NRL: St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin defends Zac Lomax axing with job on the line

Anthony Griffin says he’s making calls for long-term success at the Dragons as he explained why two stars were axed this week.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin is under the pump. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Embattled St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin can’t guarantee a quick return for Zac Lomax after his shock axing this week and has given the upset star time to “clear his head”.

Lomax was reportedly filthy with Griffin after being dumped from the first-grade side and Griffin, under pressure himself to keep his job after winning just two of eight games this season, conceded it was “hard” for any player who was dropped.

But Griffin was adamant he wasn’t “panicking” and it was his job to take care of the team and try to get the best results, having also dropped Jacob Liddle and moved star halfback Ben Hunt to hooker for the Magic Rond clash with last-start winners Wests Tigers.

“Do I look like I am panicking?” Griffin said on Friday morning.

“It’s a funny business, the NRL. It’s a brutal business. If I start worrying about myself or trying to figure out what someone is writing about me, then I am not doing my job.

“I‘ve been a coach for a long time. We have built a really good group here. We have been close (in matches).

“It‘s been extremely frustrating for us because we know how hard everyone is working.

“We could easily be sitting here with three or four wins over the past month, but that‘s rugby league, that’s the NRL.”

Zac Lomax has been dumped. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Griffin was adamant player changes like the axing of Lomax were not done “flippantly”.

“It’s calculated and measured for everyone’s benefit,’’ he said.

The Dragons coach confirmed Lomax wouldn’t play NSW Cup and couldn’t confirm when he would be back in the NRL, declaring he has “things to work on”.

“For Zac there are some things he needs to work on in his game,” he said.

“I‘m not going to publicly talk about that, but for me as a coach that comes down to what I think is best for the team and for Zac long term.

“I just want him to clear his head and have a week off and then we‘ll move forward from there.

“My job as a coach is to care for him, particularly at times like this. For any player who gets dropped, it’s hard.

“I do that with the utmost care on a case-by-case basis.

“I wanted Zac to have a bit of time to process it, and then we will sit down as coach and player and go through it.”

Some truly bizarre selections by Anthony Griffin for magic round. The big news is Zac Lomax who is dropped, Max Feagai to centre & Ravalawa returns on the wing. JDB to prop, Burns back row & Bird Lock. Disappointing to see Liddle & Couchman dropped. Sullivan returns via the bench pic.twitter.com/TA7VcXY1X0

— Red V Podcast (@RedVPodcast1) May 2, 2023

Griffin said the decisions were based around him being at the club beyond this year despite speculation others were being sounded out to replace him.

“Absolutely (they are),” he said.

“The best way to build for the long term is internally and all the great clubs have done that. You see what Penrith have gone through over the past few years. You see where Brisbane are now. Three or four years ago (Payne) Haas, Jordan Riki and (Kotoni) Staggs and all those guys (debuted).

“It takes time to build success.

“There is an evolution or development happening with our club, and it is going to be a real strong club.”