final day, were able to defeat 12-man Wigan to end an eight-year wait for the Super League trophy.
Five years later Flanagan was one of the leaders guiding Salford to a first ever Grand Final after starting the season as second favourites for relegation.
They came up short in the final, but it was still a night no Salford fan will ever forget. That is unless they beat St Helens away this weekend to return to the Grand Final where, if they win it, they may banish the memory of that defeat.
However, the Saints are the reigning Champions with that win over Salford being the first of a historic threepeat and they’re going for a record breaking fourth consecutive title over the next fortnight.
Two great stories ready to be penned by the winner of this Saturday’s semi-final which has left Flanagan in a tough spot when deciding who to support this weekend.
“It’s really hard to describe my split loyalties between Saints and Salford,” Flanagan told Serious About Rugby League, “I’ve probably got, even though it was longer ago, I probably have more players in the Saints team now because the turnover in players at Salford, so I’m closer to Saints players more than Salford players.
“I had a real affinity with both sets of fans and the two clubs are very close to my heart so I’m completely on the fence on this one. It’s hard to split them. I’d want a draw in this game though that’s not possible.
“I just want a good, fair, exciting game and whoever is the better side on the day will hopefully win the Grand Final.”
So unwilling to pick who he wants to win – at least initially as you’ll see – Flanagan offered some insight into who he thinks will win: “The best game breaker for either team being out – Brodie Croft and Alex Walmsley – is big. I think Saints will win, I think if Brodie would have been fit I’d have gone the other way.
“He’s had such a big impact on Salford’s attack and the way they attack, very expansive, the play wide, they’re very flamboyant bringing the centres and backs into the game, but without Brodie they’ll struggle to play that game plan and that’s what would really worry Saints.
“Saints have been there and done it for a long time. They’ve got big experience in those games and they’ll be able to contain Salford a lot more without Brodie Croft.
“There’s not as much experience in the squad as in previous years because they’ve got quite an injury toll do Saints, though they still have the team to win the Grand Final again without a doubt.
“It seems silly to say because Alex Walmsley is such a fantastic player, but Salford will miss Croft more than Saints will miss Walmsley just because I feel it’s easier for Saints to fill that whole.
“I don’t think it’s possible to replace Walmsley, they don’t have another prop as good, but they do have player that will go some way to making up for his loss in the forwards.
“Because Saints have so many world class players and so many good forwards, you’ll notice Alex isn’t there but there are probably moments when you won’t notice.
“Whereas with Salford I think it will be evident for the full 80 minutes that Brodie Croft isn’t on that pitch, because they don’t have another player anywhere near as good to make up for his absence in that position.
“My feeling is that Saints will win but it will be tight. I just hope Salford fans are not saying at full-time that they feel they could have won the game if Brodie Croft was playing.
“So yeah if I’m pushed for a prediction I will got with Saints, but only just. I think they just have more big-game players and of course the experience having won the last three Super League titles.”
However, he definitely liked the idea of seeing Salford fans again pack out Old Trafford as they did in 2019 the thought of which changed his mind about his original neutrality: “I’d love to see Salford fans pack out that end of the stadium like they did in 2019. It was a pretty amazing playing in front of those fans.
“Do you know what, I’ve changed my mind. I want Salford to win.”
He went on to elaborate on why he ultimately wants Salford to do what many believed was impossible: “The more I’ve thought about it, I want Salford to taste glory more than I do Saints. It would be great in history for them to do four on the bounce but I’d love to see Salford fans who have waited so long to see success, I’d love to see them taste some silverware.
“I’d love to see them win, it would be great for the game. We’ve had only four teams win Super League in the history of the competition and over the space of 25 years that is not enough teams.
“You would have got good odds on Salford winning Super League before Warrington a few years ago but now that seems very likely because Salford are such a well-run club now.
“I think it would be great for the game if Salford could win it, they have the players and it looks like they have the belief so I’m hoping, as I think all the neutrals are, that they can go all the way and win the Grand Final.”
Flanagan also answered who he thinks will make it through the other semi which of course features the club he started at, Wigan Warriors, and eight-time Super League champions Leeds Rhinos.
It’s an intriguing battle between two very expressive teams, in a fixture that of course has plenty of history. It is, after all, a repeat of the inaugural Grand Final back in 1998.
But who does Flanagan think will be walking out at the Theatre of Dreams this time? “I’ve been impressed since Rohan Smith has come along,” Flanagan said of the Rhinos. “They’re strong in the middle of the park, Oledzki has been good and they’ve got great experience with Tetevano and Prior.
“I think if they can keep their discipline, which has been their biggest issue all season, I think they can cause an upset. Wigan have been impressive this year but I feel like the change with Rohan Smith might have come at the right time. I fancy Leeds.”
So Leeds to win it, if they were to win their semi-final and Flanagan was to get his wish and see Salford win their semi-final against St Helens, that would create Super League history.
It would be the first time that none of the top three would feature in the Grand Final and would see fifth meet sixth in the title decider.
Many would argue that this is inherently wrong, but not Flanagan who believes a Leeds-Salford Grand Final would be good for the game: “I’d like to see it. It’s one of the great things about the play-offs. It’s usually the top two or three teams in the Grand Final, it’s about time to have some changes in our game and more teams winning the comp would certainly help that.”
The man nicknamed ‘flash’ also spoke about his playing days and the similarities he spots between the current Saints side and the one he led to Grand Final glory in 2014 as a stand in halfback: “In 2014, we had the injuries a bit earlier in the season so we were able to rejig the squad a little bit and build those combinations going into the play-offs.
“It was me, Jordan Turner, Lance Hohaia as pivots a month before the play-offs so we were able to build some momentum going into the play-offs.
“However, it’s going to be a bit of a re-jig this time around but as long as the spine is pretty much in tact for Saints I don’t think the playing structure will change too much.”
So, he feels that if Saints can maintain their playing structure, they may well be fine but if believes a different area, one reminiscent of 2014, could be more important that structure and personnel: “In regards to the spirit we had in 2014, I think Saints have had that for the last few years the way they play for each other, the way they compete, that comradery they’ve had that for a long time and I’d never question that.”
However, the big question for him is whether they can do it without the one of a kind Alex Walmsley: “It’s just whether they can do it without the man in the middle who is probably the most devastating ball carrier we’ve had in the history of Super League I think.
“I don’t think there’s been a front rower who can make as many breaks, score as many tries or change a game with one big carry like he does.”
Flanagan finished by speaking about the signs of a St Helens dynasty building when he won the 2014 Grand Final playing alongside two current Saints players in Tommy Makinson and Mark Percival
Speaking about that team and the progress the team and those players have made, Flanagan said: “I think they were all winners, I think what I kind of, I wasn’t a senior player back then but I like to think was an old head on young shoulders, I thought we could build something at Saints with standards and habits and I remember bollocking Mark Percival for not getting in the ice baths after training and I kinda said ‘this is what you’ve got to do to be professional.’
“A lot of the senior players at that time tried to instil what it takes to win in those young lads but I could see back then that if they could keep those young lads together then they’d have great success. They always had the ingredients to create a dynasty.”
A dynasty they have indeed they have created no doubt helped along by those experiences. Certainly one of Super League’s greatest ever teams, Flanagan believes a Grand Final win this year would cement them as the greatest Super League side.
“I think if they win it this year,” Flanagan said when asked if they were the competition’s greatest side, “I think if you’re compared to your peers, in your own era and you’re as dominant as they could be by doing four on the trot, they’d be the best Super League team. If they just do the three, I’d put them as equal with the Leeds team that did it.”