NRL 2023: Dragons coach Anthony Griffin sacked
Anthony Griffin arrived at training on Tuesday expecting to take charge. Instead, he was sacked before the session was scheduled to start. This is the inside story of what went down on a day of Dragons bloodletting.
Dragons
Don't miss out on the headlines from Dragons. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Anthony Griffin’s fate was sealed by a secret telephone hook up by the Dragons board of directors on Monday night.
It was unbeknown to Griffin but before he had time to attend a training session on Tuesday morning in Wollongong he had already lost his job.
Griffin arrived early for the scheduled 8am session but by 7.30am he was summoned to an off-site meeting. He met with Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster and chief executive Ryan Webb where he was told of his immediate axing.
The normally fractured board were in line in their thinking that Griffin’s time was up. They had planned to finalise the decision at a scheduled board meeting on Tuesday morning but fast-tracked his exit. Ideally the club had wanted to have their 2024 coach in place before they made an immediate call on Griffin. Just weeks ago there was a desire for Griffin to see out the season but a sudden run of losses had left many senior officials believing they had no other option.
The failed development of some of the youngsters – pinpointed by Jayden Sullivan’s failure to return to the field after being sin-binned last Saturday – became contentious for the powerbrokers.
Before the Dragons players were told of Griffin’s axing they were due to do media. Eight players including rookie Toby Couchman were among those listed to speak. But given the uncertainty surrounding Griffin, Dragons officials scaled back their commitments and left it to senior players Jack de Belin and Ben Murdoch-Masila to front the cameras.
Shortly after, deep inside the WIN Stadium confines Webb and Lancaster spoke with a stunned playing group. They told them Griffin was no longer the coach and explained that poor results had sped up the process. The players were asked if they had any questions but not-one asked anything. There were no celebrations nor was there an element of huge surprise from the playing group who had sensed the writing on the wall following a six-week losing streak.
The club’s leadership group including de Belin, Ben Hunt, Jack Bird and Jaydn Su‘a then met with Webb, Lancaster, head of football Ben Haran and new coach Ryan Carr to work out the path forward.
By 10.30am Carr was picking his first team as head coach. Half an hour later he was addressing the playing squad in a huddle where he was met with a warm response from the playing group.
As for Griffin, he was left to contemplate the most likely end to his NRL coaching journey.
STAR DRAGON’S SHOCK ADMISSION AFTER BRUTAL GRIFFIN AXING
Anthony Griffin has been sacked by St George Illawarra.
The Dragons officially parted ways with the coach after a board meeting in Wollongong on Tuesday morning.
Griffin held his last training session with his squad on Tuesday before being told of the news and was seen leaving their base shortly after.
Assistant coach Ryan Carr will take over for the rest of the year. Carr has held coaching stints at Parramatta and South Sydney before joining the Dragons this year.
The Dragons are yet to make a decision on their long-term coach with Jason Ryles and Ben Hornby the front-runners.
Their agent George Mimis met with St George Illawarra officials on Monday. Dragons boss Ryan Webb confirmed Griffin’s departure.
“These decisions are never taken lightly and on behalf of the club I want to thank Anthony for all his hard work during his time at the Dragons,” Webb said.
“Unfortunately our performances over the first 10 games of this season have not met the club’s expectations so it was decided he should finish up his duties this week.”
The Dragons had hoped Griffin could see out the season but their recent poor form meant he lost the support of those in charge.
Dragons forward Jack de Belin admitted the players let Griffin down.
“At the end of the day, it’s a results driven business and we just haven’t got the results for him, so that’s disappointing on our end,” he said.
Brisbane winger Corey Oates, who made his NRL debut under Griffin, was hit hard by the news of his axing.
“That’s sad. I know Hook really well. He gave me my start in the NRL. I only saw him at the weekend at the airport for Dozer’s (Ben Hunt) 300th. It’s tough to hear.” Oates said.
“They haven’t started the year too well, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes and what’s really going on internally. Not everything gets leaked, but I hope Hook and his family are OK. It would be pretty hard on him, but I’m sure there will be other opportunities in his career and if he hangs them up, I’m not sure. I have always liked Hook as a coach, sometimes it’s not your time at a certain club and they obviously didn’t perform too well this year. But you can never blame a coach for a player’s performance I believe, he wasn’t out there on the field at the time, so I just wish him well for his future.”
Griffin was seen leaving a planned training session early at WIN Stadium on Tuesday morning to be told of the news. Chairman Andrew Lancaster addressed the playing group to tell them of Griffin’s immediate departure.
The Dragons are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Griffin has had limited success since taking on the job in 2021.
He was granted a 12 month extension in the off-season. Griffin has now been moved on from jobs at Brisbane and Penrith.
He is the third successive Dragons coach to be sacked since Wayne Bennett left the club at the end of 2011.
Steve Price, Paul McGregor and now Griffin have been cut mid-season in the past decade.
Dragons part ways with CEO, shock replacement linked to role
St George Illawarra have announced CEO Ryan Webb will stand down from his position, with South Sydney boss Blake Solly sensationally linked to the role.
‘Not well’: Hunt review details emerge
Veteran halfback Ben Hunt and the Dragons are reportedly locked in a standoff over a new deal as new details emerged surrounding a brutal end of season review.