St George Illawarra will cut ties with coach Anthony Griffin on Tuesday, reports Nine’s Danny Weidler.
Griffin, who is off contract at the end of this season was earlier this year told he would be forced to reapply for his job, with the Dragons going to market to look at other options.
With his team in 16th spot on the ladder and coming off six straight losses, the club now looks to be out of patience, with a definitive call on Griffin to be made at a board meeting on Tuesday night, Weidler reports.
READ MORE: Gallen axes seven NSW players for Origin I
READ MORE: Bellamy makes call on Storm coaching future
READ MORE: ‘Shocking’ Roosters flaw exposed in heavy loss
“I think it will be made official tomorrow, unless there is a sudden backflip by the board, it will be announced tomorrow that Anthony Griffin will no longer be the St George Illawarra coach,” Weidler reported on 9News’ 11.30am bulletin on Monday.
“It’s not a huge surprise, he’s just been hanging on for quite some time now and the Dragons realise it’s their time to really try and get ahead for next year to find a new coach and also probably to start the whole recruitment process, so in a lot of ways it’s a smart move to make the decision now by the Dragons board, but not a surprise to a lot of rugby league people.”
The likely call to sack the veteran coach follows a shocking capitulation in Townsville on Saturday afternoon, with the Dragons leaking 42 points and the unusual decision-making of Griffin making headlines.
Commentators were dumbfounded by Griffin’s decision to leave electric young halfback Jayden Sullivan on the bench for the entire second half despite the fact that by that stage the Dragons were facing a huge deficit and needed to chase quick points.
Sullivan had started the game, with Griffin making the call to shift Ben Hunt to hooker, where he plays for Queensland and Australia, in a bid to spark his side’s struggling attack.
Despite paying off early, with Hunt’s craft out of dummy half providing the game’s first try, the move was abandoned when Sullivan was sin binned for breaking up a Cowboys attack in the 19th minute, with the 21-year-old made to spend the remainder of the game on the bench.
Sullivan blows up at decision
That decision reportedly put Griffin further at odds with Dragons management, with the overall performance against the Cowboys accelerating the coach’s demise.
With his axing already widely expected to be confirmed by the Dragons in the coming weeks, Phil Gould on Sunday urged the club to go public with their decision sooner rather than later.
NRL Highlights: Cowboys v Dragons – Round 11
“I think the club has got to put it to bed. I think the club has got to settle down and make a decision on its future so everyone can get on with their lives,” Gould told Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show.
“They look like a team that doesn’t expect anything good to happen. They’re not looking for anything positive. They look under stress. They look like there’s a lot of things on their mind other than just trying to win football games.
“I don’t mind their roster at all, and they should be doing better than they are. [But] there’s no real leadership coming out and saying, ‘this is what we’re doing’.”
Following news that Craig Bellamy intends to take up an option with the Melbourne Storm to continue coaching in 2024, Roosters assistant coach Jason Ryles has firmed as favourite to take the Dragons coaching role from next season.
It is expected that one of Griffin’s assistant coach will be named in a caretaker position for the rest of this season.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The incredible stories behind State of Origin’s one-game wonders
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
