NRL 2020: Why Anthony Griffin’s fallout with Phil Gould could harm Dragons coach chances
He wasn’t the first coach to fall out with Phil Gould, so why shouldn’t Anthony Griffin follow in the footsteps of both Ricky Stuart and Ivan Cleary and get another shot at NRL coaching?
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Just because Anthony Griffin fell out with Phil Gould doesn’t make Griffin a bad coach.
In fact, plenty before him wore it as a badge of honour.
There were plenty of yarns told about Gould having a testing relationship with Ricky Stuart when they worked together at the Roosters because Stuart would get fed up with ‘Gus’ sticking his nose where it wasn’t wanted.
And more recently what happened between Gould and Ivan Cleary on their first go together at Penrith when Cleary was sacked because he was “tired”.
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At least when Cleary returned after Griffin’s sacking the power base had shifted, mainly because Penrith had literally wasted millions sacking and hiring coaches.
Which is why it was no great surprise when Gould was then moved on and Cleary claimed ultimate power.
Griffin never had that luxury.
But the problem right now is that history is still haunting Griffin.
He’s in the hunt for St George Illawarra’s top job and some old stories have resurfaced.
Griffin will be interviewed on Thursday and is one of three still in the running to replace Paul McGregor.
Interim coach Dean Young and Newcastle assistant David Furner are the other two.
Personally, I rate all three as quality men with a wealth of rugby league knowledge, so it truly doesn’t bother me who coaches the Dragons next year.
But what I would hate to see is Griffin’s chances ruined simply because his fallout with Gould two years ago has cast some unfair stigma over his character.
It is simply incorrect to suggest Griffin failed previously at Brisbane and Penrith.
What is fact is that Griffin left both clubs in a much stronger position than he found them.
After taking over from Ivan Henjak in 2011 (when they finished 10th), he took Brisbane to the finals in three out of four years in charge.
This was despite Darren Lockyer retiring at the end of 2011, and emerging superstar Jharal Yow Yeh’s career being cut prematurely short after he made just four appearances in 2012.
But Griffin steadily rebuilt the Broncos and gave 15 players their debut before making way for Wayne Bennett’s return in 2015.
In Bennett’s first season back the Broncos made the grand final, beaten by a Johnathan Thurston field goal in golden point extra-time.
Griffin then took over at Penrith from Cleary in 2016 after the Panthers had been in a last round ‘playoff’ against Newcastle for the wooden spoon.
The following year the Panthers finished sixth, and sixth the year later, before, in 2018, they looked a team ready to challenge for the title.
But it was at about that point that things started to turn really sour between Griffin and Gould.
Some of Griffin’s supporters even suggest it was Gould’s ego that caused a lot of the dramas, with a suggestion he couldn’t stand someone else getting the recognition.
Nor Griffin turning up his nose at Gould too often for trying to indulge the team with his self-perceived superior football ‘nous’.
Gould’s supporters tell a different story of course, arguing Griffin also fell out with players.
There is no doubt Griffin didn’t see eye-to-eye with some, perhaps the worst was with Matt Moylan.
Moylan ended up leaving but is now getting paid $800,000-plus at Cronulla where he can’t always make the top team. It must be acknowledged his issue is not talent.
Yes, Griffin could be a tough old-school disciplinarian and not everyone liked it.
But one player who he got on with famously was James Maloney. Not only is Maloney one of the game’s genuine knockabouts, he’s one of the great winners. So you’d think he could spot a good coach from a dud.
In 2018, while Gould was obviously proud that the club he was widely perceived as having rebuilt was having success, another take was he appeared just as jealous that Griffin was getting too much credit.
Especially the day the Panthers rose to the top of the ladder after hammering the Dragons 28-2 in round 12.
It had been a rapid climb from a pre-season performance against Canterbury that saw Gould confront Griffin in a power play at Belmore.
Gould was apparently seething when the Panthers were getting beaten by an understrength Bulldogs and he made his feelings known at halftime.
At first Griffin thought Gould was having a bit of a joke, given it was only a pre-season trial, so he smiled back.
But when Gould continued, Griffin came to the realisation Gould was deadly serious.
So Griffin apparently did what most men would do in a similar situation and told him to “f... off”, or words to that affect.
A security guard spotted the drama and, of course, it found its way into the media.
But when News Corp’s then reporter Christian Nicolussi questioned them both about it, Gould shot it down.
“I won’t waste my breath on such rubbish. It didn’t happen.” Gould said at the time.
Griffin supporters tell a different version, with a shake of the head.
The point being it came as no surprise to anyone that some months later their relationship was past the point of no return, even though the Panthers were equal fourth heading towards the finals when Griffin was sacked.
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There is no doubt Griffin didn’t do everything right and learned a lot while working with Gould, as well as Wayne Bennett previously.
Yet he has a 55.5 per cent winning record over his career which would put him behind only Craig Bellamy (69), Trent Robinson (65.2), Bennett (62) and Des Hasler (57.3) out of every current NRL coach.
That’s a pretty fair endorsement, as is making the finals six out of seven seasons as an NRL head coach.
I also have no doubt, at 54, he will come back a better coach because of what he learned from Gus, the good and the bad.
But if you look at the identity of the Penrith club right now, compared to what it looked like in 2015 before Griffin arrived, it just wouldn’t be fair to write what Griffin did out of that history.
Just as it wouldn’t be fair to eliminate Gould’s contribution, or that of Cleary.