Los Pumas coach Michael Cheika a 'shock candidate' for NRL gig

Former Wallabies head coach and current Los Pumas head coach Michael Cheika has reportedly been thrown into the mix for an NRL switch.

Currently preparing Argentina for the Rugby World Cup, Cheika has been labelled a 'shock candidate' for the coaching role at St George Illawarra Dragons.

Cheika has ties to the other code having coached Lebanon at last year's Rugby League World Cup and spent part of 2020 with the Sydney Roosters as an assistant.

The Dragons are reportedly looking for replacement candidates for next season with current coach Anthony Griffin out of favour.

“A third party, someone very close to Michael Cheika, rang Ryan Webb, the St George chief executive, during the week and said he just wanted to put his name in the mix,” News Corp reporter Phil Rothfield told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.

“Cheika is still overseas, so he hasn’t had the chance to do an interview. At the moment, he’s coaching Argentina through the Rugby World Cup, which starts in September and finishes in October, so he could get back here if he got the job and oversee pre-season.

“I think it’s highly unlikely to happen. I think Ben Hornby is ahead of him, as is Jason Ryles.

"But it’s interesting that he’s got this passion, Michael Cheika, to one day coach an NRL side.”