NRL 2021: Why Anthony Griffin’s St George Illawarra overhaul isn’t about the footy

‘He’s made me realise I can do a lot of things I think I can’t do.’ It’s no wonder the Dragons are flying high when you hear the likes of Zac Lomax and Josh Kerr talking about their coach.

Dragons celebrate their fourth win of the season after defeating Parramatta. Picture: Matt Blyth/Getty Images

What’s the secret to the footy Anthony Griffin has got the Dragons playing, which has the pre-season wooden spoon contenders riding high in the top four?

It’s a trick question — the secret is Griffin’s approach isn’t about footy at all.

In fact, star centre Zac Lomax reckons “99 per cent” of the time, him and the coach don’t talk about his game.

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“Football comes last for him, it’s all about the person first and that’s the best thing about him,” Lomax said. “The best thing about Hook is he’s a great fella and he’s a person before he’s a coach. You can talk to him about anything.

“Once you cross that stripe at training it’s 100 per cent footy, but he brings the best out of you and it’s all about being a good person first.

Zac Lomax is enjoying his time working with coach Anthony Griffin.

“We’re fortunate enough to be football players, but we’re people first and foremost.”

It’s a similar story for backrower Josh Kerr, who has become one of many success stories for the Dragons under Griffin, with the former prop making a great fist of his move to second row. “He really does care about the person you are off the field,” Kerr said.

“He’s all for having a laugh at training but he can give you the hard word as well, and he’s given me a few hard words, let me tell you. But he knows when to coach you and when to be a mentor to you. I really respect that about Hook.

“He speaks a lot about how things are going at home, how your family is going. Hook is really good with that.”

Kerr’s move to the edge is a case in point of how Griffin has empowered the Dragons, who have recorded a surprise 4-1 start to the season and upset premiership contenders Parramatta last Sunday.

After securing a top-grade spot as a prop last year, and doing well enough to earn selection in Queensland’s wider training squad for the end of year Origin series, Kerr initially put on some size over the off-season in an effort to improve his game.

Anthony Griffin has got the Dragons firing this season. Picture: Dragons Media

When he was moved to second row, still carrying the extra timber, he didn’t think he could get through a full game.

“Hook pretty much told me I had to do it, and that’s one of the best things Hook has done for me,” Kerr said. “He’s made me realise I can do a lot of things I think I can’t do.”

Plenty of pundits reckoned the Dragons couldn’t do what they are doing now, and they will be shooting for a fifth straight win when they take on the Warriors on Sunday.

The foundation for their revival has been strong defence, a far cry from the pre-season where a woeful performance in the Charity Shield had plenty claiming the club were certainties for the wooden spoon.

Proving the pundits wrong hasn’t been their primary motivation, but things have started to shift a little for Saints — after five weeks of defying the odds, now there’s some expectation around Griffin’s men.

“I don’t think it was about proving people wrong,” Lomax said. “We did have a lot to work on after the Charity Shield. We got exposed a little bit but we knew what we had to work on and we were able to do it before Round 1.

“We just want to be a team that is going to put our ego’s aside, be a team that wants to work for each other in defence and off the ball. That’s where we want to be at.

“The coaching staff and new players who have come on board have bought right into it. We’re building something pretty special here.”