Dragons GM of football reveals Anthony Griffin saga blocking club signing marquee star

The Dragons general manager of football has revealed the protracted search to replace coach Anthony Griffin has bled into the club’s recruitment plans.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin. Picture: Matt King/Getty

St George-Illawarra GM of football Ben Haran has been left to explain the club’s inability to sign a marquee player as the board procrastinates over the future of head coach Anthony Griffin.

Haran has addressed the difficulty for the Dragons to have a clear plan forward without knowing if Griffin will be retained beyond this season or the board will select a new coach from a short-list of candidates.

The board met on Tuesday to discuss Griffin’s future, and his potential replacements, but no clear picture about when the issue would be resolved.

Haran used the club’s official podcast, The Dragons Den, to explain the fragility of trying to attract marquee talent without being able to tell the player who the coach of Saints will be in 2024.

Haran also confirmed the club has three spots remaining in their 30-man roster.

“Ultimately, at the moment at the Dragons, you can’t recruit (a marquee) because of (the question) who the coach is going forward. That’s just the situation we’re in,’’ Haran said.

“But what we can recruit and retain is who wants to be a Dragon?

“That’s the main thing.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin. Picture: Matt King/Getty

“If people want to be a Dragon that’s a really good start for us. We’ve got some great kids here that want to be Dragons.

“So if we’re basing some of our decisions on who wants to be a Dragon? Then, that’s important.

“There’s going to be different situations for different people.

“There’s going to be players which we will look at and think, do we want to retain them now based on the fact that they’re the right fit for the club?

“There’ll be other players that we might need to wait to see what happens with the coaching situation.’’

It must be stated that Haran - who has been with Saints in varying roles for 15-years - wasn’t questioning senior management or being critical of the club’s current process to determine the future of Griffin.

He was simply telling it how it is while reaffirming his only focus was working within the parameters of the club’s current status to achieve success.

St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb. Picture: Simon Bullard

“Ultimately I’ve got a job to do for the Dragons,’’ Haran said.

“It’s hard to come up with any type of plan until decisions have been made.

“And those decisions will be made by the board, as I’ve mentioned.

“I think it’s a case of, let’s act when things need to be done.

“That was the situation with Mary (Paul McGregor). The next decision was, okay what’s best for the team now?

“What do we do, to ensure the players are preparing to win this weekend?

“We’ll just have to see what comes and make decisions as we go.’’

Haran said he had no knowledge of how long Griffin had to prove he was worth being retained by a Dragons management currently surveying all available coaches that could potentially take over in 2024.

“The coaching situation is ultimately a board decision,’’ Haran said.

“There’s two roles that the board appoints, which is the head coach and the CEO.

“So between Ryan (Webb), as the CEO, doing all the due diligence that he needs to do in terms of being able to give the information to the board, that certainly takes place.

“But my understanding is that there hasn’t been any time frames (on Griffin) or anything like that.

“But ultimately Ryan has a job to do in terms of giving the information to the board and then the board will make the decision based on what they think is best for the club.

“Because ultimately it’s got to be about what is best for the Dragons.

“That’s what all of our decisions have got to be, not on any one individual.’’