Aaron Gorrell with son Will after the Tigers won the grand final in 2025. Photo: Tallon Smith.
Former NRL player and Gundagai Tigers rugby league mentor Aaron Gorrell has taken a huge step forward in his career after being named Jersey Flegg coach of NRL club St George Illawarra Dragons.
After leading the Tigers to a fifth title in 10 years in his first season at the helm this year, the Albion Park-Oak Flats junior will return to the Illawarra to take charge of the Under 21s side beginning in 2026.
Gorrell said it was a full circle moment returning to the club that he progressed through the grades with and represented at the top level for five seasons.
“I was lucky enough to actually play in the first ever St George Illawarra Flegg team back in 2000, so it’s a bit of a full circle thing for me,” he said.
“It probably wasn’t something I thought would ever happen, but I’m glad to get the opportunity and I’m looking forward to starting.”
The Wollongong-born 44-year-old played as a hooker in the NRL for the Dragons and Brisbane Broncos before plying his trade as a regional coach across the state, including for the Queanbeyan Kangaroos, Cooma Stallions and Wagga Brothers before landing with the Gundagai Tigers.
The move to the St George Illawarra lower grades is the next evolution in his coaching career, with questions naturally coming to mind around his ambitions to coach first grade.
However, Gorrell said his focus was squarely on the task at hand of delivering success to the Dragons’ Flegg team and helping talented young players chase their dream of playing in the NRL.
“I think when you start doing anything you want to be as good as you can at it, and I’m just glad I got an opportunity with the club I started out with, and spent a lot of time with,” he said.
“It’s where I grew up, [and it’s great] to get the opportunity to go back there and coach and hopefully play a small part in players going through and eventually playing NRL.
“It’ll be good if I can further my coaching career as well, but first and foremost, my job is to try and get blokes playing NRL.”
Aaron embraces his player Derek Hay after the grand final. Photo: Tallon Smith.
Naturally, the move will see Gorrell depart Group 9, where he not only led Gundagai to the premiership, but also coached the Riverina representative side.
Despite the Dragons’ offer being simply too good to refuse for the experienced coach, Gorrell said he would always remember his time at Gundagai fondly after making memories this season in ‘Tuckerbox Town’ that would last a lifetime.
“They were great to me and my family, we had a great year, and it was probably the most enjoyable year I’ve had coaching,” he said.
“It was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make as a player and as a coach.
“We’ll try and get back there and I’m happy to help them out wherever needed as well, the way they treated us was amazing.”
The Tigers celebrate their premiership. Photo: Tahlia Crane Photography/Gundagai Tigers Facebook page.
Dragons CEO Tim Watsford welcomed the return of Gorrell.
“He’s a local junior who came through our pathways system and went on to have a successful career in rugby league. He understands what it takes for these young men to succeed and will undoubtedly do a good job in preparing them as they continue their development,” he said.
Gorrell’s departure also has major ramifications for the region’s representative scene, after he was initially named as Group 9 coach ahead of the return of the Kelly Cup against Group 20 in February.
He said he wanted to go public with the news now so the region’s representative teams had time to find a suitable replacement ahead of their respective campaigns.
“I kept seeing my name everywhere as coach, and I didn’t want to keep being named as the coach when I wasn’t going to do it,” he said.
A replacement for the Group 9 role is set to be announced over the coming weeks.
The Dragons’ Jersey Flegg Cup campaign will officially kick off in March 2026.
